Trying to finance a car with the bank....ridiculous

Obviously, I know nothing about how financially viable spending any amount of money on a car is for you & your husband; only the two of you can decide.

However, speaking as a guy who gets called in sometimes to come up with last-minute solutions to desperate problems created by other people, I'd feel personally responsible and disappointed in myself if I had to call in on the way to a job to report that I wasn't going to make it after all because my car broke down.  And maybe they wouldn't fire him for that happening once, but you also don't want to get the reputation of someone who cannot be counted on in a crisis.

Anyway, I'm sure y'all will come to some agreement; I just wanted to point out that your husband may have other motivations aside from just wanting a nice car.

{ducks}

Yes, I think he does. You sound a lot like him.  It's not just about wanting a "nice car" -- he just feels "you get what you pay for" and always reminds me of that fact when we pass broken down cars on the motorway...

We have come to an agreement about all this. I think what I wanted him to understand is that I can't justify paying that much money out in straight cash and we will have to consider a tighter budget if it comes to that. Considering everything, he understands.

I just don't think paying out that much money at once a good idea. We are looking into other options for financing a car. He has a steady job, average credit (has only been in the country 3 years, I've only been getting in the swing of it the last year and a half), I've been doing contract work that will be ok for at least a couple more months and might possibly lead to more work. At the very least I've gotten really good English office experience, references and skills with a fortune 500 company if I need to look for another job, I found this one fairly quickly.

I just tell myself things were a lot worse last year when we just got married, we were derned near broke!

Hi there
I just saw this thread and agree to an extent with what you're saying and what your husband is saying. I too, always want a certain 'level' in a car and I want it to be reliable - thankfully, all my car's have been in this level and the great part is, they've ranged from £1600 to £9.5K.

The 'trick' here is to choose something that fits in with your planned maintenance budget. The 'price' of the actual car is secondary in this case. Having a reliable car and one that is suitable for it's use can override the price itself.

Mr Comoscato and I drive the same style BMW for instance. I will plug them here! a 1996-2003 E39 5 series is a fantastic, reliable when looked after and purposeful car yet isn't thought of as overly flashy. They can now be run very very easily on a modest budget as parts and servicing costs aren't too bad at all. Yes, some bits will be much more pricer than say the equivalent from a Peugeot or Ford, however it's the rest of it that makes up for it. There are other cars which fit this kind of thinking as well. You ca pick these cars up now for £1500-7K and if you find a nice looked after one, you'll be amazed!

Also, I understand the frustration of the lack of credit, the UK is going through a real painful time with regards to tightening up lending practices and I'm afraid it's due to last a long time - the days of money and credit being thrown around are very much gone from the UK. Your situation is deemed as more risky, due to the fact you've only been in th eUK for a short time, that's the reason why, you've been lumped into the high risk catagory. As mentioned, you could look at alternatives, pperhaps look at the various leaseing type options, yes you'll not actually own the car, but things like insurance and servicing are often a part of the deal, so that would cover the reliability aspect.

I and I mention Camoscato again (carl you're popular mate!) are car enthusiasts, however our choice is more grounded in the fact we need to look after our wallets as well, it's easy to run out and say oh I must have a car less than 3 years old etc, but when choosing and acting wisely, you can get all of what you want in a much cheaper packeage AND you'll have some money left over for your much wanted holiday.

Feel free to show your hubby this post, and if he has a look on some motoring relating forums and asks a question he'll get a multitude of information and knowledge that would suit you and may provoke him into thinking on the bigger picture for getting a good car for you both.

Cheers DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Yes, I think he does. You sound a lot like him.  It's not just about wanting a "nice car" -- he just feels "you get what you pay for" and always reminds me of that fact when we pass broken down cars on the motorway...

My wife and I have had similar discussions to the one you're having now. 

Mr Comoscato and I drive the same style BMW for instance. I will plug them here! a 1996-2003 E39 5 series is a fantastic, reliable when looked after and purposeful car yet isn't thought of as overly flashy.

It is a fantastic car!  We got a 1998 523i for £1700 a couple of years ago, and I love this car.  The down side, as Dennis says, is that parts and maintenance costs will be higher, but when you compare it to shelling out a lot of money up front or having a monthly payment, you still come out ahead.

It isn't flashy, but I bought a used Honda Jazz from a dealership.  They helped us get financing.  I only paid £5K for it, and it has been one of the most reliable cars I've ever had.  I think it's a fun car for our family.

Oh yeah, Hondas are great. We both have owned Hondas in the past, and great success with them for years. He's more set on the Civic, his current company car, I would be totally cool with something like the Jazz.

I will also mention some of the other cars like the BMW you guys brought up as well.

I'll  add another plug for Honda. 

My sister works at a dealership that sells Hondas, among other models, and she says that the Honda owners are the ones who rave the most about their vehicles, and are the most loyal to that brand.  Also, in the US at least, the Honda Certified Pre-Owned vehicles are a very good deal.  They're a little pricier than other used cars, but still less than a new car.  My sister also thinks that the warranty they give the pre-owned is better than their new vehicle warranties.