Well, here’s a surprise: paying up front for a car is increasingly falling out of favour with UK drivers, according to research from Close Brothers Motor Finance. Apparently, the proportion of drivers saying they will opt for finance, leasing or renting for their next car has increased by 6% (from 37% of total buyers in the car market in 2018 to 43% now). This trend is driven by the young, 60% of whom will borrow, lease or rent to acquire their cars, with the majority saying this was for lifestyle reasons rather than financial ones.  Although paying for a car up front is the most common way of purchasing a car, the proportion planning to do this for their next car fell from 63% in 2018 to 57% this year. So, yes, paying with cash is going out of fashion and that is very understandable for those who want a simple, uncomplicated and rather more expensive life.  At our end of things, rather than stumping up an initial deposit and then finding the easy monthly payments, you know what to do. Buy affordably used. And £5000 always seems to me like a sensibly solid budget to play with.  The first thing I see is a Land Rover Freelander, which is becoming something of an obsession. To me, it is an alt-Defender, at least until we become either happy or sad about the new one. So £5000 for a 2008 2.2 TD4 SE with a panoramic roof, leather and Bluetooth seems very reasonable, even with 106,000 miles.  Probably the most sensible family hatch of all would be a 2011 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi Zetec with just 57,000 miles. It has a full-up Ford service history and you will pay just £20 road tax. It may be evil diesel but officially you’ll get 67.3mpg, although anything near 60 is great going. This is a real no-brainer to buy.  Actually, if you need a cheeky little hatch that’s more recent, I’d steer in the direction of a 2015 Fiat 500 1.2 – a Pop Star model with 26,000 miles. Finished in white with air-con and service history, this is a pretty little thing to use on your daily commute.  If you just want to look dead smart, how about a 2012 Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI BlueMotion Tech Sport? That’s another 60mpg motor right there and all that sophistication for £5000, plus it looked as clean as a whistle and don’t worry about the verified 112,000 miles. Why bother going down the PCP route when there are beauties like this?  Paying for cash may be going out of fashion, but at least our old banger won’t depreciate or get repossessed. What we almost bought this week Chrysler Neon 2.0 LX: ‘Over-sold and over here’ was a typical put-down for the Chrysler Neon, but there’s no denying it made an interesting alternative to a Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra. The second-generation model (2000-2005) was much improved, at least in Chrysler’s terms, and LX trim brought air-con, electric folding mirrors and leather trim. This 2004 example has done 44,000 miles and is up for £990.  Tales from Ruppert’s garage For the past 40 years, my Mini Cooper has managed without a cigarette lighter. Just as well as I don’t smoke. But a 12V output might be useful in the modern world. I have never used a satnav in it (relied on maps for my last 200-mile-plus journey) and I often forget my mobile phone so don’t feel the need to charge it.  Anyway, I thought I would install one that I bought for a tenner. It took me a while to sort out because I am no electrician but, hey, we have some power. Not sure what I am going to do with it. The suspension is still broken.  Reader’s ride James McKinney is a regular on this page and here is something special. “Our fun car for high days and Sundays is an 11-reg Saab 9-3 convertible,” he says. “It has a 2.0 turbo petrol engine and auto ’box. We bought it in July 2016 with only 7000 miles up by one previous owner and with a full Saab service history. It currently has less than 20,000 miles on the clock.  “It is a lovely car to drive and has all of Saab’s renowned safety features. It exhibits virtually no scuttle shake and the build quality is very impressive. Not surprising given Saab’s avowed intention was to produce a convertible that was better than its BMW or Mercedes equivalent. In my view, having owned both of the German marques, it definitely is superior.” Readers’ questions Question: I’m tempted by a new-model BMW 320d Touring but would a nearly new, old-shape one be a more sensible purchase? Gary White, Southampton Answer: We know you just want permission to have the new-shape model. And why not? We tested the saloon and gave it five stars. BMW promises the new Touring will “handle even better” than the old one. Add in its three-year warranty, tempting finance deals… It’s a no-brainer, except that we found an old-shape 2019/68-reg 320d M Sport Shadow Edition auto Touring with 1800 miles for £24,889, compared with £38,955 when new and £39,825 for a new-shape 320d M Sport Touring auto. A saving of £15,000 sounds pretty sensible to us. John Evans Question: I’ve seen a 2015/15-
Origin: James Ruppert: why cash is king for used cars