Welshy

Also VED £185
Mot discounted to £22
Fuel 29-33mpg (never below 29)
Insurance £380 (group 20)

ap0gee

So what do you do with the remaining 93,000 of the £94,000 per year that you earn but don't spend on your car? For someone with such an austere outlook towards consumer goods and property, but such a negative outlook towards investments, I can only presume you've tied it up in fixed-rate bonds?

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Welshy

Currently? Well £14k p.a. into Stocks & share ISA for me & the lady, an additional £10-12k in addition to my pension payments, a significant amount into mortgage overpayments (as much as the current deal will allow per annum).

Also building up to the full £30k each into P Bonds (tax free), and starting to invest into OEIC (open ended investment companies).

Beyond that I have a couple of overseas flats which I have been able to pay cash for - by saving up.

I know I have to buy a new car by Q3 this year so will be paying cash - or if its a financially better deal then take finance. Also wedding costs this year + honeymoon.

Finally saving up as much as is possible so come the end of the current mortgage deal we can clear a very significant proportion of it. Aiming to upgrade if a crash happens and ideally keep both going.

ap0gee

See this is where the myth unravels. You claim to have a house, two flats and have aspirations to buy another house. You aim to put as much money as you can into premium bonds (one of the poorest investment vehicles in the NS&I portfolio - only worth it if you're in it for a bit of fun), and you say you're putting money into your pension at a rate that'll put you in danger of exceeding your MPP by the time you retire (assuming you put in 5% of earnings and your employer puts in 20%, which is pretty standard - you had thought of that, hadn't you?) Then you seem to have a rather poor understanding of global and local property markets (if you're banking on a crash, why buy abroad where markets are even more inflated - and do you really think property prices in the UK will fall by 50%, which is effectively what you're saying by claiming you're looking to run two houses?)

And yet you run a 12-year-old car and scrimp on servicing it.

Oh, and a wedding and honeymoon will wipe out your 'spare' cash for this year too, unless you're planning on cutting corners there as well...?

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ScoobyChris

I was going to point out that for an investment conscious person, blowing a load of money for a couple of weeks with nothing bar a ring to show for it afterwards, is really going to grate

Chris

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Holding up the traffic in a little Italian..........

ap0gee

My ring isn't the only tangible asset I have from our honeymoon: I still have the expanded waistline from 3 weeks on all-inclusive deals!

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swedishskoda

I consider SWMBO a most tangible asset still here although our honeymoon is long since gone

ap0gee

I don't think my wife would be too impressed with the concept of me owning her!

But I agree with your sentiment!!!

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ScoobyChris

But presumably she would have still been your SWMBO even if you hadn't got married?

Chris

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Holding up the traffic in a little Italian..........

Welshy

Pension is £10k in addition to the normal pension to which the company contribute nothing. Also your assumption of my employers contribution is incorrect - you are assuming final salary sort of contributions there my friend. Also you are assuming that I intend to work until 65, well given at current rates I will be mortgage free by 32 for all 4 properties I can assure you that I will not be working then through the need to only for the love of the work.

P Bonds yes for lower rate is very poor yeilds however for Higher rate tax payers it is much better.
I.e. IIRC PBonds rates are 4% payout tax free so a lower rate tax payer would have to effectively earn 5% which is a poor rate gorss yet a higher rate tax payer would have to earn 6.66% Risk free.Remember Ive used up all my other tax free allowences and trust me Ive made significant paper losses in equity for 2007 & a little more in '08.

Note I already have 2 uk properties and a couple of overseas properties so its a step from 2 to 3 in the UK. I didnt mention what decrease I would like to see so wonder where 50% came from as if that were true I'd be jumping 5 odd steps up the ladder or buying a couple of places.

Interesting that you think I scrimp on servicing? I basically cut out the labour costs as I can easily do that myself, this is both exercise, an interest/enjoyment, cost cutting and knowing that the job has been done properly. Parts used are highly discounted parts - why is that scimping? Thats taking advantage of buying at the right time/not wasting money. Also say my sun visor tore I could get a new one but I could have a look in the scrap yard and get it for maybe a tenth of the price and on certain parts thats what should be done. Brake discs are usually pretty good of written off cars still a good 70-80% of their life left in them for peanuts.

