Most Money you ever lost on a Car?

SIX PACK

Hi im just starting this thread out of curiousity because most of us who buy a car own it for a period of time lose a fair bit of dosh on it!!! personally i hav had a fair few cars since i start driving in 2004 & the most i hav lost to date was €4k on a 2004 peugeot 307 because of the recession only had it for a year.
So anyone else out there in the same boat? Or care to share the pain

mickdw

Typically, anyone could expect to lose4 - 5k per year on a new average family saloon.
4k is probably alot to lose in one year on a 5 year old car though.
If I was to sell my current car I would be losing best part of 20k since buying it new in april 2008. Hopefully that loss has slowed down now and I wont be losing much more over the next year.

Kashkai

I bought a FIAT Bravo in 1996 (it was European Car of the Year and Clarkson had also recommended it on Top Gear). It was the greatest piece of sh1te I ever owned and in the 6 months I had it, it was back to the garage on 12 occasions. I got rid of it after the 6 months and I lost £4,500 on the trade in which is the biggest loss I've had to date.

I went to trade in my 2005 Megane hatch a few months back (paid €20k new and it now has just 40,000km on the clock) and was offered just €7,000 for it. I decided to keep it and run it into the ground.

.Longshanks.

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I bought a FIAT Bravo in 1996 (it was European Car of the Year and Clarkson had also recommended it on Top Gear). It was the greatest piece of sh1te I ever owned and in the 6 months I had it, it was back to the garage on 12 occasions. I got rid of it after the 6 months and I lost £4,500 on the trade in which is the biggest loss I've had to date.

I went to trade in my 2005 Megane hatch a few months back (paid €20k new and it now has just 40,000km on the clock) and was offered just €7,000 for it. I decided to keep it and run it into the ground.

Off topic - but surely you didn't but the bravo on those two recommendations?

Vertakill

Longshanks100 wrote: »

Off topic - but surely you didn't but the bravo on those two recommendations?

There are people (*cough* some women *cough*) who buy cars for more bizarre reasons.


Back OT... I'll be looking, sadly, at around a 10k hit when I sell my current car after a little over a year of ownership.

There's obviously people in far worse situations that buy flops from brand new. ie. a VW Phaeton.

The Express

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I bought a FIAT Bravo in 1996 (it was European Car of the Year and Clarkson had also recommended it on Top Gear). It was the greatest piece of sh1te I ever owned and in the 6 months I had it, it was back to the garage on 12 occasions. I got rid of it after the 6 months and I lost £4,500 on the trade in which is the biggest loss I've had to date.

I went to trade in my 2005 Megane hatch a few months back (paid €20k new and it now has just 40,000km on the clock) and was offered just €7,000 for it. I decided to keep it and run it into the ground.

Buy any mainstream French or Italian motor and you'll be faced with thrown together sh1te, unreliability and financial loss. Been there before myself. People start learning their lesson which is why nearly-new Lagunas, Meganes and Alfas are so thin on the ground in the last few years.

Started buying quality, sought after 'german' motors - golfs, boras and octavia TDis - and never looked back. You might pay an extra 2 grand but you'll be rewarded and never loose your shirt, vest and bootcut jeans.

Did any one see anybody lately in a '08/'09 Chevrolet Nubira/Lacetti or Hyundai Accent? They obviously know nothing about motors - you can get one-year-old demos and ex-rentals (that were never sold) for half new price - if you were crazy enough!!

Senna

In 9 years of driving and about 8-9 cars, my current car will be the first to lose me money. Banger-nomics served me well in the past.

Senna

Senna wrote: »

In 9 years of driving and about 8-9 cars, my current car will be the first to lose me money. Banger-nomics served me well in the past.

