Why are so many people buying new cars??

kluivert

Its not the end of the month yet and i dont recall seeing so many new cars on the road (06) so early on in the year.

Have people got more money now or willing to take out a loan for a new car.

This country has gone car mad.

Its alot of money to be spending, so why or whats the motivation behind buying new and is it recommended.

I know people are going to say...well at least you know its been looked after properly, but a few checks can clear that up on most cars hopefully.

Anyway if you bought an 06 car let us know what you bought and why!

samo

Friend of a friend is looking to buy an 06 Laguna...at a cost of approx 27k :eek: He still owes finance on his existing car which is 5k (existing car is perfectly good by the way!) so thats to be factored in as well.

He cannot be disuaded from going ahead with it and the amount of other perfectly good nearly new cars for the same kinda money that he could get if he wanted is staggering. He's not even bothered by the depreciation he's gonna be hit with when he drives it out of the showroom - well its his money not mine

Kinetic^

Its got to do with the whole "I've got a new car".

I have to say great if you can afford it but with the national debt rising I can only imagine that its all on borrowed money.

I feel sorry for those people who feel that they "need" a new car just to impress people.

I really hate "keeping up with the Jones", a friend's family had to give back the family car just because the mother wanted to have a BMW in the driveway. They resorted back to the car they had before the BMW.

All the finance companies are making a killing of these car sales.

BrianD3

Nothing wrong with buying a new car now and again but trading up every year or two just so you have a new car is a bit daft. I say let them at it. Think of all the VRT they are contributing to the exchequer If this country was like Australia/NZ where it's common to hold onto a car 15-20 years, we'd have hundreds of millions less to spend on health, roads etc.

el tel

Kinetic^

el tel wrote:

Excellent tel, just excellent!!!

maidhc

Finance is easy to get, a neighbour buys a new car every 3 years "because it costs him nothing", he gets his new car, and the finance house gets 3 more years of repayments. Simple as that.

Other people buy new cars because they do a lot of driving. It is easy to preach the virtue of s/h cars when you do low milegae, but people doing 20/30k a year will probably see a new car (along with the guarantee, roadside assist etc) as a must.

More people buy new cars because they have the money. My grandfather does this. He doesnt really have any other expenses, and likes getting a new car every two years. Fair play, it isnt the worst way to spend your money!

Creamy Goodness

this is what my mum does, she changes the car every two years to avoid massive depreciation.

at the moment she has an '04 1.4 golf which is fully paid for, so the trade in + depreciation value she can get a new car for 4-5k which she can afford as she doesn't smoke or drink.

seems sensible to me.

4-5k is nothing to pay over 2 years considering most people will go out buy a car on hire purchase and pay like 20-30k in 3-5 years.

Bluehair

Imho it's 'new car' syndrome for the most part, we all have more money than sense these days and the smug satisfaction from driving a new car off the forecourt is more than a lot of people can bear (especially now that credit is so easy to get).

Couldn't bring myself to do it. Take new laguna man mentioned by Samo above and imagine the second hand bmw, jag, merc etc. he could get for €27k...

HelterSkelter

I like people who buy new cars, if it wasn't for them I couldn't get my second hand cars for a bargain!!

Alun

HelterSkelter wrote:

I like people who buy new cars, if it wasn't for them I couldn't get my second hand cars for a bargain!!

Exactly! Someone has to do it or else the supply of good second hand cars would dry up.

Having said that, it can be quite difficult here sometimes to source second hand cars with exactly the spec you require, especially if you like your little luxuries, so maybe buying new is the only option for people who don't want the hassle, say, of importing fom the UK.

sandyg

I just got my 06 punto grande last week having previously owned an 04 fiat panda. My reason:
1) i had put up over 31k on the clock
2) panda was only a 1.1
3) saved up so i required no finance
4) More safety features in bigger car.
5) get 4 years warranty/AA membership so have hassle free driving.

Hubbie has ordered his new 06 passat 1.9 tdi. At present owns 04 A4 1.6 petrol. His reasons:

1) Too much depreciation on audi if left another year
2) requires a diesel with travelling he expects to do within the next 2/3 years.
3) He likes them!
4) He has his own savings to get it.

If someone wants to get a new car why not! Its not a case of keeping up with the jones. As far as were concerned. We work pretty hard for what we have and if we want to spend some of our savings on cars why not - u cant take it with you!:D Theres nothing like geting into a brand new car and driving out of the garage with it!!

pontovic

whats the deal with them 3 cups ? i dont get it

Bluehair

sandyg wrote:

Theres nothing like geting into a brand new car and driving out of the garage with it!!

