CASH ALTERNATIVES

If the idea of borrowing a big lump of money and sticking every penny of it into a performance car that will cost yet more money to run sounds to you like madness, there are other options. You could squirrel £100 aside each week until you have enough to buy a car without the need to borrow a penny, while adding to a slush fund for running costs. After two years you’d have £10,400 to your name and a wide choice of desirable metal within reach.

Alternatively, you could lease a brand new car and drive with total peace of mind (although come the end of the lease term you won’t own anything at all). The Honda Civic Type R, Abarth 124 Spider, BMW M140i and Seat Leon Cupra 290 are all within budget on 48-month terms with around £3000 paid upfront.