When to buy a second hand car

viztopia

Have to buy a car and will go down the second hand route. Given that its now October nearly November would I be better waiting until the year price wise? I mean if I buy a 2 year old car now it will cost x. If I buy it in january then it will be a year older and should cost less but does this actually happen?

biko

Were you thinking of using a dealer or go private?

Yakuza

In terms of value, cars do "age" on the first of January* (even if the car was registered in December) so you could push for a discount based on the fact that it's almost the end of the year. There are a few things to consider:

• How anxious the seller is to sell the car?
• Is it a niche car with limited demand?
• As noted above, is it a private seller or a dealer (a main dealer might be glad to get a car off his forecourt to make room for 141 stock)

*and July now, for the new 131/132 cars

viztopia

haven't thought about private or dealer. would prefer dealer as I may have a bit more comfort if something went wrong with the car.

Bigus

In general terms you're correct, but it depends on the type and value and availability of the model you're after, give us a hint of what you have in mind, ie it's a good time of year to buy a convertible.

viztopia

have three kids and currently have a vw Passat. looking for something bigger and don't like the purpose built cars like the vw sharan so was thinking of a skoda superb. plenty of room in the back of the car

dnme

viztopia wrote: »

have three kids and currently have a vw Passat. looking for something bigger and don't like the purpose built cars like the vw sharan so was thinking of a skoda superb. plenty of room in the back of the car

I'm just wondering and please don't take this the wrong way, but is a Passat not big enough for 3 kids ? Are you sure that's the reason you want to change ?

Anan1

viztopia wrote: »

Have to buy a car and will go down the second hand route. Given that its now October nearly November would I be better waiting until the year price wise? I mean if I buy a 2 year old car now it will cost x. If I buy it in january then it will be a year older and should cost less but does this actually happen?

Cars are always depreciating, but there will be a lot more supply (due to people trading in for new cars) in the new year, which should further depress the price of used cars. Of course your current car will be worth a bit less too, but you should still make a saving.

viztopia

dnme wrote: »

I'm just wondering and please don't take this the wrong way, but is a Passat not big enough for 3 kids ? Are you sure that's the reason you want to change ?

Cant fit three seats into the back. They are aged from 3 down and its not your standard booster seat.
Slso the passat is 12 years old now so no harm changing anyway!