Sure there is, it's parking my 3 year old fulled loaded 3-series beside your new passat, knowing i paid less for it today and it will depreciate less over the next few years than the passat.

Very satisfying indeed

(Then again as HelterSkelter and Alun have pointed out i probably should be thanking you lot for buying the new cars and allowing us to pick up the bargains a few years down the road! )

blastman

My thoughts as the new year started: "Hey, only another five years and this baby's eligible for classic road tax!"

jayok

pontovic wrote:

whats the deal with them 3 cups ? i dont get it

I think they are Mugs....

Kinetic^

pontovic wrote:

whats the deal with them 3 cups ? i dont get it

Mugs

maidhc

Bluehair wrote:

Sure there is, it's parking my 3 year old fulled loaded 3-series beside your new passat, knowing i paid less for it today and it will depreciate less over the next few years than the passat.

Buying s/h can be a very hit and miss affair. Your 3 year old BMW may expire on the road in 6mths time and it will be your problem, if the same happens the Passat it will be VWs. That means a lot to many people.

The Passat is a nicer car than the 3 series anyway!

Big Balls

So people want to spend their money on new cars... so what?

Maybe they have more disposable income than you? Maybe they don't like driving someone else's car which is out of warranty, has had the crap driven out of it and has knocks and scrapes on it...

Just one way to look at it.

Big Balls

Bluehair wrote:

Sure there is, it's parking my 3 year old fulled loaded 3-series beside your new passat, knowing i paid less for it today and it will depreciate less over the next few years than the passat.

Eh, the words fully loaded and depreciate less don't go together.

bazz26

Big Balls wrote:

So people want to spend their money on new cars... so what?

Maybe they have more disposable income than you? Maybe they don't like driving someone else's car which is out of warranty, has had the crap driven out of it and has knocks and scrapes on it...

Just one way to look at it.

I agree, especially the way the Irish in general treat their cars and the amount of rubish that is sitting on many forecourts. It is difficult to find a nice used car these days that hasn't taken some sort of abuse or not properly maintained.

But in saying that changing to a new car every year does seem like a waste of money. Ah sure everyone to their own I guess.

Big Balls

bazz26 wrote:

But in saying that changing to a new car every year does seem like a waste of money. Ah sure everyone to their own I guess.

I've changed every year since 2000 and the last two cars have cost the same per month, I just got a new car out of it but yeh you can waste a lot getting caught out.

Squirrel

My family gets a new car every 4 years, but it's a company car so costs us nothing, perhaps alot of new cars are company ones

t5pwr

SSIA is starting to be dished out this April... Expect to see more.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Im buying my first car in the next few months, it will be second hand, but if i had the money i would buy new. I own/have owned 4 motorbikes in the last 5 years, 2 were brand new and 2 were second hand. And the feeling of getting a brand new bike is great . Much better than buying a second hand bike

lomb

agreed, u cant put a price on the feeling u get driving a factory ordered new car to spec. its probably worth the 20% loss in the first year. sure ud probably lose 15% anyway, whats another 5%. another way of looking at it i suppose.

ordered a new golf recently, looked at used, but concluded id only save 3 grand(not alot if u are spending 25 and ul never buy at trade prices anyway), and it would be a year old then anyway.
also the spec that we wanted in red with automatic and the fsi engine option meant the chances of finding one used in ireland or the uk was nil , he offered a 2 grand discount off list, so i said feck it and placed the order:D tis alot of cash thats for sure no getting around that, but then ive seen people collecting 100 grand new cars and they dont blink an eye. i suppose it all boils down to how much money u have..

Dagon

Depends on the kind of cars you buy. If you're into Renault, Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot, etc.. then yes, my advice is to change it - if possible - every 2 years, otherwise it starts to give trouble and is expensive to maintain, and quite unreliable.

If you buy Jap cars on the other hand, then you can always buy second hand with confidence. You will never need to go new, and the concept of buying new seems pointless. My parents used to buy Fords, and they had to buy them new. Then they moved to Toyota, and ever since then it doesn't matter how old the car is, it just keeps going (1990 Carina with 280,000 miles still on the driveway as a second car!).

So depends on what makes you're into.

