Nearly new cars: where's the catch?
Comments
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I do not understand this. New cars can still have issues. A few months in, if yours has developed no rattles, squeaks, or vibrations, then you’ve likely got a good one, and ai would then enjoy it for a few years.gettingtheresometime wrote: »My neighbour has a new car every 6 months. Just waiting for the 18 plate to turn up
Getting a new one every six months would drive me mad, having to inspect it, get the paintwork corrected, get the running-in service done etc.0 -
gettingtheresometime wrote: »My neighbour has a new car every 6 months. Just waiting for the 18 plate to turn up
I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and say she has connections with a manufacturer, has a company car or is related to someone who is in a manufacturers friends and family scheme.
A private buyer changing a new car every 6 months would almost certainly be madness.0 -
IanMSpencer wrote: »
There are a few idiots who like having new cars.
If they're buying new and changing their car every few months, then most likely yes, however there are many reasons why people otherwise buy new particularly with so many incentives in place currently from manufacturers.0 -
If you change cars often, you don't care about paint correction, running in or running in service, etc. You just drive it and hand it back. Not caring is much cheaper than caring.Getting a new one every six months would drive me mad, having to inspect it, get the paintwork corrected, get the running-in service done etc.
It's probably company car anyway, so your neighbour is not bothered with all these.0 -
I know 2 people who have bought nearly new cars (one 9 months old, one 12 months old) which turned out to be complete lemons
One had been in an accident and severely damaged (but not written off) but very poorly repaired under the surface which is probably why the original owner got rid of it. The new owner had no end of problems with it which weren't covered by the normal manufacturers warranty so he had to fight each time to get sorted
The second had a recurring fault where the airbag fault warning light would light up, the garage would reset it and 2 weeks later it would light up again. They just didn't seem able to cure the problem (perhaps why the original owner got fed up & got rid of it) and after a few months the second owner got rid
There are doubtless some good second hand nearly new cars but anyone buying one needs to satisfy themselves about the history of the car before purchasing0 -
If it is from a main dealer, it will come with a full inspection that is manufacturer backed. Your £200 would be wasted.SouthLondonUser wrote: »Thanks. Would you pay for a pre purchase inspection by the likes of the AA or RAC (ca. £200), or would you think there's no need, given the warranty?
My last two cars were about 6 months old and were sales staff company cars from car dealerships. As others have said, car showrooms like to have the latest model to demonstrate and also need to turn over an agreed number of cars per month, resulting in a number of nearly new cars for sale each month.
Main dealers should be able to source similar cars from other main dealers too, so if you are looking for a specific colour/trim/engine variant, ask and see what they come up with. There should not be a delivery charge if you are prepared to wait a few days for a spare space on a car transporter.
My current car (6 month old) came from a main dealer 200 miles away, arranged through the local dealer... no extra charge for delivery.0 -
I know 2 people who have bought nearly new cars (one 9 months old, one 12 months old) which turned out to be complete lemons
One had been in an accident and severely damaged (but not written off) but very poorly repaired under the surface which is probably why the original owner got rid of it. The new owner had no end of problems with it which weren't covered by the normal manufacturers warranty so he had to fight each time to get sorted
The second had a recurring fault where the airbag fault warning light would light up, the garage would reset it and 2 weeks later it would light up again. They just didn't seem able to cure the problem (perhaps why the original owner got fed up & got rid of it) and after a few months the second owner got rid
There are doubtless some good second hand nearly new cars but anyone buying one needs to satisfy themselves about the history of the car before purchasing
The trick is to buy the car from the dealer franchise. They get the Grade A cars, and often cost no more than the car supermarkets / independents anyway.
If something goes wrong, they have the technology and abilities to fix it. Merely resetting the airbig light is not resolving the cause its treating the symptoms.0 -
Agree with this. We bought a 6 months old car recently, from the manufacture local main dealer.+1Absolutely ask the dealer for information on who owned it previously.
And DONT just accept their word - ask to see the V5C. A lot will say "ex management car", when it in reality was an ex hire car..
The salesman was very honest about it and said first off that the car had one lease company name on the V5, but that the leasee had been a hire company, and the car had been used as a hire car. They had several like this on the forecourt.
He said this was VERY common thing for dealers to do, as it gets a car registered to meet their sales quotas, and as part of the contract the main dealer gets to buy the car back at a good price after 6 months with guaranteed milage, that they can then sell on at "cost".
The car was at a great price, great condition and will good remaining warenty, so we bought it. So far its faultless, and very cheap driving
The lesson here is that you can't even trust the V5, as a hire car can easily be hidden on that. Asking questions of people you trust is the only way to be sure.0 -
SouthLondonUser wrote: »I have found a 'nearly new' car I'm interested in. It's on sale at the official dealer, is less than 12 months old (67 plate), £4,000 miles, and with ca. 3 years of remaining official warranty from the manufacturer.
One thing to consider here is Car Tax. For instance we bought a car with 118g/km CO2 registered on 30/3/17. Car Tax for this is £30 per year,
If it had been registerd two days latter, it would cost £140 per year. If you keep the car 10 years, thats a massive £1100 more. :eek:
Thats a big discount on some cars 12+ months old, and well worth factoring in. You may be able to use car tax as a haggling point on the 67 plate vs. a 660 -
IanMSpencer wrote: »I bought my car as a "management car", about 9k miles, 12 months old and about 35% of new list price, which I reckon was about 25% off a typical best discount I could negotiate as a private buyer. Apart from some bumper scuffs on the rear bumper under the load, it was as new with manufacturer's warranty. The only "fault" I've had with it has been a failing battery and the side effects that go with that (which are quite a lot!). Just over 5 years old now and essentially still as new at 40k miles.gettingtheresometime wrote: »My neighbour has a new car every 6 months. Just waiting for the 18 plate to turn upI'm going to take a stab in the dark here and say she has connections with a manufacturer, has a company car or is related to someone who is in a manufacturers friends and family scheme.
A private buyer changing a new car every 6 months would almost certainly be madness.
A friend of my mother is a retired manager from a car manufacturer and has a new car every few months.
Maybe he buys with a substantial discount and then resells privately at a slight profit, or I'd guess more likely he just trades them in in the scheme and they come into the main dealer network. I haven't asked.
My car was owned by Citroen for the first 18 months, then the next owner for 30 months. I bought it 4 years old with 24,000 miles for about a quarter of the original list price, from a small independent dealer who I assume had it from a main dealer. Still going 14.5 years and 199,000 miles later, but that's off-topic.0
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