As it happens neither of them have so far learnt to drive - and see no need to .. maybe I've made a tactical mistake in terms of the service levels from dad's taxi inc.
So for several years our previous car stood on the drive awaiting its never to be role as a learning car and occasionally having its engine turned over or battery charged.
Although the learning car plan has not yet worked having a second car did come in most useful once my wife started her curacy. The old learner car sprung into action as my car whilst the wife got the newer one. Mainly because her need to use a car often seemed to coincide with my taxi duties for our daughters.
But what I did come across when we were looking at the pros and cons of getting the old car going versus buying a slightly used one - or maybe even a new car - was this new car loan finance market (new to me at least). Basically as far as I can make out its a bit like those £40/£50 a month mobile phone deals - you get the latest swishest model - but you pay about 4x the rate you need to given the data/text/minutes you're actually using - or in the case of the car finance - the mileage.
Once I'd discovered these car finance deals - which are something to avoid like the plague in my opinion - it suddenly began to explained how come there are so many new cars on the roads.
I'd always wondered how on earth so many people could afford those £80,000 drug dealer Range Rovers and now I know. They can't. Its just on the never never and has all the characteristics of the sub-prime mortgage disaster - unsecured loans on unverified incomes. With new cars sales last year at a record level apparently even the Bank of England is getting concerned at the level of car loan financing and what will happen if the loans don't get paid. So apparently if it all goes belly up they'll be a lot of 3 year old cars on the secondhand marker in 2 or so years.
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