Downsizing a 1 year old car

Wh05apk

Charliezoo wrote: »

Hi all,

I bought a new car in March on finance (first time I've ever done this).

I haven't got on that well with the car, the fuel economy hasn't been as good as promised and we've also moved house and it takes up so much room on the driveway that I've been parking it on the road.

I'd really like to think about trading it in for a smaller car in March but would this be totally crazy? I've got one of those 3 yr finance deals with a balloon payment at the end, I could wait til the end of that which was my original intention but I'd rather change it sooner if possible.

Any advice?

It seems your main concerns are fuel economy and the physical room it takes up?

Economy being a diesel, will improve once you have 10,000 miles or so, but has as been said, real world figures are normally quite a way away from official figures, but does it really makes that much difference? if it costs an extra £25pm more than a cheaper car, that is peanuts compared to the depreciation you will lose.

Size wise, the Juke is actually quite small, so apart from a Micra/Ka etc, I don't think you will gain much space.

Personally I would now keep the car till the end of the lease, otherwise you will end up paying '000's extra for a smaller/cheaper car.

LandyAndy

Wh05apk wrote: »

It seems your main concerns are fuel economy and the physical room it takes up?

Economy being a diesel, will improve once you have 10,000 miles or so, but has as been said, real world figures are normally quite a way away from official figures, but does it really makes that much difference? if it costs an extra £25pm more than a cheaper car, that is peanuts compared to the depreciation you will lose.

Size wise, the Juke is actually quite small, so apart from a Micra/Ka etc, I don't think you will gain much space.

Personally I would now keep the car till the end of the lease, otherwise you will end up paying '000's extra for a smaller/cheaper car.

4.135m long by 1.765m wide (13'7" x 5'10"). that makes it 35.5cm (14") longer and 9cm (3.5") wider than a micra.

Hotspur

Charliezoo,

I'm guessing that you would lose cira £5000 on the deal if selling the Juke, paying off finance etc. but that is something you must calculate. If that is true then £5000 would pay for more than enough fuel, for a 12,000 mile a year driver, over the 3 years with something left in the bank.

As said above, official figures are a guide, under optimum conditions and following standard lab testing, to the consumption which can be used to compare the fuel efficiency of different vehicles . In the real world you will achieve less than that due to the weather, traffic conditions and your own driving style. Sales staff don't usually tell you this.

As for size, the Juke has a smaller footprint (length and width) than the current Ford Focus so it isn't a big car. So, downsizing would mean a Honda Jazz or Ford Fiesta sized car. Do you really want that? If your journeys are mainly of less than 10 miles (one way) then a smaller car may be the right option. However, if journeys are longer then sticking with the Juke may provide a better all round environment and space for luggage etc.

Juke 4135 x 1765 mm
Focus 4337 x 1839
Jazz 3900 x 1695
Fiesta 3950 x 1722

colino

I cant see any (legal) moneysaving way of getting out of this. Sure the car will improve in mpg as it goes along, that's a bonus, but nothing will get you away from the cliff-fall depreciation of a new car.

Wh05apk

LandyAndy wrote: »

4.135m long by 1.765m wide (13'7" x 5'10"). that makes it 35.5cm (14") longer and 9cm (3.5") wider than a micra.

14" is not a massive difference, probably not going to make much difference on the drive, unless space is very tight, not like downsizing from a Toyota Landcruiser to a smart car!

silvercar

Charliezoo wrote: »

Thought that might be the case:o

Its a Diesel Nissan Juke Acenta Premium 11 plate. It really hasn't lived up to its MPG figures at all and there's lots of other disgruntled owners out there.

When would be the earliest sensible time to consider trading it in?

Try selling it privately on somewhere like the Juke owners forum. There are plenty of people upset by long waiting times for delivery that may be interested in nearly new.

SCO

LandyAndy wrote: »

Not while this is around.

Dont forget this:

pitkin2020

LandyAndy wrote: »

SsangYong Rodius.;)

Truly hideous.

SCO wrote: »

Dont forget this:

In fairness the ssangyong isn't ugly from every angle, head on its not too bad where as the multipla is ugly from every angle including the inside it doesn't matter if you look at it through squinted eyes, beer googles or with forks in your eyes its still god damn ugly.