marzman Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 (edited) So i've been doing some man maths tonight to help me justify a new car purchase. I've been driving for 12 years and in that time i've had 18 cars. My car buying habits have always been to get the best cars i can at the bottom of their depreciation curve (or as close to it). The newest car i've ever owned was my first zed, which was 4 years old... but most of the cars have usually averaged around 8-10 years old. I've had some pretty good cars i reckon... 2x 350z's, 1x 911 (996), 1x Range Rover Sport, and 6x 3-series BMW's! I usually buy my cars with a personal loan and since getting my first proper job i've paid for a loan ever since (currently pay around £400 p/m). I've just worked out how much money i've physically lost in that 12 years, i.e. money that i now have nothing to show for it, which must be made up of interest and depreciation. Over the full 12 years i've been driving, i've 'lost' £26.3k, which is £182 per month average. If I take out the early years when i had cheap cars and just calculate based on the time i've had a personal loan it's actually £23k and £261 per month. So.... £261 per month in the bin over the years. Damn... i wanted that number to be bigger to help with the justification for a brand new car...!! EDIT - none of the above includes maintenance or modifications. Maintenance is essential and mods are a personal choice which shouldnt come into it, as we all know we're not going to make our money back here! Edited May 27, 2016 by marzman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Too much 16 cars in 13 years for me I worked out when I owned my original Z that once everything was taken into account, I was at Gallardo money and the 2JZ build was well into R35 money 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 £3.2 Million 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceejay29 Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Too much 16 cars in 13 years for me I worked out when I owned my original Z that once everything was taken into account, I was at Gallardo money and the 2JZ build was well into R35 money Bet you'd do it again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Not going to play this game, ...the Zed alone was probably like £20+K including purchase price & mods etc. You can't take it with you though and as long as you enjoy it that's the main thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Too much 16 cars in 13 years for me I worked out when I owned my original Z that once everything was taken into account, I was at Gallardo money and the 2JZ build was well into R35 money Bet you'd do it again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex350z Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Far too much But its worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 All my money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikevv Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 You make it sound like we should spend money on something else, assuming we had any left over after I don't care to look at it like that, everyone knows cars are a depreciating asset, and I just enjoy it while it lasts. Problem is trying to control whether it's a good idea to invest in the current car, or upgrade to something else Funds provided, I would probably swap cars twice a year, tend to get bored of my cars quickly - Had the Zed for a year now and still smile when she starts up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeppoJeff Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 I'm a bit like you Mike. I'd gladly swap out my car every few months and get bored of cars far to easily but the Zed is one car that's kept me hooked. So much so I had to have a second when I had to get rid of the first. Just the feeling of being inside it makes me so happy. The amount of money I've put into my car I'm never going to see again but it doesn't bother me as it makes me happy. If I was so bothered about the money I'd be trading in the Zed for a push bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TT350 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Ummm. First car, Renault Clio - 13k + 4k body repairs + springs and dampers 300 + Pioneer head unit 230. Nissan Primera. 500 quid for car. 330 quid for custom straight through exhaust. (T.G Silencers in Rochdale. 1000£ roughly for 18's with Toyo Tyres. Honda Civic VTI. 900 quid car. Full VTiS bodykit 300 ish. About a billion quid in oil. Pug 106 zest. 400 quid. Toyota Yaris. 500 quid. Ford Mondeo. 600 quid. Ford Focus ST170 750 quid. Nissan 350Z. 5250 for car. 930 quid Uprev, plenum spacer, HKS Panel filter, dyno tuning. 3500 quid used turbo kit. 2500 fitting. 400 ish TDI North decat pipes. 4200 quid fully uprated shortblock. 