Airblazer

I bought a 05 Nissan Primera for 28k...reason I bought it...I get a 3 year warranty with it and for me that means 3 years worry free motoring..for me that's worth it..my last card was a 98 megane and the timing belt went at 50k..really pissed me off as it cost me about €800 to pick up a 2nd hand engine for it plus all the hassle of arranging a spare car...another mate of mine picked up a 2nd hand bmw for 22k...got a 6 month warranty with it and the water pump went on it another month later..since then they've had nothing but trouble with it..so for another few grand more she could have bought a new car without all the hassle..
Also reason why everyone trades in every 2-3 years is it minimises the depreciation and gives you the most value out of trading up..

unkel

Isn't it great? I love the looks of all those 06 cars on the road and I'd particularly encourage people to buy nice big executive saloons with all the options ticked. BMW 750i, Merc S65 AMG, Maserati Quattroporte anyone? Bentley, Audi S8, Roller? Yours for €200,000 or thereabouts. Go on, you know you want it

On my shortlist for 2013 / 2014 and within my €10,000 budget

kluivert

It just goes to show in a way that people do not know how to take care of their cars properly so that they live out a long and healthy life.

A car should last no problem up to 100k and deisel cars at least 250k miles. If taken care of. Walking to work this morning as the girlfriend has the car this morning, the rattles and noises coming from newish cars ie 01-04 was incredible. People just drive the crap out of them and say what the hell its under warranty and anyway ill trade it in every three years.

What a waste of money. If you buy a new car and take care of it and hold onto it for ten years, then you ll gain some money back.

Meaning, two people buy a the same, owner one retains the car for ten years and the other trades in every three years. Term loan is for three years ok. Average repayments say on a 1.4 06 Astra is 450e a month.

Now at the end of the three years owner two trades in and renews the term loan for another three years. While owner one has no futher repayments. Thats a saving over owner two of €37800 (450*12 Months*7 Years).

I dont know about you guys but if a car is serviced regularly ie every 6k and and well maintened inside and out, it'll run no problem. And dont drive the crap out of it.

I can think of better things id rather do with €37800 than waste it on a new car every three years.

prospect

lomb wrote:

i suppose it all boils down to how much money u have..

I don't really agree.

I know people that have oodles of cash, but will still go for a decent second hand car. Also, they will usually limit their spend to about €40K, even though they easily could afford over €100K.

The I know people who borrow to the hilt to spend €35K on a car when they really should only be spending about €20K on a car. These people want others to think they have loads of money...

Buying a new car is nice, I have had 3 brand new cars since 2000, but am kinda reluctant to buy new again. I would prefer to spend the same amount of cash on a 1 year old car, get a nicer spec car with a bigger engine and let someone else take the first year depreciation. Kepp that for 2 years, then get another 1 year old car.

maidhc

kluivert wrote:

I dont know about you guys but if a car is serviced regularly ie every 6k and and well maintened inside and out, it'll run no problem. And dont drive the crap out of it.

It might and it mightent. We have an *Avensis* sitting outside that is developing a habit of getting stuck in gear... despite the fact it got a new clutch and flywheel 12 mths ago to solve that problem. It has 80k up (4 years old). It was serviced every 10k by a main Toyota dealer. It also has developed a weird problem where the headlights dim for no reason...

Having said that, a car should last well if looked after...

lomb

known failure of avensis of their gearboxes, u mite need a new one:(
i suppose everyone wants new and its up to the individual to decide if he can afford it, same as anything else, everyone makes choices.

kluivert

Sounds like a gear linkage problem and not the clutch. If the gears not aligned properly you develop a problem whereby you wont be able to get the car into gear either.

The lights dimming for no reason sounds like a strip wire somewhere along the route to the headlights.

I could be wrong but nothing that a *proper* mechanic cant sort.

If you are unhappy with the work preformed by a mechanic you have the right by law to bring the car back and have it rectified.

Supply of Goods and Service Act 1980.

hartytkd

Airblazer wrote:

Also reason why everyone trades in every 2-3 years is it minimises the depreciation and gives you the most value out of trading up..

There are some problems with the maths here. When bought, a brand new car will loose 1/2 its value over the first three years. If you are lucky. Consider the following cases:

Case A:
Say you buy a car for €20,000. After three years it is worth €10,000. You have lost €10,000. If you then buy another new car, it will loose another €10,000 over the next three years. The depreciation will cost you about €3,300 per year.

Case B:
Suppose you instead decide to keep the car you bought and after another three years it is worth €5,000. The depreciation will cost you about €2,500 per year.

Case B will clearly cost you less than Case A. Other charges such as registration & VRT would make the difference greater. I have not accounted for wear & tear but as long as the mileage is not more than average, a six year old car should not incur significantly higher maintenance costs than when it was newer. Remember too that a dealer will always give you less on the trade-in than the car can be sold for on the market.