Defo the way to go Had a company car for a year and since I am buying my own cars again am on my 5th or 6th in 3 years (5th currently for sale and the 6th is sat in my Dad's drive waiting patiently). Including purchasing cost, servicing, NCT fees etc (everything except tax, insurance and petrol / diesel) I have only dropped a grand in the 3 years, which I think is pretty good. They weren't total sh1tters either, 99 Rover 600, 1995 Celica SS2, 1997 Rover 400 diesel, 1993 Prelude and number 5 is a 1992 Merc 250 diesel.

Need to be semi competent with the spanners and fairly on the ball when buying stuff though, could get rightly burned otherwise.

I couldn't justify losing €4 / €5 K a year in depreciation to be honest, the company car I had broke down twice in the year I had it and she was only a few months old when I started the job, none of my bangers have let me down. Lots of folk can't understand why I bother, it's sort of an interest / hobby too. Each to their own .

Saab Ed

The Express wrote: »

Buy any mainstream French or Italian motor and you'll be faced with thrown together sh1te, unreliability and financial loss. Been there before myself. People start learning their lesson which is why nearly-new Lagunas, Meganes and Alfas are so thin on the ground in the last few years.

Started buying quality, sought after 'german' motors - golfs, boras and octavia TDis - and never looked back. You might pay an extra 2 grand but you'll be rewarded and never loose your shirt, vest and bootcut jeans.

Did any one see anybody lately in a '08/'09 Chevrolet Nubira/Lacetti or Hyundai Accent? They obviously know nothing about motors - you can get one-year-old demos and ex-rentals (that were never sold) for half new price - if you were crazy enough!!

I had to comment on this post because its all wrong. :pac:
Firstly there are nearly new Lagunas and Meganes everywhere at the moment ( aswell as Clios, old model Lagunas and even Twingos) what with the big Renault sell off on Autorola not so long ago and the fact that half the dealers in the country have pre-reged cars everywhere. Secondly ,to put the word Bora and "quality" in the same sentence is testament to your lack of knowledge on the subject. Octavias are Czech not German and if you ever paid 2 grand more for one of them overe and above another similar car then you were had . As regards not loosing your shirt on Veedubs then maybe Sir would like to view the attached list http://www.volkswagen.ie/templates/volkswagen05/pdf/VW_Stock%20List_Price%20List_Internet.pdf

only driving 14 months so not many losses..

bought a 1996 seat ibiza for 700euro of my brother, gave it away for free 6 months later when nct was due.

on my current car, a 1990 318is, there's no depreciation left and the car is in really good nick so won't lose anything on it. prob wont bother sellin it tho.. when i get a sensible 320d ina few years, i'd like to put an eaton m45 supercharger onto the 318is and have it as a fun weekend car. destroys the authenticity but good craic..



i'll never buy a new car unless i win the lotto.. it's a mugs game taking the first big hit of depreciation.

The Express

The Express wrote: »

Buy any mainstream French or Italian motor and you'll be faced with thrown together sh1te, unreliability and financial loss. Been there before myself. People start learning their lesson which is why nearly-new Lagunas, Meganes and Alfas are so thin on the ground in the last few years.

Started buying quality, sought after 'german' motors - golfs, boras and octavia TDis - and never looked back. You might pay an extra 2 grand but you'll be rewarded and never loose your shirt, vest and bootcut jeans.

Did any one see anybody lately in a '08/'09 Chevrolet Nubira/Lacetti or Hyundai Accent? They obviously know nothing about motors - you can get one-year-old demos and ex-rentals (that were never sold) for half new price - if you were crazy enough!!

Regarding the sought after cars you bought, any chance of you posting what you paid for them, how long you had the and what you then got for them come trade in / sale time. We can then judge what a shrewd chap you are

bazz26

The Express wrote: »

Buy any mainstream French or Italian motor and you'll be faced with thrown together sh1te, unreliability and financial loss. Been there before myself. People start learning their lesson which is why nearly-new Lagunas, Meganes and Alfas are so thin on the ground in the last few years.

Started buying quality, sought after 'german' motors - golfs, boras and octavia TDis - and never looked back. You might pay an extra 2 grand but you'll be rewarded and never loose your shirt, vest and bootcut jeans.

