What would you pay for a car?

barura

Sorry if this has been asked before. Would you buy a car brand new and keep it in good condition, service it when it should be serviced and keep records of everything and live with it for the next 10 years?

Or would you go the second hand route and hope for the best?

The reason why I ask is because a few friends have ended up buying second hand and gotten stung with high maintenance bills for head gaskets, clutches, etc. and by the end of the year the car is costing them (between tax, insurance, fuel) 5-6k a year to keep their cars on the road. We're talking VW golf's and BMW 316's here. It's like it's beyond them to think long-term with cars and in the end it's a false economy or at least it seems to be.

With cars like the skoda superb costing 25k~ and that's not counting trade ins and haggling. You would get a car which you know the history of and when it comes to selling you would be in a better position as such.

Or will I just go back to swapping the gearbox on my 97 polo and shut my mouth already? :pac:

bijapos

Bangernomics FTW!!!!!!!

Never brought a new car, never will either unless I become seriously rich. For me its simply the depreciation as well as interest lost as being the biggest cost factor in a new car purchase, it just doesn't add up for me.

I've had some luxury cars and some great sports cars like an Espirit, 300ZX, 2 x 911's and there is no way I'd have been able to afford these new, they were all 8-12 years old when I got them. I tend to hold onto a car for no longer than 6 months with a couple of honourable exceptions and now drive cars that I desired as a kid or teenager.

If your not worried about badge/size/plate snobbery and are happy with the Polo then stick with it. If your mates are happy to buy new cars, fine let them do that too, each to their own I say, life is far too short to be worrying about those things.

If you want, you can tot up the running costs of the 97 Polo for a year or two, then do the same with an imaginary Polo etc that you would have got new. Calculate in the depreciation, but also the interest costs on any cash you had to borrow to buy it or any interest you lost on the money you took out of the bank to buy the car.

Look at the difference after a year or two. Then calculate the amount of hours you would have had to work to not just earn that money, but instead how long it would have taken you to save that money instead. That for me is the real reason to drive a €2000 car. Money saved.

barura

Of course that is all true, but what about the peace of mind factor? I'm on my 3rd polo now since I was just getting to the one I wanted. 5 Doors, no power steering, 999cc. It only costs a pittance to run and that's the way I like it. A potential job where you have to use the car for work is another thing which is the problem I have in at the moment!. As much as I like bangernomics, it just doesn't cut it in the real world in some cases!

Bangernomics isn't for everyone. tis a minefield for folks who don't know their beans.

ninty9er

If I had the money I would buy a new car every 3 years.

There are pros and cons:

The main con is depreciation.

The pros:
You get exactly what you want in terms of colour, options, engine, body style, factory alloys, interior

You have a warranty that the manufacturer stands over.

If you are like me and keep receipts for everything you get done to a car it will add a bit to the saleability, if not the price.


the main reason I say this is because I'm not really a badge snob and would reather spend €50k on a top spec Mondeo or Insignia than an average A6 or 5 series.

I can be pretty much guaranteed that nobody would have the same car as me, unlike the suits driving around in a black 520d because the tax is only €156 a year and the neighbours got one last year.

Call me mad, but each to their own.

50k on a Mondeo is sheer lunacy

ninty9er

RoverJames wrote: »

50k on a Mondeo is sheer lunacy

Buying a €50k 5 series means you really can't afford a proper one. I'm not a badge snob, but I am a value snob.

Do you reckon a €50K Mondeo or Insignia offers any sort of value? A €50k 5 series will depreciate substantially less from new over 3 years in comparison to a top spec Mondeo or Insignia, your value argument is difficult to support financially. The actual cost of something and it's resale would in my view play a huge part in determining the value of it.

-Corkie-

I purchased a brand new car once and I would never do it again. Depreciation is just too much. You will get very good low mileage 2 year old cars with the spec you want for good money if you look hard enough..

ninty9er

RoverJames wrote: »

Do you reckon a €50K Mondeo or Insignia offers any sort of value? A €50k 5 series will depreciate substantially less from new over 3 years in comparison to a top spec Mondeo or Insignia, your value argument is difficult to support financially. The actual cost of something and it's resale would in my view play a huge part in determining the value of it.

"Value" is determined by many people as resale price. Value is about much more. The concept of satisfaction or utility comes in to question. Do I want the best of A or the basics of B.

If I have €70k then I'll consider a 530d maybe, but on an Irish scale, buying the cheapest item on the list is the sheep mentality of motorists that kind of makes the question redundant as the liklihood of finding what you actually want second hand is about as high as finding a needle in a haystack.

spiggotpaddy

mmm fifty G monde-signia eh?
"yes, sir does want a gold plated dip-stick, oh and one of those beryllium coated tow bars, and erm any chance of one of those holographic wives?"

on second thought, can i just a have a mercedes please.

ninty9er

A half decent C-Class is €45k before you tick a single box on the options list.

Hub-caps, no thank you.

Eric Cartman

bangernomics is fine if you know a decent amount about cars and dont mind doing a few bits yourself.

buying new cars can have problems too, only benefit is a warranty but you can get that 2nd hand too.

best thing about a new car is getting it the way you want, best thing about 2nd hand is you can get a car you could never ever afford new (m5, quatroporte etc..) at the moment for half nothing.