That said, if you are doing a large number of miles (say 25k per year), it would make sense to get a new car more often. But modern cars are designed to go at least 100k before needing major work (e.g. a new clutch or exhaust)

Just my opinion!:D
Gavin

DirkVoodoo

lomb wrote:

agreed, u cant put a price on the feeling u get driving a factory ordered new car to spec.

Couldnt agree more. While there are pros and cons to each one, it boils down to personal choice.

However, I remember reading an article recently saying that the 'brand new' car smell we all now and love is a toxic mix of chemicals. Bless those people at findarticles.com go here.

Its a small price to pay i guess, love that smell

maidhc

kluivert wrote:

If you are unhappy with the work preformed by a mechanic you have the right by law to bring the car back and have it rectified.

Clutch & flywheel was replaced before the warranty ran out. To be honest I dont think there is too much wrong. I always found the gearbox awkward, but since its not my car I presumed it was because I wasn't used to it.

Anyhow, totally OT, but it does show that 3-4-5year old cars can develop problems, and possibly expensive ones!

Ginger83

We used to change our cars every year due to high mileage but decided to take a different approach in 2004 and get two heavy diesels. I got herself a 1.8tdci focus and myself a 2.9td landcruiser, never had a problem with either since we got them. As we are not changing every year now we opted to take a holiday every three months or so.
( just enjoying spending it in a different way)

colm_mcm

If you can afford to change your car regularly, why not do it? Have a car that's in warranty, get the latest safety and refinement, you have to spend your cash on something!

lomb

pesonally im very dis satified with the state of new cars. i mean if the number of transistors on a microchip can double every other year, why cant they put real technology into new cars.
take electronic stability control with a yaw sensor, this can save lifes, see http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/recommendation.php
why isnt this fitted to main stream cars. the vw golf comes closest with ASR semi traction control but afaik no other 'normal' car gets it, why not?
then theres new engine technology, i had to pay extra to get a high tech 16 valve direct injection petrol in the mothers golf with the 8valve from the 1980 being standard, i mean come on!
air con is optional across the board, how dear can this really be to install?

new cars should all have high tech engines, climate control, abs, full traction control, independant rear suspension and remote central locking, fuel computers, sat nav screens, headphone interfaces for ipods/other mp3 players but how many of them do? as far as im concerned there is no real push for innovation in normal cars as the market doesnt demand it.

jayok

lomb wrote:

pesonally im very dis satified with the state of new cars. i mean if the number of transistors on a microchip can double every other year, why cant they put real technology into new cars.
take electronic stability control with a yaw sensor, this can save lifes, see http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/recommendation.php
why isnt this fitted to main stream cars. the vw golf comes closest with ASR semi traction control but afaik no other 'normal' car gets it, why not?
then theres new engine technology, i had to pay extra to get a high tech 16 valve direct injection petrol in the mothers golf with the 8valve from the 1980 being standard, i mean come on!
air con is optional across the board, how dear can this really be to install?

new cars should all have high tech engines, climate control, abs, full traction control, independant rear suspension and remote central locking, fuel computers, sat nav screens, headphone interfaces for ipods/other mp3 players but how many of them do? as far as im concerned there is no real push for innovation in normal cars as the market doesnt demand it.

I think the problem here is that you are looking at the wrong cars. Golfs for example are notorious for dropping those extras to get the base cost down.

Take the new (2006) Honda Civic all models have:

1. Vechicle Stability Assist (electronic stability control)
2. Newly developed engines (with the 1.8 putting out impressive power for the economy)
3. A/C
4. Fuel computers

Not sure but I think the bluetooth option is there for iPODs, etc. Top of the range Civic is €27k new. For €27k you could probably get a 1.4 Golf with Electric windows! The power of VWs marketing. If people keep buying 8v engines and pay top price for old technology why bother to innovate? It with only cost VW money. If you put yourself up to be fleeced then there's no point in complaining about it. :rolleyes:

BTW I have used VW in this example but there are others out there as well.

lomb

its not just vw which are quilty, toyota puts very little in its corolla, never looked at civic honestly, looked at skoda, and they dont have a golf type hatchback, only their combi octavia coming closest and again everything is optional and with the 16 valve 1.6 fsi, its golf money so id rather have a golf of course. never looked at honda tbh, sounds good though.
the only car that came closest was the mercedes a class, and at least they esp their cars, and have superb fuel economy and have a very innovative chassis. didnt go with that due to merc horror stories of late.

maidhc

These toys cost money, and an average Golf only costs about 10k when you take off the taxes and so forth! Also extra toys mean extra complexity and more things to wrong.