Did any one see anybody lately in a '08/'09 Chevrolet Nubira/Lacetti or Hyundai Accent? They obviously know nothing about motors - you can get one-year-old demos and ex-rentals (that were never sold) for half new price - if you were crazy enough!!

Sorry but that is hogwash.

anthony4335

1997 Ford Orion, Paid £2500 traded 9 months later for £1500, €1693/year
1997 Mits Mirage, Paid £5500 traded it 3 years later for £2500, €1270/year
1999 Skoda Octavia, Paid £14500 Traded it 5 years later for €6750, €2333/year
2004 Ford Mondeo, Paid €16400 sold it 3 yeas later for €8000, €2800/year
2007 Lexus IS200 ,Paid €18000, offered 8k in trade , €5000

Kind of makes me sick as to the amount spent on cars over the years.

klaus23

The Express wrote: »

Buy any mainstream French or Italian motor and you'll be faced with thrown together sh1te, unreliability and financial loss. Been there before myself. People start learning their lesson which is why nearly-new Lagunas, Meganes and Alfas are so thin on the ground in the last few years.

Started buying quality, sought after 'german' motors - golfs, boras and octavia TDis - and never looked back. You might pay an extra 2 grand but you'll be rewarded and never loose your shirt, vest and bootcut jeans.

Hahahahaha quality.

People like you are the reason that VAG Group cars have a halo effect when it comes to used prices. "Oh savage quality dem, here's a few grand more than its worth."

We have a 2000 Clio and a 1998 Golf TDi outside the house. Which one would you say is the more reliable? I'll give you a hint, neither have broken down, but one has constant electrical and build quality issues, the other just an appetite for consumables. One also cost twice as much as the other.

The reason there isn't a half decent Alfa left is because unlike Japanese appliances, they actually require owner input. While to some checking oil weekly is an inconvenience, to others its a small price to pay for a distinctly styled car rewarding at most levels that doesn't scream "I'm not brave enough to commit suicide" like a Corolla does.

The Express

bazz26 wrote: »

Sorry but that is hogwash.

Sorry folks, I shouldn't have generalised. I was merely giving an opinion. I forgot to add IMHO, IMO, etc.

1. Lots of new renaults on the roads are rentals. An informed source (dealer principal) tells me that the new Megane is particularly hard to shift to the retail punter. The latest Laguna is having a hasty restyle and production has slowed considerably as a result of it's warm reception early last year. Not so the new golf.
2. As the polo is made in Spain, the Jetta and Beetle in Mexico and the Toureg in the Slovak Republic, the Octavia - which is based on the golf, for all intends and purposes is 'german'. Except for it's reliability which is decidedly better (JD Power, Auto Express surveys, Which? Magazine, etc) That is why I inverted the word.
3. I am not A VAG worshipper but simply drive the models i know will be handy enough to trade-in.
4. I've had better luck with german and jap cars than french ones. The sought after part was tongue-in-cheek with a bit of truth.
5. Garage closures, SIMI sales stats and reliability surveys (JD Power, etc) speak volumes about the differences in brands of (perceived) quality and those with reputations for fragility and poor resale value.
6. Prosperous Dave: sorry to hear about your losses but the irony of your username made me spew tea out of my nose when I read your post. Best of luck mate.

Bazz, Saab and Klaus, I might disagree with what you say, but will always defend your right to say it.

Saab Ed

Deleted User wrote: »

i'll never buy a new car unless i win the lotto.. it's a mugs game taking the first big hit of depreciation.

