I hate the thought of a salary competition or poll here, and I really don't want to pry into people's private money matters but I am going to be graduating from the Royal College of Music in July and moving out of my parents house (yay) into a small house hopefully with mortgage etc. I currently have nearly 40 students (taught piano for 10 years) so I'm earning a really decent salary compared to the average first time buyer out there but I am slightly worried I might have to give up the freely. I'd hate this but I would like to have an idea of the sorts of salaries people are on to be comfortable running these wonderful cars and still support the running of house and bills etc? Preferably single men/women rather than large families!

I know a lot of people will be on the £60-100k incomes out there and I know that it wouldn't be an issue but I'm talking about the people with a slightly lower income than that? from £15-35k etc? Just approx. figures would be a great help.

Thanks in advance.
Gary

Hi Gary, assuming you have to have a car you need to compare running costs of the FL2 with the alternative. That will depend on repayments (if any), annual mileage and insurance. Put all these down, see what the difference is and then decide what to give up to fund the difference to keep the FL2.

PS. if your photo is taken in Plymouth that is a very flat road! My daughter used to live on Ivydale Rd which had to be surfaced in concrete as tarmac would have slid to the bottom of the hill in summer.  GONE - '07 TD4 GS manual Zermatt Silver
LONG GONE - '55 Norton Dominator 99 SS cafe racer

haha yeh there are some seriously steep hills here.

Thanks for the advice, might do some spread sheets later on

Ford Hill in Stoke is a proper clutch killer - I know from first hand experience when I used to live there MY2010 TD4 HSE Santorini Black, 19" Alloys, Almond Leather, Lux Pack, Rear Spoiler, Adaptive Xenons

I pay myself the minimum wage

and hes considered well off in Lancashire, real money in his pocket instead of mill tokens,

some say he can even afford soap  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

taztastic wrote:

I pay myself the minimum wage

Same here. And the wife. But oh, those dividends!  Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

chicken george wrote:

some say he can even afford soap

Yep, posh stuff with a label too

its not a family heir loom, try using it  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Last edited by chicken george on 8th Mar 2014 5:51 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Cheaky CG.... I'll have you know I can quite easily afford Palmolive and not just Super Market own brands....

As for the OPs question. TBH its all relative - I find this cheaper to run than a SAAB I had ( go figure ).

What I suggest you do is create a budget.... factor in fuel, servicing including adhoc problems & road tax.

Putting away for the above each month isnt some thing with low incomes should do but just good financial practice.

When you have that worked out you will know if YOU can afford it.

T Terran



'The' Car For The Modern Day UK Roads ( ie all the pot holes )

'A Freelander that leaks oil is just marking its territory' - Wise words

Now a member of the FL2 'Silly Bill' Club

I have to agree with ccsnet, and also setting up a spread sheet. By looking into how much your mortgage/rent is likely to be plus all household bills (council tax, utilities, interweb etc) you will see how much you have left and then work from that figure. If you feel you can cover your freelander running costs and have money left for whatever you want then all good, if not then you need to alter your figures e.g. cheaper car or smaller mortgage/rent. The maths never lies unfortunately!

Hi all, thanks for the replies, Stoke - Ford Hill is something I experience daily as I live just a few streets away! Crazy if you're the first away from the lights. Seen many learners stall there 3 or 4 times.

I have done a proper budget spread sheet which was actually quite fun to do in the end. Worst case scenario taking into account my current income as a student and cars current running costs and estimated figures for rent and all bills still left me with £800 profit each month. Best case scenario (the extra income I will have after I graduate) left me with nearly £2000 profit each month. That should be ok... I think! lol

oh and you can pay yourself £0.40 per mile you drive for business use tax free 1995 P38 now dead
2012 FL2 GS Fuji White
winter pack
arm rest pack

If youre really struggling, have some kids and go on benefits, you could run a Range Rover and have a new house then

I think its 45p a mile now (if you're talking about HMRC allowances) its quite a perk being self employed!


haha I wouldn't be able to sit on my backside and do nothing all day - I'm like most people on this forum I expect - I get off my bum and work for everything I have and I'm proud of it.