I'm sure some wise man once said the safest car you can drive is one with a spear sticking out of the steering wheel... there is an alarming amount of truth in this when people buy into the idea electronics can defeat the laws of physics.

unkel

lomb wrote:

new cars should all have high tech engines, climate control, abs

All cars sold in the EU have ABS as standard*

I share your points in general but all gimmicks cost money, initially a lot when they are new inventions and gradually less. Solution: buy a 10 year high end executive saloon. It will have more technology than a brand new mainstream small hatch like a Golf that costs very little to produce as maidhc rightly pointed out

Also any extra on top of a bare new car will attract VAT and VRT making it even more expensive


*except some special interest low volume cars for which the manufacturer has applied for an exception

Airblazer

the reason they're very basic is thanks to Bertie and co. with their outrageous vrt and tax... If you compare a new car you buy here with a new car in the UK the UK car will have loads of extras...actually these are not extras but standard in the cars over there...over here in order to sell the cars as cheap as they can they strip all of the so called extras out so negate the affects of vrt and tax..a classic example of this is for example a 2l diesel modeo..here the base lx model has frankly fuuckall in it while for the same money in the uk you'd get the zetec model..so thanks bertie u asshole..only for u we could all afford new cars every few years..

Balfa

Airblazer wrote:

Bertie

Ehh, I think the tax here has been high since long before Bertie's time.

alias no.9

Balfa wrote:

Ehh, I think the tax here has been high since long before Bertie's time.

There was import duty which the EU told us to abolish so Bertie, as minister for finance at the time, devised VRT, a tax so devious that the supposed nominal rates of 22.5%, 25% and 30% are really 29%, 33% and 43% becauste they're calculated as a percentage of the selling price, rather than a markup on the pre VRT price. Don't forget that the pre VRT price already has 21% vat paid on it.

Take the example of a new VW Golf 2.0TDi Comfortline, add in a CD changer, metalic paint, front fog lights and an alarm, the list price of this is €33,274 (according to CBG). The cost of building this and shipping it to ireland, the manufacturers, distributers and dealers profits come to €15020.83. Add to this 21% VAT and it jumps to €19013.71 but then Mr. Tax Man comes along again, using Berties warped calculations and adds his VRT resulting in a whopping retail price of €33274. The taxmans take on this car is €18253.17, 21% more than the €15520.83 shared between the manufacturer, distributer and dealer.

There may have been high tax here before Bertie, however, the current system is all Berties doing, including the calculation of VRT on retail price which hides the reality of how high the tax rates are.

kluivert

I was comparing prices in the UK to prices here in Ireland and Ireland are the same but the spec is lower has well.

Opel Astra SportsHatch Sxi in Ireland is €24500 approx
Opel Astra SportsHatch Sxi in England is £15000 approx

Convert to Euro the English car is dearer.

So i though ok if i buy new over in England import to Ireland, pay no UK Vat hold the car for six months pay no Irish Vat. Some may question the legal point on this :rolleyes:

Now the English Car is £12765 coverted to Euro at a rate of 0.6681 (Bank of Ireland) is €19117.86 + VRT (Revenue.ie) of €5275 = €24400.

Theres not much of a difference, we cant win either way can we.

Balfa

alias no.9 wrote:

...all Berties doing

Ah, informative and all new to me. Thanks for setting me straight.

Head The Wall

kluivert wrote:

I was comparing prices in the UK to prices here in Ireland and Ireland are the same but the spec is lower has well.

Opel Astra SportsHatch Sxi in Ireland is €24500 approx
Opel Astra SportsHatch Sxi in England is £15000 approx

Convert to Euro the English car is dearer.

So i though ok if i buy new over in England import to Ireland, pay no UK Vat hold the car for six months pay no Irish Vat. Some may question the legal point on this :rolleyes:

Now the English Car is £12765 coverted to Euro at a rate of 0.6681 (Bank of Ireland) is €19117.86 + VRT (Revenue.ie) of €5275 = €24400.

Theres not much of a difference, we cant win either way can we.

You have to prove that you are living in UK for one year and you have to own the car for 6 months and have to show ferry tickets etc to prove that the car has only arrived in the country recently. They are very strict on this now, we don't want the government to be losing any revenue, do we?

JohnBoy

what i don't understand is why people buy new suzuki lianas and hyundai accents as opposed to nearly new golf and foci and the like