Bad News

[Autopia]

That was going to be my next suggestion..

Or how about seeing whether the V10 TDI from a Tiguan will fit into a Passat? Now that would be an interesting sleeper.. probably want 4-motion for it...

But since it's going to be a novated lease, what does the cost on an R36 work out to be? Interest rates have dropped about 4%, and fuel prices have dropped about 20% since I took my lease out.. almost enough for me to cancel it and renew (which might happen if I change employers in the next couple of months anyway).

An R36 with all the bits I was adding came to $75,400. One of the conditions of buying my new car was to not have the repayments reduce my take home wage even after the car allowance was added. In the case of the R36 the impact was almost $500.
Even taking a few of the bits off was not going to do it.

[Autopia]

I'm a bit of a budgeting person - I think your wife is smart to want to downsize the mortgage as much as possible. Someone mentioned that interest rates are low right now, but that doesn't alter the fact that mortgage amounts are high these days compared to when I was in that position. High mortgage x low interest rate still = bloody lots of interest.

I was fortunate that I was able to extinguish the mortgage just before turning 40, in spite of having 2 kids and a wife who hasn't worked since the first child was born. And yes, I paid up to 13.5% interest and well over 50% marginal tax with no salary sacrifice available for cars et al.

So for us it was always a struggle which did not include new cars.

Nowadays though, with novated leases providing tax reductions it may well make sense to get a benefit.


How about a 380 2007 which go for around $20,000 or less with only 20-30,000ks.

You're right about the mortgage of course.

13.5% I think my arse just fell out.

A 380? I'd rather go to jail than own a 380.

[Rocket36]

"Jail" is American. They're called "gaols" in Australia.

A 380? I'd rather go to jail than own a 380.

I'd own one!

[gregozedobe]

You're right about the mortgage of course.

13.5% I think my arse just fell out.

13.5% would have been luvverly - we ended up paying 18.75% on our mortgage at one stage (mid 80's). It certainly gave us the incentive to pay off our loan ASAP (and once we did life was much easier and less stressful).

[Autopia]

13.5% would have been luvverly - we ended up paying 18.75% on our mortgage at one stage (mid 80's). It certainly gave us the incentive to pay off our loan ASAP (and once we did life was much easier and less stressful).

Holy crap!! 18.75%?

Show me to the nearest window. Man do we have it good.

[Autopia]

13.5% would have been luvverly - we ended up paying 18.75% on our mortgage at one stage (mid 80's). It certainly gave us the incentive to pay off our loan ASAP (and once we did life was much easier and less stressful).

Holy crap!! 18.75%?

Show me to the nearest window. Man do we have it good.

[gerhard]

You're right about the mortgage of course.

13.5% I think my arse just fell out.

A 380? I'd rather go to jail than own a 380.

Haha, I'd rather pay cash for a 380 and salary sacrifice into super, than be the prisoner of status.....one might argue that super is not available till one is old, but the money paid out to finance ego is lost forever.......

The beauty is, though, we all have choices and that's what matters at the end of the day

[Swallowtail]

Haha, I'd rather pay cash for a 380 and salary sacrifice into super, than be the prisoner of status.....one might argue that super is not available till one is old, but the money paid out to finance ego is lost forever.......

The beauty is, though, we all have choices and that's what matters at the end of the day

Yup - choice is good - I'd rather pay money and have a car I can enjoy while I am still able to drive it like it was meant to be driven than have more super but when I get to use it find I've gone blind, or got alzheimer's, or just not be capable of driving to full enjoyment, or heaven forbid worse.

I don't care for status (we are buying VWs not Mercs or Beemers), I care for driving pleasure...

If I couldn't afford an R36 and a 380 was the only option, so be it. It's better than walking.

[gerhard]

Yup - choice is good - I'd rather pay money and have a car I can enjoy while I am still able to drive it like it was meant to be driven than have more super but when I get to use it find I've gone blind, or got alzheimer's, or just not be capable of driving to full enjoyment, or heaven forbid worse.

I don't care for status (we are buying VWs not Mercs or Beemers), I care for driving pleasure...

If I couldn't afford an R36 and a 380 was the only option, so be it. It's better than walking.

Ha - you young blokes - youth is so wasted on you give me some back please

I'm 58 and can access my super already (although I'm not) and I'm not blind (maybe a bit one-eyed...), don't have the big A (um, what are we talking about again?) and, er - forgot what I was going to say........

[Rocket36]

It's funny when the older people look at youth, say it's wasted on us (although I'm not really "youth" at 29) and then ask for it back. Why ask for it back? Did you waste it? Or do you just want to take advantage of your current situation as a younger person?

Why can't a younger person take advantage of their youth and pay for it later when they won't necessarily be able to take full advantage? I think a lot of the time there is some resentment from older people who for the most part grew up with the mentality of "save for the future". At what point do you turn around and say "STUFF IT! I'm going to enjoy it now!"?

I completely agree with Swallowtail. I'm in a position to afford a reasonably nice car in the R36. Who knows what my situation will be in the future? Enjoy it while you can and have ZERO regrets I say.

[Lance B]

How about a low km 3.2 passat with the sports kit for say $40,000 plus?

Like the one I just traded for my R36:

[Rocket36]

Around how much did they give you for that? It's what my sister wants to upgrade her Golf GT Sport to.

[gerhard]

It's funny when the older people look at youth, say it's wasted on us (although I'm not really "youth" at 29) and then ask for it back. Why ask for it back? Did you waste it? Or do you just want to take advantage of your current situation as a younger person?

Why can't a younger person take advantage of their youth and pay for it later when they won't necessarily be able to take full advantage? I think a lot of the time there is some resentment from older people who for the most part grew up with the mentality of "save for the future". At what point do you turn around and say "STUFF IT! I'm going to enjoy it now!"?

I completely agree with Swallowtail. I'm in a position to afford a reasonably nice car in the R36. Who knows what my situation will be in the future? Enjoy it while you can and have ZERO regrets I say.

A lot of it is "tongue in cheek", my middle aged friend

No resentment here, I don't regret any of my passage to where I am now, and I wouldn't swap places with anyone ( except maybe Michael Schumacher or Richard Branson.)

I might consider swapping wives, though

[Swallowtail]

Ha - you young blokes - youth is so wasted on you give me some back please

I'm 58 and can access my super already (although I'm not) and I'm not blind (maybe a bit one-eyed...), don't have the big A (um, what are we talking about again?) and, er - forgot what I was going to say........

LOL... excellent post.

[Autopia]

I might consider swapping wives, though

Perhaps we should talk.