Wedding yes is on a budget, its only 1 day and you dont need to go crazy for it to be special.

Welshy

I would say that I'd happily spend say £3-4k on a Honeymoon as its a once in a lifetime holiday and really that makes it special. Air fares really set the base and clearly you will want to spend a few nights in an amazing hotel something you will never do again (unless on a work do)

swedishskoda

Work do? What's your trade, mate?

Mike Wrightson

Indeed, I don't see the point of spending nearly 1/3 of the car's price modding it, and it's not something I'm going to consider, fun though it might be Basically, I don't have the money to do it anyway, and if I want a faster car, then I'd just have to save up and buy one! But then, big power is not required for a fun car, I'd have an MX5 like a shot

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Hyundai Coupe !
Fabia vRS - "Beastie" - A fond memory
Me @ YouTube

daiking

I'm a little late to this thread but, Welshy, I don't think the OP was intent on spending all that money on modding, merely answering a question someone else had posed, as Mike has since pointed out.

As to the other off-topicness, Premium Bonds are for those who feel lucky, currently getting only 3.8% tax free. If you're willing to tie up money for 3 or 5 years, a better tax free investment that I've seen is NS&I Index Linked Savigns Certificates, currently RPI + 1.35%.

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The power of punctuation

ap0gee

Oh, I really can't be bothered with this! Your stories never add up, and your description of your own character and outlook is so full of inconsistencies, that it's obviously false. I can believe you run an ageing car, and service it yourself to save money (as it goes, I like to tinker with mine, but in the absence of a full set of professional tools and a proper ramp, I'd never dare trust the lives of myself, my wife and our baby to a driveway service). I can also belive that you work in finance and thus have lots of cash to spare (giving you the benefit of the doubt, depsite the fact you seem to believe that Premium Bonds have a guaranteed payout, that you supposedly earn the same as a fully-trained City actuary despite being only part-trained and working in South Wales). But I can't believe the same views belong to one person.

Honestly, why come out with something like your claim that you're going to get married on a budget, considering the mega-bucks you claim to earn? I mean I'm all for altruistic, romantic love, but I honestly don't believe that your fiancee can feel particularly valued by you if you won't spend a few months' wages on your wedding and honeymoon. No matter how hard you save, you can't take it with you, after all!

See, it's things like that that mean I can't believe both sides of your professed personality. Perhaps you think this is Second Life on here, or something?

Anyway, there's no need to answer, 'cos I won't read it. If I could, I'd've just awarded you the dubious accolade of being the first ever member to join my Ignore list!

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Welshy

Firstly I dont live in South Wales - London.
Secondly my father is a Mechanic by trade and when I was a young he tought me all the servicing parts of a car (to save me money + the numberof dodgy services which happen in some garages) FYI - I have fully stripped an engine and rebuilt it - it was a total banger but the purpose was education - the only parts which I didnt strip was the gearbox EVERYthing else I stripped and repaired as necessary.

Servicing your car annually or 6 monthly (milage dependant) is not very hard. i.e. annually spark plugs simple 20 mins job taking your time, change the air filter well anyone can do that, drain the oil well thats undoing a nut (with engine warmed up) leave it overnight put it back in remove oil filter (screw driver through it and turn) ensuring you put some oil in the filter first and on the filters seal then top up to the correct level. Simple job.

Pollen filter on my car is a pain as I need to take off the wipers and around 20 little screws that does take around 20 mins also.

Brakes well I have brembo calipers up front and you wouldnt believe how easy it is to change the pads... seriously knock out the pin and spring and wease back the pistons then quick wire brush to get as much brake dust away as possible new pads in spring back and pin back in place (do both sides - and totally honest here it takes longer to jack up the car and undo the wheel nuts as it does to replace the pads on the front of my car!). Forgot to add open the brake reservoir cap when pushing back the pistons. Replace this cap. start the engine and pump the brake pedal until its rock hard. Job done.

Rear brakes more tricky as not brembo + handbrake is attached but as these last 70-80k anyway its a once in your ownership or f its too much of a job for you get the brakes done in Kwikfit when they have a discount on.

Nothing else so far has needed doing in my ownership, oh yes the thermostat that was a pain in the ar&e and luckily I had the help of my dad (well his supervision) part cost £50 and as it turns out thats a Genuine only part (also as it turns out as is most parts on the Fiat coupe due to only 5000 ever made in the UK RHD).

