[Colinevan]

Paul, Just a quick point as you may have overlooked an important factor.

If the insurance is free now, what would the estimate be for in 12 months time, i.e would it also cost you an additional £150 a month to insure. Of course that is on top of the figs of around £180 a month just to buy the car.

If your thinking of just keeping the car for 12 months, remember that the car will depriciate a lot in 12 months and may end up costing just as much to buy as paying scandelous insurance on a slightly older but better car (if that makes sense).

Iv had many new cars, but now sadly run that 306 dturbo that you see nowadays as iv learnt that i have literally spent 10s of thousands on cars in the past. With a super high mortgage at the mo, i sadly cant afford a new car anymore

As an example, when i was 18, i bought a brand new fiat punto s special edition. Cost 8k, i bought on a pcp (personal contract plan) and was going to keep the car for 2 years. I traded it on another Punto, this time a new punto Gt turbo. i think i got £3000 for that car in part ex and when i sold the gt on a few years down the line, i think i got 4k on what was a 13k car.

I learned that if i buy a better car, but older and paid slightly more insurance, it works out much cheaper over the time of owning a better car.

As an example, before the 306, i ran my much loved Bmw M3 Evoloution, Group 20 insurance, 321 Bhp, expensive servicing... But. I paid 10k for that car, which in theory was a 9 year old Bmw. I think in 18 months of ownership, the servicing was around £600 (specialist) Insurance was reasonable at £1300( the 306 costs me £230 as comparison ) and i sold that car on with approx another 7k miles for ...... 10K. If you rack up what that lot cost for running what i would consider a very fast and expensive car to run, it can actually work out cheaper to own and run a similar car that it would on depreciation on a new car etc and you get a much better car for the money.

The Bmw is prob a bad example to use, but im sure you see where im coming from. Theres planty of cars that meet the above critera .