Unbelievable Jeff

Not worth it for that many miles! Go a couple of years old, you've removed the worst years of depreciation, and you're still within warranty.

Really?? It turned out over 3 years I would pay £6000 less buying and driving a 2 year old X1 than leasing a Seat Leon?!

If you have the money to buy, or even to get a loan and buy a 2 year old car then do it. I did a spreadsheet a couple of years ago working out the full costs over 3 years of ownership and you save a ****ing ton by doing that, and you can also take advantage of ridiculously low interest rates. Do you drive to work?

Sounds about right. But how often do you give people lift? And do you actually need to do it. By the way, did he says about it being built by VW etc? I bought an X1, but it's too small. Quashqai will be as well.

Yep, 100%.

But why is it gambling your future? This is what I don't get. You're not putting £45k on the lottery. You're investing in yourself, and your ability to learn. If they come out with a degree, in general you will earn more than if you don't, and it will be more than the 9% you pay afterwards. I just don't understand these arguments unfortunately as it's all hypothetical. Just out of interest, how many of you that are arguing against tuition fees have actually paid them, for yourself and not for your kids?

Honestly Tokes, not messing about, the best car is probably the Skoda Superb Estate. All depends on how you feel about driving a Skoda.

Clever innit..?

He hasnt reviewed me yet from when we met up, as far as I know so don't speak too soon.

Business Economics and Law, apparently. Considering it's just giving out plastic discs with numbers on and counting the number of articles on the way back out of the changing rooms I'm surprised at how much they wanted...

I think we need more of these forum meet up with Pap. You could meet up with someone different each time Pap, and then post a review of the evening. It'd make everyone feel that little bit more like a family...

I agree with this, but as someone who got into a different industry to what I studied.

I haven't, and it probably isn't. Any profession that in the main looks to extract money that isn't in the economy isn't a good thing.

So what you're saying is that because the wages are poorer for non grads we should make sure everyone can go to uni? But that just dilutes the graduate pool and pushes down wages, surely? At least this way it's not always at the taxpayers expense, like it has been for years before. I'm not sure what pressure this puts on the applicant though, they have the debt for longer but as said earlier, it's at such a low rate it's not really noticed, and if had longer than 30 years it's written off...

That is utter rubbish that they have come out of a plethora of law grads. They've come about due to people trying to Americanise the theory of blame and negligence in this country. If the work wasn't there the companies wouldn't exist. To suggest those companies exist due to an over-abundance of law grads is utter bunkum.

I think you're missing the point though. People haven't been put off by the debt (although I would attribute it more to a tax) as the numbers attest to. The debt is a no brainer because it's such a low proportion of your income. It's no different to how it was before, except the tax will be for longer. Let's put it another way, using very basic figures. If you were told that you could go to university and earn 20% more throughout your life than if you didn't, but it was going to cost you 9% out of every pay packet, would you do it?

Plymouth is a stark example of a town regenerated by the size of its university, (although a lot of the lower half of town has now fallen into disrepair now everything is based around the University).

Superb video too...

They also have the choice of supplementing any loan with part time employment...

As I say, it shouldn't be seen as a proper debt, it's something you pay back as a small proportion of their salary when they earn enough. If people have read up on exactly what the debt is and how the payments are structured, and are then still worried about the debt, then frankly, I don't believe they are of the calibre to go to university. Sorry. As a doctor, with 80k of debt, let's say you start on 23k coming out of uni, and then get a 10K pay increase every year up to year 8, they will be paid off by the age of 40, and they'll have a very good wage to live off at the same time. What it will stop is people doing subjects like ****ing "surf science". Yes, they have a right to go to Uni and study what they like, but not at the taxpayers expense.

I think it does indicate that the poor aren't being priced out of University which was certainly one of the initial issues.

But it's not like a real debt. I left Uni with £16k worth of debt, and finished paying it off last year. Took 7 and a half years. But as I never had the money, I never missed it. But last year when I started getting £340 odd quid back into my wage packet it was worth a lot. We've had it good here for longer than a lot of other countries, and it wasn't really sustainable. Either way, I think it's silly to think of it as a debt that can be foreclosed on - you only pay it when you can afford to.

I never understood what the big deal was myself, and still don't. University education should not be free, but should also not be only accessible by the rich. This was never going to be the case as it's all done by loans? Hence, what's the issue?

For a lad in his mid twenties I reckon Richmond and certainly Barnes are a little sleepy and far out. Lovely places though, would love to live there.