Credit search experian - available credit = > £94K !!

[northernladuk]

Next step is getting a car loan. Any suggestions on contractor-friendly companies before I waste a load of searches?

(YES, I know real contractors dont do loans they pay cash).

But, dont want to touch warchest. No good having nice car and then find no contract and zero available cash.
Current car is knackered so need one. Old, unreliable, 130K, 28mpg (diesel!).

Loan seems sensible option at least. Mrs currently driving £300 daewoo matiz which is ok but would prefer a safer car for her and kid also....

If she is happy with a car like the Matiz then I would recommend the Toyota Aygo. 60+mpg, no tax to pay can seat 4 in comfort and still get to 90 on the motorway (wind direction permitting),

Our local Toyota garage gave us a better finance deal that possibly worked out better than a loan after a lot of pushing particularly when considering warranty, free servicing, no MOT etc. £150 a month and no extra road going costs. Was pretty pleased with it. This is second we had, thought about buying first one off them after 3 years etc but it just wasn't worth it. New car every three years at that price. Sorted.

[northernladuk]

50K credit is still excessive as well IMO. That is still going to very seriously affect your ability to get a good sized loan or morgage in the future. I had £30k and caused me problems, particularly when I wanted a credit card to save me money and they capped the credit limit. Shot myself in the foot thinking open credit was going to help me and in the end it didn't.

[formant]

If she is happy with a car like the Matiz then I would recommend the Toyota Aygo. 60+mpg, no tax to pay can seat 4 in comfort and still get to 90 on the motorway (wind direction permitting),

Oh god, I had an Aygo as a hire car while my Smart was at the garage. Worst thing I've ever driven - slow and did not feel safe at all. I thought my smart accelerated slowly - compared to the Aygo it's super fast.

I'm upsizing to a Fiesta shortly. Need 5 seats. Would go for a Volvo C30 if 4 seats would do (our other car is an XC90, love Volvos...)

[psychocandy]

Oh god, I had an Aygo as a hire car while my Smart was at the garage. Worst thing I've ever driven - slow and did not feel safe at all. I thought my smart accelerated slowly - compared to the Aygo it's super fast.

I'm upsizing to a Fiesta shortly. Need 5 seats. Would go for a Volvo C30 if 4 seats would do (our other car is an XC90, love Volvos...)

Can't be as bad as a matiz - 850cc of 3 cylinder power.....

To be honest, thinking of a 2nd hand merc a class....

[psychocandy]

50K credit is still excessive as well IMO. That is still going to very seriously affect your ability to get a good sized loan or morgage in the future. I had £30k and caused me problems, particularly when I wanted a credit card to save me money and they capped the credit limit. Shot myself in the foot thinking open credit was going to help me and in the end it didn't.

Better than 95K I guess but maybe I need to so some more trimming then.

£30K is like 2 credit cards!

I know what you mean though - its reassuring to have the credit there even if you never use it - 'just in case'.

[Troll]

Current car is knackered so need one. Old, unreliable, 130K, 28mpg (diesel!).

130k isn't that much for a diesel - my 17 year old 4x4 currently has 260k on it & is going strong

[psychocandy]

130k isn't that much for a diesel - my 17 year old 4x4 currently has 260k on it & is going strong

Yeh I know but, apart from that, the car is falling apart. And it only does 28mpg so upgrading to a decent diesel will save a few bob here.....

One thing you do need as a contractor is the ability to actually get to the client. No phoning in sick cos the car breaks down etc. And last thing I want to worry about is whether my motor is going to get me to site or not....

[psychocandy]

If she is happy with a car like the Matiz then I would recommend the Toyota Aygo. 60+mpg, no tax to pay can seat 4 in comfort and still get to 90 on the motorway (wind direction permitting),

Our local Toyota garage gave us a better finance deal that possibly worked out better than a loan after a lot of pushing particularly when considering warranty, free servicing, no MOT etc. £150 a month and no extra road going costs. Was pretty pleased with it. This is second we had, thought about buying first one off them after 3 years etc but it just wasn't worth it. New car every three years at that price. Sorted.

Hmmm. Might look at that option.....

She cant complain about having a slow crap car cos she's got another car as well which is like a 'play' car. A classic mini which she does about 2000 miles a year in.

Insurance is cheap and, in the winter, it gets wrapped up on the driveway so no tax for a few months either.

[northernladuk]

Oh god, I had an Aygo as a hire car while my Smart was at the garage. Worst thing I've ever driven - slow and did not feel safe at all. I thought my smart accelerated slowly - compared to the Aygo it's super fast.

I'm upsizing to a Fiesta shortly. Need 5 seats. Would go for a Volvo C30 if 4 seats would do (our other car is an XC90, love Volvos...)

Apples and pears. Smart is a two seater, Aygo isn't so different market. Looking at the Frontal impact stats for a Smart car I would argue the saftey bit...

Was trying to give an option that was similar to the matiz. To be fair I wouldn't personally have either but SWMBO loves hers and for the money I have to admit it does the business.

[psychocandy]

Apples and pears. Smart is a two seater, Aygo isn't so different market. Looking at the Frontal impact stats for a Smart car I would argue the saftey bit...

Was trying to give an option that was similar to the matiz. To be fair I wouldn't personally have either but SWMBO loves hers and for the money I have to admit it does the business.

Aygo looks good. Apart from 4 seater not 5. Is that true?

Even the matiz (in theory) has got 5 seats.