I’m so smug

[eyestwice]

I’m about to hand back a business lease car.

 

£400+VAT per month

 

I’ve had it for two years. It was fine, in the same way that Primark is fine when you actually want Levis.

 

Except you’re *paying for Levis* and *getting Primark*.

 

It was a pickup. I have dogs. I have mountain bikes. And I camp regularly.

 

It’s amazing quite how impractical a pickup can be. The new marketing angle is that a pick-up is a ‘lifestyle vehicle’ for millenials. Whoever they might actually be.

 

The reality is that it met none of my needs. So I paid a couple-of-months-worth of lease payment on a mk1 vRS estate. And own it outright. It’s like flicking the finger to everyone and I love it.

 

It’s cost me a few quid so far (coilpacks, plugs, LCAs, springs, hands-free, dynamat, speakers, badges, BBS) but partly because I’m picky. Ultimately though I wanted something that will last and will keep providing me with a fun driving experience whilst doing all that I ask of it.

 

The roof rack is on. Bikes go on there. Between the boot and the rear seats, camping is easy.

 

Next step is a detachable towbar so I can mount the bikes on the rear and leave the roof for a roofbox. 

 

Point being - I’m saving hundreds per month. The car meets every one of my requirements. And it’s fun!

 

No question here so move along. I should probably have posted this in the newbies intro section but hey.

 

[petrolbloke]

Including the purchase price and assuming an annual budget of £500 for servicing & repairs my VRS has cost me £71 a month over 7 years. Even if the annual servicing/repair spend was £1000 it would still only work out at £113/month (purchase price was ~£2.5k).

 

I could afford to lease something brand new or replace it with a newer/faster/shinier/more expensive used car but it just doesn't make financial sense at the moment. That and I'm aiming to get it to 200k miles!

 

Mine has also been on lots of adventures:

• Scotland twice.
• Lake district twice. Peak district. Cotswolds. Brecon Beacons. Snowdonia.
• Le Mans two or three times, loaded up with a couple of passengers and camping gear
• Probably nearly every county in England & Wales

Big  for the mk1!

[Passeyfier]

I would never, ever lease a car; firstly I have no interest in most new cars on sale today and secondly because it doesn't make financial sense to me either, let alone not actually owning the thing! As an all-rounder the Mk1 VRS is seriously hard to beat; performance, practicality, relatively inexpensive to run (when things don't go too pear shaped  good fuel economy for the most part and standing out in a sea of 320Ds and crossovers. I wouldn't change mine for anything, not whilst funds are a little tight. Just coming up to 150k miles in mine and I'm hoping to reach the big 200k one day too. People may brag about performance stats, Bluetooth connectivity and all this new fangled technology but my VRS ticks all the boxes for me. 

[KenONeill]

12 hours ago, Passeyfier said:

I would never, ever lease a car

Yeah, will you spend £20_000 on a "new car" and never own it?

[eyestwice]

I’m sure that retail prices having been rising over the last few years too.

 

Leasing’s affordable so even if you discount Brexit, manufacturers can get away with increasing prices. ‘Buyers’ barely notice as they’re only looking at the monthly payment.

[CWARD]

Retail prices have always been rising but so as the amount of tech included. Whilst a lot of it is now under the guise of safety such as lane departure, ACC, PDC, traction control and auto emergency braking you don’t actually need them to enjoy driving. If you need them at all is debatable, yes they make the car safer but not necessarily the person who is supposed to be driving it. 

Add to that your car radio has morphed into an all singing and dancing information centre. 

The prices have increased and you can see why with the extra equipment now included and available as must have extras. 

The question is do you need to commit so much of your income to a tool that provides you with personal transport for usually a few hours a day at the most, then spends the rest of its time parked outside depreciating in value. By the sounds of it you’ve managed to release that you don’t need the biggest and best to get the same level of enjoyment out of the use of a car. The money you’re not wasting on depreciation can then be used to enjoy the other things you enjoy in life. 

[penguin17]

Forgetting about the lease related aspect of this post..

 

I'd only feel really smug about getting a clean Mk1 Octavia vRS for a decent price that didn't have a filthy horrible interior and a shady service history.  From experience they are bloody hard to find, an estate more so.  I gave up looking as I was sick of mis-advertised examples and users trying to justify their over inflated prices with 'rare' and 'future classic'.   

 

Well done if you succeeded   I gave up and got a Mk4 Golf GTI

[eyestwice]

FSH, 2 previous owners and mainly motorway miles. Clean interior and already been around the country in it 

Edited 7 September, 2018 by eyestwice

[penguin17]

3 minutes ago, eyestwice said:

FSH, 2 previous owners and mainly motorway miles. Clean interior and already been around the country in it 

Sounds like you found a good 'un.  Nice work 

[eyestwice]

It’s not stopping me spending money on it 

 

Figured that as I plan to keep it long term it’s worth spending a few more notes to tidy it up cosmetically. I’m still quids-in compared to leasing though...

 

...as long as I don’t go mad on things. Must. Be. Sensible.

[petrolbloke]

1 hour ago, eyestwice said:

It’s not stopping me spending money on it 

 

Figured that as I plan to keep it long term it’s worth spending a few more notes to tidy it up cosmetically. I’m still quids-in compared to leasing though...

 

...as long as I don’t go mad on things. Must. Be. Sensible.

 

If you make it significantly nicer than average then I'd recommend trying to get an agreed value insurance policy. Otherwise, if your car gets written off through no fault of your own you'll only get peanuts for it.

[fwdnewbie]

22 hours ago, CWARD said:

Retail prices have always been rising but so as the amount of tech included. Whilst a lot of it is now under the guise of safety such as lane departure, ACC, PDC, traction control and auto emergency braking you don’t actually need them to enjoy driving. If you need them at all is debatable, yes they make the car safer but not necessarily the person who is supposed to be driving it. 

Add to that your car radio has morphed into an all singing and dancing information centre. 

The prices have increased and you can see why with the extra equipment now included and available as must have extras. 

The question is do you need to commit so much of your income to a tool that provides you with personal transport for usually a few hours a day at the most, then spends the rest of its time parked outside depreciating in value. By the sounds of it you’ve managed to release that you don’t need the biggest and best to get the same level of enjoyment out of the use of a car. The money you’re not wasting on depreciation can then be used to enjoy the other things you enjoy in life. 

 

If anyone needs those aids to drive at all then they shouldn't be driving.

 

I love my VRS because its so basic but its still a scientific calculator compared to the Mk1 golf

 

Someone further up ^^^^^ mentioned the word "crossover" 

That genre of car actually makes me sick in my mouth

[KenONeill]

@fwdnewbie - I can only like your 8th Sept 2018 @ 08:23 once! My take on discovering that my Octy has traction control and ABS was "yes, but I try not to use them".

[Solly]

I <3 Mk1 diesel estate octavias.  Mine's been my farm vehicle for 7yrs.  I SHOULD have a pickup or landrover, but they cannot match the economy and reliability - I paid £3k for it, and everything except the fuel (and it does 30mpg towing a full load, 50 if not which can't be beaten by much!) has cost me £1k/yr since, so less than £100/mo.  I've only just decided to retire it at over 220k miles, much of which has been off road and towing up to its max.  The engine is still totally sound, the electrics have just gone kaput and strangely no one wants to go rummaging around under that ancient dashboard :'(

 

I've replaced it with another: £800, 180k miles so nicely run-in a year younger and much tidier. 

 

I honestly think mk1 octavias were the best cars ever.  so there.  I genuinely won't know what to do when the current one goes as i doubt many will have survived that long etc etc so it really will be time to move on :'(

Edited 15 October, 2018 by Solly