I know this is going to sound like crazy talk but buying a new car today might actually be a much better bet than a 2 ,3 or 4 year old car in the short term . I'll explain. New car prices at the moment are on their knees. You can by some ordinary family sized, well speced cars at the moment with crazy discounts. I.E. Brand new Renault Megane 1.5 TD with all the bling. With all the discounts available to the dealer at the moment you can buy one brand new for about 16 grand. Thats 6 speed, AC, 17" alloys etc etc with a 3 year warranty or just take a look at a link I posted in this thread earlier. A brand new last of the old shape Golf for similar money. Now buy something like that and factor in that nobody is buying new cars at the moment , in 3 years time when the market is crying out for used cars you'll have just the ticket. Buy a 3 year old car today and in 3 years time you might just have lost the same amount of money as buying the new one ......just a thought.

sk8board

I notice that list of new VW's you posted also have 2 Gti's for 26k & 27k. Thats a pretty reasonable discount, assuming they have some kit for being end of line models, but in typical VW style I wouldn't bank on it

Volvoboy

€50.

Barr

Present car , cost 15k now selling for 7.5k. Half the price in just over 2 years :eek:

Saab Ed

Saab Ed wrote: »

I know this is going to sound like crazy talk but buying a new car today might actually be a much better bet than a 2 ,3 or 4 year old car in the short term . I'll explain. New car prices at the moment are on their knees. You can by some ordinary family sized, well speced cars at the moment with crazy discounts. I.E. Brand new Renault Megane 1.5 TD with all the bling. With all the discounts available to the dealer at the moment you can buy one brand new for about 16 grand. Thats 6 speed, AC, 17" alloys etc etc with a 3 year warranty or just take a look at a link I posted in this thread earlier. A brand new last of the old shape Golf for similar money. Now buy something like that and factor in that nobody is buying new cars at the moment , in 3 years time when the market is crying out for used cars you'll have just the ticket. Buy a 3 year old car today and in 3 years time you might just have lost the same amount of money as buying the new one ......just a thought.

i see your point.. but the falling price of the 09 car drives down the second hand price of the same 07 model. you spend less on pretty much the same car and i'm guessing that the loss after 3 years will be less on the 07 model.. i might be wrong since i'm not much informed on the industry to be honest.

Zube

Barr wrote: »

Half the price in just over 2 years :eek:

Why :eek:? That's not unusual.

Our '08 S-Max was hit by the VRT changes, and managed 50% depreciation in less than 2 years. Since I plan to keep it forever, it doesn't matter to me, it's value over 7 or 8 years that counts.

bubbles747

bought an opel astra 6 years ago for 8,500 euros and sold it without nct for 900 euros a week ago :mad:

Anan1

bubbles747 wrote: »

bought an opel astra 6 years ago for 8,500 euros and sold it without nct for 900 euros a week ago :mad:

That's what, €1300pa depreciation? Assuming nothing major went wrong with it it sounds like you did quite well.

Beta Ray Bill

I have my car up for sale for €9950 at the moment.
Bought it for €14,000 in April last year.
spent around €6000-7000 euro on it (Tuning).

LOSING A FORTUNE! (at least €10,000 in one year on an 11 year old car!)

CountingCrows

'01 BMW 320CI, bought it for 20K 2 years ago, sold it for 7,250 last month :mad:

Cuddlesworth

grahambo wrote: »

I have my car up for sale for €9950 at the moment.
Bought it for €14,000 in April last year.
spent around €6000-7000 euro on it (Tuning).

LOSING A FORTUNE! (at least €10,000 in one year on an 11 year old car!)

Amazing, it never occurred to me that tuning a car adds nothing to its value and will depreciate most cars even faster.

CountingCrows

CountingCrows wrote: »

'01 BMW 320CI, bought it for 20K 2 years ago, sold it for 7,250 last month :mad:

Bummer, worked with a chap 2 and a half years ago who was selling a 02, he wanted 20K for it, couldn't get naywhere near it, ended up keeping it.

Beta Ray Bill

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Amazing, it never occurred to me that tuning a car adds nothing to its value and will depreciate most cars even faster.

well it depends on the tuning done really
Most Evo V's are up for around 8.5k now. 90% of which have not been mapped for RON95 and are detonating. you can add octane booster but it's not really enough. Or you can go for the E5 stuff but its not ALWAYS 99RON. I know 2 car tuner that has tested this and have had significantly different results with what both claimed to E5.