-Corkie-

RoverJames wrote: »

50k on a Mondeo is sheer lunacy

Or worse still for a Golf...

http://www.volkswagen.ie/ie/en/models/golf/golf_gti_gtd/features_and_colors.supercategory-TabGroup_0001.category-TabGroup_0001_Tab_0001.variation-selmodelvariants-sel2.html

mickdw

IMO there is an argument to be made for buying a new car every 3 years if its a car priced at maybe 25k or so maximum and is something sensible that will have reasonable resale. , it will probably have 4k to 4.5k depreciation per year. Considering, you should have no repair costs and very tiny maintenance costs together with low tax and excellent fuel efficiency, it will prove reasonably cost effective. Compare it to something cheap that might eat miles at a similar rate and you would be looking at quite possibly 1000 repairs, 500 extra tax minimum, most likely extra fuel and alot extra fuel if going the bangernomics large petrol route (for cheap purchase price) and also there will be some depreciation even on a cheap car. So a new passat for example is probably costing 2500 to 3000 per year extra over an old thing. That is a no brainer for some as they dont want any risk re unwanted bills and they certainly dont want to be stuck with something unreliable.
I dont think anything more expensive than that makes any sense though. The loss is just too high. I wont be buying new again for the foreseeable future unless I had to go for a basic diesel for some reason. Cant see it happening though.

conzy

I dont know If I will ever buy a new car. I know some people really dont care about cars and buying a car is like buying any other appliance (albeit an expensive one).. When I see someone spending 20k euro on a brand new 1.4 Golf or something it turns my stomach ha.. I keep thinking of all the amazing used cars they could have bought with that much money...

But then again if you dont like cars and it just a neccesary tool to get you from A to B then the maintenance free car with a never ending warranty is they way to go

barura

That's my problem! I like cars but need something reliable with a big boot for moving stuff in. I know getting a van would be the obvious option but running two vehicles is an expense that I can't afford.

Eric Cartman

barura wrote: »

That's my problem! I like cars but need something reliable with a big boot for moving stuff in. I know getting a van would be the obvious option but running two vehicles is an expense that I can't afford.

a 4x4 perhaps ? a landcruiser, Kia sorento, Pajero ?

conzy

barura wrote: »

That's my problem! I like cars but need something reliable with a big boot for moving stuff in. I know getting a van would be the obvious option but running two vehicles is an expense that I can't afford.

M3 and a horsebox

dr.fuzzenstein

I personally think it is lunacy to spend E30k on a new car "to save on repair bills".
My CMax cost me E8k, it's an '06 and I don't think that anything would go so horrendously wrong on it that it would be more expensive than the depreciation of a new one.
Of course, having said that, if everyone would think like that, no one would buy new cars in the first place and second hand ones would be rare and expensive, so we need both sides.
If I had money (which I don't), I would buy one new car (Honda S2000), one old car (Mercedes W123 280 either 4 door saloon or 2 door coupe, haven't decided yet, maybe both), one old banger for shopping (might keep CMax, get a Transit Connect or maybe an ancient Landrover), maybe something really fast (Lambo's tickling my fancy) and maybe a few bikes (haven't a licence, but who knows?).

barura

Eric Cartman wrote: »

a 4x4 perhaps ? a landcruiser, Kia sorento, Pajero ?

All have crossed my mind. Problem is in winter the ice will hockey me silly as I live beside a very steep incline. Buying anything that can handle these situations that's cheap will probably have had it's day in the fields as a part time tractor! So going the whole hog(or near enough) will be the way to go, unfortunately! A landcruiser would be realllly tasty though! 60k for the people carrier version and that's not counting tax and lark! Looking at the run of it, it would be more economical to move house! Hopefully something will spring up when the time comes to buy the car come next summer!

conzy

Have a look on the commercials section on DoneDeal theres an unbelievable amount of jeeps being added (around 50 per day!) You could get a nice one for peanuts and convert it back to private.

barura

If I had the cash on hand to... I can assure you, I would!

Solnskaya

I think ye are all very posh! I buy cars that cost sub €1200, preferably sub €1000. Has to have new nct, ideally a bit of tax. I service it once, and then drive it, till it bores me or dies. Most just bore me, some die, some the nct expires. Then I get another. Usually go for saloons, 1.8 to 2.0, generally petrols. If when i'm done someone asks to buy it, it gets sold, if not it sits till I have a clearout and they go for scrap.
I used to buy new or nearly new, and had some nice cars, but it breaks my head to watch them collect scratches, kid debris and big maintenance bills plus massive depreciation. You don't need to drive a banger, some nice enough cars for 1k at the mo, and I can then relax and ignore dents, scrapes, depreciation etc. Also, when a 1k car dies, who cares, just go git another, nothing to cry about.
If I get six months, I'm chuffed. At about a year, I'm starting to hope the fecker dies so I can get somthing else. Not for everyone, but it works for me. On the ice front, a front wheel drive with winter tyres beats a jeep everytime. I know, last winter the only thing that kept going for work was a ratty citroen van with winters- drove like normal on even the iciest roads and hills.

barura

I'm going to go that way with the winters on my polo... But when the winter comes I think I'm just going to have to leave my car at the bottom of the hill. And put a blanket over the bonnet to keep the engine cosy overnight!

Eric Cartman

conzymaher wrote: »

Have a look on the commercials section on DoneDeal theres an unbelievable amount of jeeps being added (around 50 per day!) You could get a nice one for peanuts and convert it back to private.

i would strongly adivse against this

also with the tax mentality, the passenger ones are the same price / cheaper

barura

Eric Cartman wrote: »

i would strongly adivse against this

also with the tax mentality, the passenger ones are the same price / cheaper

Oh don't I know it. My adventures in wanting a commercial vehicle and insuring it privately were long winded...

conzy

Eric Cartman wrote: »

i would strongly adivse against this

also with the tax mentality, the passenger ones are the same price / cheaper

Never thought of that! Yeah tax is going to be 1300 euro when its private and that must drive down the price of the private ones.. I just thought it might be easy to get a nice cheap NAMA developer jeep