980 quid 4x Michelin MPSS tyres. Soon: big brake kit. 3000£ Clutch 500£ ish Coilovers 800£ More still to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G1en Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Ford fiesta 1.1 £50 16 years old Peugeot 106 1.1 £8000 new Vauxhall corsa 1.8 SRI £13000 new Ford Focus 1.6 £9500 1 year old VW Golf 1.9 GTTDI £4000 8 years old BMW 320D £8000 7 years old Nissan 350Z £10300 8 years old The joy of driving - priceless There are some things money cant buy, for everything else theres mastercard 💳 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 I've lost count ... Thousands but sure had fun doing it and driving them all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 What would the figure be if you had bank rolled it yourself, bought and sold prices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexx Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Excluding mods/insurance etc. Purely on money to buy cars - £156,600 since 2004. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr shaggy Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 (edited) Too much! Edited May 28, 2016 by Mr shaggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsexr Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Hillman imp 250 quid Ford Cortina 250 quid stopped counting after that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 The real killer for me is the insurance I have paid out over 50 years and only made one claim for windscreen glass.... ....oh, the number of handbags I have bought to buy off the other 'alf each time I changed cars And on the cars themselves, I dread to think and to save worrying about that I haven't kept records so not sure how many hundreds of thousands 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted May 28, 2016 Author Share Posted May 28, 2016 A few people are missing my point here i think... I understand the 'not bothered how much' approach... I wish I could think like this but I'm too tight with my money. I've probably spent £70k+ on the cars I've owned, but I've always sold them on so probably made £50k of that back so in real terms i've only 'spent' £20k + interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke0549 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 i have had in excess of 50 cars in the last 5 years. - bought and sold. ive only actually 'owned' about 7 - and all them i lost money - including my current s/c zed that blew its engine, caught fire and destroyed itself... so hopefully i've broken even... just. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 £156k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 (edited) I couldnt tell you how much, its only been since 2000 ish since i have focussed on cars, before that it was a motorbikes and a cheap daily. Soon as i got into cars i was pretty lucky, i had the Japanese import auctions on my doorstep at Southampton so would go down there, buy something and sell it on a year or so later at a profit or at the very least for what it cost. My first Rx7 i made good money on and never really got past spending what i started with in the first place + whatever extra i made, i think my fi'd 350 was the most i have actually shelled out for a car, after my bike accident and being left with hideous debts i coudnt pay due to being off work so long, i hate borrowing money. Edited May 28, 2016 by Jetpilot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Good question OP, never have worked out just the deprecation 'costs', not had that many cars... Mondeo ST24 -> DC2 Teg £1K lost in 6 months DC2 Teg -> 350Z, £4K lost in 10 months....At this point I learnt an important life lesson. Never trust a car dealer 350Z -> 335i, £13K lost in 4.5 years. 335i -> Leaf, £8K lost in 4 years. Leaf ->????. Unknown So in total £26K lost in deprecation/initial capital over roughly 10 years, or £216/month, which is about how much the leaf is costing me. Though clearly mods/insurance/garage/fuel costs will probably double that figure. So like the OP I'm quite surprised at how "little" money I've wasted on cars. I have a bad feeling though in the next 12 months that might end up changing, and that figure may double/triple!!! Though I can afford it, when it comes down to parting with the cash it may turn out to be a different story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeybrain1234 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Interest = £0 Depreciation = £480 10 years of driving. Cars = Clio, Calibra, Alfa GTV. Current is the Z. Call me old fashion but I don't believe in borrowing Money. (other than mortgage). Can't afford it don't buy it. Which helps keeps costs down, also most the cars I have owned are 7-8 years old. Hence £4 per month. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Had bangers worth couple hundred quid from 1995 to 1998. Then spent £9200 on a 5 yr old Honda Prelude (cars seemed so much more expensive then) Ran it for 7 yrs then gifted it to my younger brother. 2005 and I blew £30k on my zed with factory Nismo bodykit......and another £1200 on the 19'LMGT4s. Probably only worth 7k no. So I've lost about £32k over 18 yrs. BUT ONLY IF I SELL UP. In my heart, after a good detail my Zed is still worth every penny me. If I were to go back in time? Wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe change to Azure Blue. Or buy a Bayside Blue R34! I bet I wouldn't have lost £23k over 11 yrs if I had got a 2nd hand Gtr back in 2005! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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