Change Car Reguarly or not

foxtrot_mike

What is the opinions of changing your car regularly or not

I have just got a basic online quite for my 06 Fiesta Zetec S and noticed there is still a bit of value in it (given depreciation), i brought it in 2008.

I am wondering whether its best to trade it in now or give it another couple of years.

I have no real issues with it, at the moment it has cost me hardly anything in the garage, i need a bigger boot, electric door mirrors and heated front windscreen would be beneficial.

I was considering getting a similar Fiesta either the Zetec S or the Titanium or a VW Golf which is the sort of vehicle which suits my needs, maybe ditching stiffened suspension as the increased amounts of pot holes and speed humps is doing my head in.

However Id like a higher drive position and cruise control would suit my wants ie Ford Kuga, Honda CRV, Toyota RAV4, Skoda Yeti so im wondering whether to wait until this option is more realistic or do an interim trade in on my Fiesta whist the value is good.

cardinalbiggles

foxtrot_mike wrote: »

I have no real issues with it, at the moment it has cost me hardly anything in the garage

That probably answers the question. I guess you have to look at what the depreciation on a newer car would be over the few years you have it compared to what your current car will loose in value. If its not costing you anything then that's a good position to be in.

Then of course you may just want a new car.

Strider590

Well, the jump from Fiesta to Golf is quite massive..... Bare in mind the Golf platform is used for the Skoda Octavia, not a small car by any means.

My advice is do what you want to do. Unlike many posters on these forums, your not being unrealistic with fictional idea's of buying a new car to save money, if you need a bigger car, then you need a bigger car.

The softroaders you mention will ALL cost a premium at this time of year and quite frankly, you risk looking like a "4x4 will save me from everything" idiot.

Have you considered going up to Mondeo sort of size (not suggesting a Mondeo)? They generally come fully loaded as standard (except for Audi/BMW/Merc), as opposed to their more desirable smaller siblings, where everything is an optional extra.

burtons

My mate had a 11 year old car and nothing went wrong with it but he wanted to change it, so he went and bought a four year old car and eveything was going wrong with it so he decided to part ex it for a new car, so he went and bought a new fiesta and it's broken down 3 times. So i would say stick to the one you got if it's running ok.

Weird_Nev

If you want to change cars, then do so because you want to not on the pretense of saving money. Buying a newer car will almost never save you money - just tie up more of your savings in a fast depreciating asset.

If your current car is adequate, reliable and you don't want to change it then keep it. So won't 'save' money by stepping up to a higher point on the depreciation curve.

foxtrot_mike

Im not looking to save money, that would be unrealistic, but trade it in when theres still some value on it for a trade in price, but your right when all i could be doing is moving to a steeper point on the depreciation curve, whatever that is on my vehicle.

Having a larger vehicle wont be an issue for me as I have driven larger vehicles but with regards to boot space i know the current fiesta has more boot space that my Fiesta and more boot space in the Golf before last, smaller softroaders are starting to come into the market such as the Nissan Joke and Mini Countryman and I know Ford are planning to do the same but these may be a long way off for now.

iolanthe07

I change my car every three years because I have an aversion to MOT tests, but it makes no sense financially. You are almost always better off sticking with what you've got, unless it is a real wreck.

Lum

Probably worth adding that you can retrofit cruise control to an older car reasonably cheaply, might be worth considering depending on how important the other options you wanted are.

Strider590

Lum wrote: »

Probably worth adding that you can retrofit cruise control to an older car reasonably cheaply, might be worth considering depending on how important the other options you wanted are.

I don't know about that...... House bricks don't come cheap these days :rotfl:

Well, I certainly know that with most Vauxhalls it's a simple case of obtaining the cruise control stalk from the scrappers and fitting it in place of whatever you currently have.

Cars now tend to have everything fitted and ready to go, they just charge extra for the switch to turn it on/off.

rodenal

It usually comes down to whether the car has a cable or electronic throttle - I'm assuming the vectra has no cable and so comes fitted with everything needed bar the stalk and ecu being turned on.

The fiesta is a bit more basic in general so could need a proper retrofit kit, would be a couple of hundred pounds then fitting (possibly in the same region).

mattyprice4004

I change cars a lot, but I only usually deal with older vehicles. I like to work on cars myself, and find new cars really don't tend to like this.