I suppose if you keep the car its worth tuning. (if that's your thing like)

But in answer to your question:
Tuning adds very little to the value of the car.

E39MSport

RRS HSE bought July 2008 for 69,950 ,sold July 2009 for 37,500

af_thefragile

My sis got a 06 Megane Cabrio for about €35k.
She thought of selling it last year to get the Fiat 500 instead and was quoted €14k for it.
So she decided to keep it and run it till it falls apart!

E39MSport

af_thefragile wrote: »

My sis got a 06 Megane Cabrio for about €35k.
She thought of selling it last year to get the Fiat 500 instead and was quoted €14k for it.
So she decided to keep it and run it till it falls apart!

That would have been 2 months running for me and my rrs

OldmanMondeo

Have to say I have been lucky, lost around 1500 - 2000 a year on cars. Never much more. Best Trade in on a car was getting €500 less than I paid for it several months previously. Although I have looked at trading my current car and am getting offered between 7-10k on a car I paid 23k for August 2 years ago. works out at 6.5 - 8k per year. Will be keeping that for a while.

Also you not lossing money, look at it as spending money on your driving pleasures...

JohnThomas09

i bought my car 2 years ago for 5,500euro and have put around 2000euro on it since.I wouldn't get 2,000 euro for now if I sold it.

mickdw

E39MSport wrote: »

RRS HSE bought July 2008 for 69,950 ,sold July 2009 for 37,500

thats rough

BnA

I have never spent big money on cars so have never really been hit be depreciation. The most I paid was for a 02 MG ZS which was 8k. But even though, I have it parked up now and can't sell the freggin thing, it owes me nothing as I got 4 years and the bones of 80k miles out of it.

Although I did buy a Pug 405 once for £2,500 and sold it 4 days later for £150. It's amazing how attaching a post van to the front of your car will affect it's value.

no1beemerfan

I haven't lost anything in that I buy second hand and keep the cars!!

I still have my 1st car, my second car, my third car....which I'll sell at a profit...and still have my forth car!! :rolleyes:

BnA

BnA wrote: »

I have never spent big money on cars so have never really been hit be depreciation. The most I paid was for a 02 MG ZS which was 8k

This for sale at the mo ?

neacy69

Just been offered e1800 for my 03 Alfa 147 from the trade.....paid 8.5k for it bout 4 years ago....might keep it and drive it into the ground!


So 6.5k lost over 4 years = approx 1.6k per year....

alias no.9

I tend to buy cars that somebody else has already lost their shirt on, not necessarily pieces of **** but depreciation timebombs, post detonation. I plan for an average depreciation of €1k per year, but always do better than that with my best coming in at about €350 per year over 21 months of ownership and a little over 40k miles.

kazzer

As a general rule wheres the sweet spot when buying a second hand car?

galwaytt

kazzer wrote: »

As a general rule wheres the sweet spot when buying a second hand car?

.....imho, somewhere between hanging over the cheque and before the onset of Buyer's remorse (irrespective of price paid...........)

alias no.9

kazzer wrote: »

As a general rule wheres the sweet spot when buying a second hand car?

It depends on how long you're keeping it but 5 years on a model that suffers high depreciation is a good start if minimising costs / getting the best bang for your buck is your priority. It still depends on the car, the seller and your brass neck as a buyer.

alias no.9

alias no.9 wrote: »

the seller and your brass neck as a buyer.

I bought a 1999 Rover 600 off a dealer in Dublin in 2006 for €2300, he wanted €2900 and because I had driven from Cork though I would part with the cash, told him that he could take the €2300 or I would be going back to Cork without it. I sold that car in 2007 privately for €3500 in Cork

klaus23

The Express wrote:

2. As the polo is made in Spain, the Jetta and Beetle in Mexico and the Toureg in the Slovak Republic, the Octavia - which is based on the golf, for all intends and purposes is 'german'. Except for it's reliability which is decidedly better (JD Power, Auto Express surveys, Which? Magazine, etc) That is why I inverted the word.

