To buy new or nearly new

MX5huggy

I went through this I ended up buying new from Drive the Deal.

The discount was equal to what main dealers were offering for up 1 year old ones, and I got exactly what I wanted.

littlemissbossy

Thanks everyone, I'll do some more homework

pinkteapot

I have to say we bought a 1-year old Mondeo with 11k on the clock last year and I don't regret it for a minute. We considered new but the saving with nearly-new was just too much (about £7k if I remember rightly). Ours was in immaculate condition - you wouldn't know it wasn't new, apart from the lack of that new car smell.

Depending on the make/model though, the choice of nearly-new may be too limited for you. We were lucky that there was one nearby with the engine and trim level we wanted, in a colour we liked.

BillTrac

A friend of mine has been driving Citreon C1s for the last 6 years, both from new. The first time was as you couldn't find a used one. The second one because she didn't think about the loss of value.

As the second one was three years old she wanted another one. I suggested looking for a used one(under a year old) and we looked around. Couldn't find a reasonably priced one but found a a Peugeot 107 (same car really). 2011 reg, 10,000 miles but basic model for £6700. Went to look and the dealer had a 107 Sportium. 61 reg, 2500 miles for £7500. Bearing in mind the Sportium is/was the dearest 107 at over £10k I was very surprised when she actually got it for £7200!! Only registered in Jan 2012. This car had 'lost' £3k in less than 9 months.

This is exactly why, when I buy a car for work(I get a car allowance) I look for ones less than 9 months old.