Bulbs well if you cannot change indicator/brake/headlights etc then I understand why you might never service your car yourself.

Also all of the above only the brakes are what you might consider safety items?


One very last point I have had one car in the MOT and it failed on the front brake hoses (we checked them and they were fine but they demanded they were changed so we let them do the work - anyway around 600 miles later on a slight uphill on the M way a light came on my dash for the brakes. I pulled over to the hard shoulder and to my horror saw the level had dropped from max to min. I went to halfords to get some generic brake fluid to top it up. Then went home. It was a dry day so I left it on the side of the road (dry road) in the hope that it would continue to leak - I feared a holed brake pipe. However it came from the front wheel. I jacked up the car and found the leak to come from the new brake hoses which had not been tightened up properly... That could have resulted in no brakes on the M way and me ploughing into the rear of another car, Hence my concern about doing the job properly.

I know of many other incidents from other people in various offices who have had other huge non complete work. One came from a certain "Mr Clutch" the clutch had been replaced there and she was driving the car to and from work 5 odd miles each way it didnt feel right but on the way back to Mr Cluitch the car halted (luckily at only 10mph (coming up to a junction) and what had happened was the bell housing and engine had split shearing the bolts It was found that Mr Clutch had only replaced 2 of the 14 bolts.

Different case Another garage claimed that the engine would not last and she should change her car asap or it would blow up. She ordered a new car and on the way there it broke down she was terrified as knowing i wouldnt now be taking in Part x - however the AA came out and found the problem oh its an air lock job fixed in 2 mins cost to her for changing cars £4k. Mechanic who gave her the information claimed Well I work only on cylinder heads so dont really know that much about the rest.

I could go on.

spyke85

Do you still have the Swift? How you finding it?

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05 Seat Ibiza FR TDi - PD160 intake & Green Panel filter
142bhp / 250lbs/ft - Awesome GTi 9/9/06

Mike Wrightson

Yep, still got it.

6500 miles on it now and it is running better than ever, economy has picked up a bit. Managed 43mpg on a 300 mile motorway trip, cruising at 70.

It has loosened up well and is still as much fun as ever

No further warranty work needed other than killing a couple of rattles, it hasn't missed a beat.

Very pleased with it

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Hyundai Coupe !
Fabia vRS - "Beastie" - A fond memory
Me @ YouTube

anonymouse

As a by the bye - my son has 1.5 (I steered him away from the Sport because of insurance).
He's had a couple of factory recalls - and nothing other than normal expenditure.
An impressive, well thought out little motor with pretty good economy.

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"Stupidity, if left untreated, is self-correcting." - Heinlein

Lummox

I have no problems with insurance, my car near three times the power it left the factory with.

I know what your getting at but its not all about just buying a car and then selling it. Even if it doesnt make sense money wise some people just like creating something that others dont have, most hobbies cost money. I have sold many modified cars without issue and lost very little if any. All you have to do is pitch it to the right market.

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Unit 18 Automotive Services
www.unit18.co.uk

Mike Wrightson

As a point of interest I have just obtained and fitted (in literally 5 minutes) an iPod adapter to the car, they cost about £80 new It also allows you to change tracks and playlists from the head unit, so the iPod can stay tucked up in the glove box out of sight.

Connects2 iPod adapter.

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Hyundai Coupe !
Fabia vRS - "Beastie" - A fond memory
Me @ YouTube

spyke85

How does the 1.5 and 1.6 compare? Is the Sport worth the extra? I see What Car recommend the 1.5 out of all of them

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05 Seat Ibiza FR TDi - PD160 intake & Green Panel filter
142bhp / 250lbs/ft - Awesome GTi 9/9/06

Mike Wrightson

It depends what kind of car you are after. If you want it more driver focussed without having to mod it, then the Sport is definately the one. Better brakes and discs all round, different dampers, climate control, sport seats, short gearing etc. all make up the value of the Sport.

If you are just after a nice supermini that is fun to drive, then go for the 1.5. It really isn't that much slower in a straight line, still handles well (if a bit more body roll) and it will be more economical because of the longer gearing. I was very pleased with my 1.5

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Hyundai Coupe !
Fabia vRS - "Beastie" - A fond memory
Me @ YouTube