5. Garage closures, SIMI sales stats and reliability surveys (JD Power, etc) speak volumes about the differences in brands of (perceived) quality and those with reputations for fragility and poor resale value.

Much as you'll like it dude, these are contradictions. The Skoda buyer taps into the VAG halo as a perceived, smart "Passat for less" merchant. Hence their opinion is subjective, as are all of these reliability surveys, completed mainly by people who don't know better, buy badly and then complain when it goes wrong.

Meanwhile the people who get their near new 320d covered up with a tarpaulin when it gets picked up after excreting a turbo out its exhaust declare their car to be bomb proof.

C.D.

The Express wrote: »

2. As the polo is made in Spain, the Jetta and Beetle in Mexico and the Toureg in the Slovak Republic, the Octavia - which is based on the golf, for all intends and purposes is 'german'. Except for it's reliability which is decidedly better (JD Power, Auto Express surveys, Which? Magazine, etc) That is why I inverted the word.

That is why, good sir, I must direct you to http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/. Compiled from warranty claims data, I would believe this to be a non-biased and accurate source of information. Ratings are based upon frequency of breakdown, cost of repairs and time to complete repairs. By brand: (lower is better)

wrote:

CITROEN 66.61
PEUGEOT 74.02
VOLKSWAGEN 84.75
SEAT 91.53
RENAULT 110.83
AUDI 142.35
ALFA ROMEO 158.4

FYI

Suzuki were the most reliable with 31 and Jeep with 231. It is common knowledge amongst motoring enthusiasts that VW's "reliability" is due to past glory and excellent marketing. I do find it odd seeing Citroen up there (relatively speaking).

In your defence Mr. Express,

Saab ED wrote:

Octavias are Czech not German.

Indeed, while members of the VAG group might have their HQ's around Europe and have their products manufactured in different locations, AFAIK Skoda, Seat et al use the older VAG platforms while Audi, VW use the newer ones- meaning that the Octavia is essentially an older VW in disguise. Coupled by the fact that parts are essentially bought en masse and centrally sourced and that manufacturing procedures and tolerances are probably not going to vary hugely across the brands and I'd be happy to say that when driving a Skoda you are essentially driving a "German" piece of Engineering.

PS In case anybody tries to say "Oh Mr C.D., you're not so right after all, explain why that if they are the "same cars" they have such different reliabilities in that fancy pants index of yours!". I made a post a few months ago about how newer gen products are inherently less reliable till manufacturing processes are streamlines, QC issues ironed out etc. Not to mention that fundamentally different demographs purchase the different VAG brands which leads to different usage patterns.


/rant

th hen

i lost 19k on a sti type r impreza last year. bought it for 14500 then blew the engine and cost me 5k to fix and put another grand in it with tires and stuff nad sold it 6 months after got it for 10,500 cos just was no buyers out there for sports car. more fool me !!!

gears

Had a Mazda Xedos 6 2.0V6 that cost me £4,650 it was actually a nice car until I put it into a stone wall 40min after I bought it. Only had 3rd party fire and theft ins.

"But honestly the wall jumped out and hit me....."

MarkN

I win I win

Ex demo BMW 335 coupe bought in Oct 2007 for 74,995, traded it in March 2009 got 45,000 for it.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

MarkN wrote: »

I win I win

Ex demo BMW 335 coupe bought in Oct 2007 for 74,995, traded it in March 2009 got 45,000 for it.

:eek: that got to hurt.

robbie99

Simeon Disgusting Submarine wrote: »

:eek: that got to hurt.

But the pleasure Mark must get from the M3 makes up for it I'm sure

MarkN

Simeon Disgusting Submarine wrote: »

:eek: that got to hurt.

Well if I'd had a massive bank loan in the 335 it'd hurt a lot more than it does.

Life is too short !