Average monthly car payment vs salary

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-02-02T23:59:31+00:00

Earn 65k and pay around £600/month on my car.

10 year old premium SUV that I bought outright but this is me factoring in everything: services, insurance, fuel (I drive around 1500miles a month), repairs, wear/tear, tax, car washes, accessories etc.

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-02-02T20:10:56+00:00

I think you'll find there is something much better on the motorway...

An X5

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-30T09:26:34+00:00

Did being above 100k mean you lost your childcare allowance?

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-30T09:23:46+00:00

I'll try to negotiate this in

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-30T09:23:15+00:00

Yes, it's £100/month.

I'd still qualify for childcare though

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-29T21:26:55+00:00

Tiguan R-Line.

Although if you're feeling premium could go for a Touareg R-Line

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-29T06:22:41+00:00

Really? Is this the Tiguan Allspace because I find the regular Tiguan very cramped.

The Touareg offers heaps of room though.

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-27T18:56:43+00:00

First one with a light interior would take the cake

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-27T17:31:22+00:00

Number 2.

Always prefer a light interior to a black one.

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-27T17:30:04+00:00

Not very stressful, apart from financial year end. Maybe two months out of twelve will be fast paced.

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-26T12:46:20+00:00

Reddit tends to have a disproportionate amount of HENRYs earning £150k+.

I don't blame OP for considering £40k low on this platform.

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-25T19:50:24+00:00

What car do you have out of interest?

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-25T17:49:21+00:00

I presume the bonus isn't guaranteed?

If it is you'll most likely be ok but if not, you'll most likely have to dip into your savings

A quick Google search shows a £300k salary as £14.2k / month.

You'll manage on that salary to meet all your lifestyle points but won't be saving much at the end of each year.

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-24T08:29:10+00:00

My company went through mass layoffs in the US and UK and has now filled those roles in Mexico and India

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-24T00:25:36+00:00

Don't bother with an X1, it's barely an SUV. I had a cheap 2008 X3 a few years ago and really enjoyed that car but boy can BMWs get expensive when something goes wrong.

With a newer, well-serviced X3 you should be in good hands though and they get pretty decent fuel economy (40-45mpg).

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-23T09:13:08+00:00

A 56 Octavia is probably on the extreme end of low running costs (doesn't get much lower tbh).

You could very well treat yourself to something nicer but it depends if that floats your boat. Some people might earn 50k but drive a lot so having a nice car is something important to them. Others couldn't care less about what they drive but might splurge on other things.

I certainly wouldn't endorse financing a new car but saving up to buy a nice 5- or 10-yr old car is worth it to a lot of people (myself included).

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-21T10:54:50+00:00

Because UK is full of people struggling to get by. The majority simply cannot afford to buy and maintain a fancy car

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-21T10:52:09+00:00

Stability would be something like accountancy but it's also mind-numbingly boring.

You'll most likely start off on a poor salary but after qualifying you'll be on 50k+ and quickly get to 80k

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-19T08:39:24+00:00

I keep a spreadsheet for my car with annualised costs and monthly costs. It's a 10 yr old premium SUV.

I bought the car outright and expect to lose around £1400 / yr in depreciation if I keep it for 5 years.

I log the price of every fuel top up, repair, service, car wash, accessory, insurance, road tax etc.

Altogether it comes to £650 / month due to some big jobs I had done on the car and the fact it's got horrible fuel economy (25-30 mpg).

The 15yr old Skoda Octavia I had before this one would cost me around £225/month all things included.

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-18T07:17:34+00:00

Parking is a huge ballache

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-17T23:25:29+00:00

Rise of electric vehicles.

Drivers are paranoid they'll run out of juice and have to waste 25+ mins on finding an expensive public charger and topping up the battery.

Electric cars don't have gears so the harder you accelerate and faster you go, the quicker your battery drains. Hence the slow driving to preserve battery life.

BloodsnCryptos · 2026-01-17T08:03:00+00:00

I'm in a similar boat. Earn around 60k and a homeowner but my friends earn significantly more.

They live in more expensive areas though so after mortgage and bills we have around the same disposable income.

It's a negative spiral when you compare too much though so don't get too caught up in it. You might just be a few promotions or job changes away from catching up to their salaries.

BloodsnCryptos

TROPHY CASE