Mk4 R32 or house deposit??

[Leroy]

Buy the R32, you won't be getting any enjoyment out of the house while your living in London anyway and by the time you move in you'll be 5yrs older, maybe wife and kids and then theres no chance of owning a R32 cus all your money goes on mortgages and nappies and you'll spend the rest of your life wishing you'd done it while you were young.

You won't need to spend loads of money on mods cus the R32 has it all already!

Then when your ready to move out of london sell the car and put the money down on a deposit, it won't depreciate too much as it will always be a desirable motor and may even go up in value if looked after. The housing market isn't doing much at the moment and if prices start going up you can sell the car and get in while house prices are low.

[sveed1.8T]

Some interesting words of advice here... As it stands, I'm swaying towards the boring sensible option of saving up the deposit

Even in the depths of recession a  flat in London will always sell or let.

Not true.
I know of at least 5 people who bought places in London (some several years ago before the market crash, some more recently), but when they've come to sell and move out of London, they've not been able to sell. Result: nearly all of them are now renting them out. The other family are living in a 2 bedroom flat with 3 kids because they can't sell.
I would say, given the market, don't buy in London unless you plan to live there for a good long time.

If you're expecting to save a 14k deposit, if that's a 5% deposit, then that's a £280k mortgage, but would your salary be able to give you that?

A lot has to do with your circumstances.
Is your job secure or are you contracting?
Will you be able to get another job outside of London to achieve the ambition of living elsewhere?
Do you have family and where are they?
Are you single?
If you weren't single, would you stay in London for them?

If you are stuck in the position of needing to keep the current job in London for some time but don't want to live in London, could you buy somewhere outside of London and commute (baring in mind rail fares have gone up) ?

I moved to London for a job and to be near my girlfriend at the time.
Rented a place, got married, tried to buy a place but the market crashed and now can't get enough for a deposit. Then we had kids.
I also am in a media job that is very difficult to find anywhere outside of London.

While you have funds spare to save, do it. Get that deposit because you never know what's going to happen in your life.

I was looking at a little 2up 2down round Ely (North of Cambridge) which can be bought for about £120k-130k. Having a £14k deposit, would be my 10%.

My job is secure, and I have a salary of over £30k per annum and no debt.

I would be able to transfer out of London, but I will look to do this when I am about 30 (5.5years from now)

All of my immediate family live in Cambridgeshire

I am single (which is why I am able to save )

Rail fares wouldn't affect me much, as I have discounted travel.

I know a lot can happen in 5 years, but I want to aim to achieve my plans, and if it goes tits up I'll have to re-evaluate! There are no women on the cards to warrant worrying about kids just yet

Kids = No money (although they bring you things that money will never buy).

[najam90]

Hahaha car all the way!

I had saved up for 3 years for a house deposit. When it came down to the crunch I couldnt part with the money I  had saved up for just some bricks. So I went down to the local VW garage and bought a mk6 GTD 

[Raffe]

Suppose it depends on whether you wanted to pay your own mortgage or someone else's whilst you rent

[damien010685]

Hahaha car all the way!

I had saved up for 3 years for a house deposit. When it came down to the crunch I couldnt part with the money I  had saved up for just some bricks. So I went down to the local VW garage and bought a mk6 GTD 

Sounds like a great investment 

[najam90]

Haha sarcasm much! I know what you mean and financially I did make a bad decision.

But hey, what else could you expect from a 22 year old 

[VW BUSH]

I bought in a boom had I bought earlier in the slump I would be laughing more than I am now with less than the 12 years i have on my mortgage and sh!t loads more equity.

Instead I thought it would be a good idea to run a 240 turbo with insane boost and a new set of rear tyres every 3 months.
Was fun but all I want now is a workshop in the garden, given all the stupid things I did I think now I really pissed away too much money on cars.
End of the day do what you have to make yourself happy

[zebedee]

There is no reason why you cant do both here.

First off you need to get the house, this is a no-brainer. Without a doubt it is the best investment you will ever make, cars depreciate even well looked after classics may gain but an R32, a great motor nonetheless, is not a vintage Ferrari . Bricks and motor fluctuate in price daily but will always hold their footings.

6 years ago I bought a house with my girl and could have slapped my deposit down on a brand spanking mk5, but I didn't, I've waited ten years but have recently bought a decent mk2 and am in the process of having a full engine rebuild, all this at the same time as paying the mortgage/ bills etc.

I earn 22k per annum and my mrs is on minimum wage, but I still have money to put on the motor plus have a good holiday to the Caribean every year without borrowing or credit cards. If your raking 30k a year, careful planning and you can have both with no probs!