Buy a newish car v buy used.

kluivert

What are peoples opinions on this please.

I would like to get a newer car however repaying 20k over 5 years doesnt appeal to me, id rather pay 9k over three years if you get my drift, but I would like a newish car.

I have owned a 8 yr old clio, a 10 yr old clio and currently own a 7 yr old Astra bought two years ago.

I would like to buy the new Astra Sportshatch 1.6. I can get it for around 21000e 2006 with delivery mileage - 5000 miles.

The repayments on that would be about 450e a month compared to say buying a 5 yr old car where repayments would be half that. I suppose on trade in of the newer car, the next cars repayments would be lower.

My question is which do people go for, its not about affordabililty, its about spending all that money on a car that is going to lose its value after five years.

DO people generally go for the newish or buy well used cars. Just like to hear your opinions on the matter because I am 50/50 at the moment. Normally turn around and say, sure ill hang onto my car for another year.

3ps

company car = new car
you = buy something 2-3 years old and sell after 2-3 years

maidhc

kluivert wrote:

DO people generally go for the newish or buy well used cars. Just like to hear your opinions on the matter because I am 50/50 at the moment. Normally turn around and say, sure ill hang onto my car for another year.

When I was looking for a car I was considering everything from a €600 Mondeo to a €26k Octavia Elegance. I ended up with an €11k Focus!

kluivert

Ok but would you consider paying big money for a car that you really would like to have and own even its going to put a dent in your wallet of 450e month compared to 200e at the moment.

Is the extra 250e a month worth the expensive of owning a newer car though.

Cyrus

i normally buy secondhand cars, i decide on a budget and look for the best car i can get. I had 20k this time around and bought a 2000 bmw 323ci with 50,000 miles and every extra possible.

To me id prefer to own this car over a newish astra or golf, and in a years time (i normally keep for 12mths) the bmw will probably have lost less of its value than either of those cars.

Also as i sell privately and buy from dealers i am in a good position to haggle, and as the car is fully serviced when i bought it, i may never need to pay for a service myself.

I did this the last two times and in both instances made no less when reselling the car. Car one was an alfa 156, bought for circa 6k and sold 9 months later for 6k, then a golf gti bought for 15k and sold for 15k 9 mths later

kluivert

Good point there

The BMW is rated the best car for holding its value.

Ford Opel are not to high up there.

maidhc

kluivert wrote:

Is the extra 250e a month worth the expensive of owning a newer car though.

Umm depends on your monthly income and expenses really!

For me right now the answer would be no. In two years time I hope it to be yes!

qazz

Buy new one when you want to keep it for 10 years. If it's the car you really want. But if you need only something to drive to work or shopping buy used one and keep rest of money. I have 98 laguna for 3250 in perfect condition and it does the job. I can get everywhere and it looks nice (17" alloys). So in my opinion spending 21k for a car you'll sell in 2-3 years is ... silly. There's always something more important than a car. If I had 20k I would buy an ordinary car up to 5k and a 68 Mustang for weekends or something like that...

Henry Ford III

kluivert wrote:

I would like to buy the new Astra Sportshatch 1.6. I can get it for around 21000e 2006 with delivery mileage - 5000 miles.

Was that delvery to Singapore?

Cyrus

kluivert wrote:

Good point there

The BMW is rated the best car for holding its value.

Ford Opel are not to high up there.

Indeed

another point to note, the depreciation curve on a car will flatten over time, obviusly being at its steepest in the first 3 years.

Also i also try and get the most desirable extras on whatever model it is, that way, altho you may not be able to sell the car for more, you should be able to sell it more quickly

m_stan

to me, the answer to these type of questions boil down to one thing - do you have a mortgage or not ? If you do, the best thing to do is pay as much as you can afford off your mortgage to reduce the term (not the monthly installments) and spend the rest on a car. This will save you a fortune in the end, since you are paying incredible interest on a mortgage over 20-30 years. Reducing the monthly payments does little - its the term you want to be reducing, as you are therefore reducing the interest you are paying.

The likelihood is that even if you bought a great car, the excitement would wear off pretty soon.

Personally in the past I've bought 4-8yr old cars and sold them on after a few years. I've always bought with cash - money I've saved up and never had a car loan - the rates are a joke. I'm far from loaded - just prudent I guess.

My next car will be a 3/4yr old A4 which I'll go over to the UK and buy and import, and I'll pass it on after 12months and get another one, hopefully losing little in the end.

My 2c.

DublinWriter

kluivert wrote:

My question is which do people go for, its not about affordabililty, its about spending all that money on a car that is going to lose its value after five years.

Nevermind 5 years, it will depreciate by €3,500 in the 30 seconds it takes you to drive it out of the showroom.

colm_mcm

how about getting the 06 Sporthatch and doing a baloon payment after 5 years. let's say €8,500, (the car would surely be worth that after 5 years) and bring your monthly payments down to roughly € 270 per month. (ish)

Kashkai

Yeah its great having a brand new car, the new smell inside, the 06 plate, the "look at me all you 03, 04 and 05 drivers". I know, I've been one for the past few years.

However the downside - the waiting for the first scratch, dent etc (it WILL happen)

The awful feeling in December when you know that in a few weeks your new car will be a year old and therefore not new anymore.

The massive depreciation on new cars. As soon as you leave the showroom, they are worth less than the loan you take out to pay for them.

A few posters have already given great advice on the best way to save money, i.e. buy 3 - 4 year old cars as they have already taken their biggest depreciation hit, buy premium models as they hold their value better, buy new and run them into the ground etc.

There is another option, I recently went to my local Renault garage to buy the wife a Grand Scenic. While there the salesman told me he had a few pre-registered models in stock that Renault had registered in 2005 to boost their sales figures but they never sold them. Now while these cars were technically a year old, they only had 5 km (yes just five) on the clock. A new megane was retailing at €23k. I got one of these pre-registered meganes for €17k, a saving of €6,000 on what to me is a brand new car.

You could try to get something similar or you could try to buy one of the Hire car fleet models that usually come back into the showrooms in September/October and retail for thousands less than a new model. The only downside with these are that hire cars can be thrashed a little by tourists.

Good luck with the decision.