Ever worth getting a new car?

CKhalvashi

andygb wrote: »

So, so true, a polish every couple of weeks

Mines Lithuanian

The point that another poster made is that my car is paid for by my company, and this is very much the point.

I did, however point out that it's possible to get a new-ish bigger car for £10k!

CK

steve-L

CKhalvashi wrote: »

Mines Lithuanian

The point that another poster made is that my car is paid for by my company, and this is very much the point.

I did, however point out that it's possible to get a new-ish bigger car for £10k!

CK

More than that you also do considerably more miles/yr than the taxman would allow you to claim 45p/mile for!

If you did 10k a year it might make financial sense to give yourself a car allowance and then claim 45p/mile.....

(Which with a used 335D is raking it in....)

Just had to explain to a colleague why I'm driving to a client site next week! (Other than it being a 20 min drive or couple of hours on the trains).....

Just hoping there isn't too much snow or I'll have to take the OH's Honda instead of the 330D! (Possibly the last car after a 335D you don't want to be in snow with).

artbaron

andygb wrote: »

So, so true, a polish every couple of weeks together with an interior clean (including glass) will leave many five to seven year old cars (mine is a 55 reg) looking and feeling like new.

I'd be more tempted to go for a regular wax (no jokes please) than a regular polish. Polish abrades so there's a risk of the paint fading over time. I tend to clay & polish once a year and wax 4 times a year (I recommend Supernatural wax, the finest wax available to humanity and smells so good you want to eat it). A good polish can get the paintwork better than factory and a thick layer of wax will keep it that way. It's also great at repelling the effects of seagull s!!t and Saharan sand, which cost my neighbour a £300 machine polish recently.

CKhalvashi

steve-L wrote: »

More than that you also do considerably more miles/yr than the taxman would allow you to claim 45p/mile for!

If you did 10k a year it might make financial sense to give yourself a car allowance and then claim 45p/mile.....

(Which with a used 335D is raking it in....)

Just had to explain to a colleague why I'm driving to a client site next week! (Other than it being a 20 min drive or couple of hours on the trains).....

Just hoping there isn't too much snow or I'll have to take the OH's Honda instead of the 330D! (Possibly the last car after a 335D you don't want to be in snow with).

I personally did 106,000 miles on my S-Max, of which about 90k of those were business miles. The car plate started EO61, so the car was only a year old when I chopped it.

By rights, I probably should have taken the car allowance (even my Sportbrake does 47-48mpg on the M-Way, already has just over 36k on it, and has the 3.0 engine rather than the 2.2), but the problem is that the 25p/mile after a certain amount (can't remember which) makes it not worth doing.

CK

motorguy

CKhalvashi wrote: »

We only managed to get a £500 discount on a brand new BMW (2010 535d M-Sport).

This may be dealer-specific, but for only a £500 discount, we certainly won't be buying another one for the foreseeable future!

We only keep them for about 2 years/100k miles, so it's not worth it on these prices, and if the company wasn't paying for it, I wouldn't be driving something so expensive at all.

CK

I can only assume that at the time - with the F10 just being out there were few cars and no discounts available.

https://www.broadspeed.com are offering £6,400 off a 535d M Sport which your local dealer should be able to get close to.

motorguy

Relentless01 wrote: »

Thats because you are considerably richer than him!

Dont you know everyone on internet forums pays cash for everything?

For example over on the Pistonheads forum there is a known phenomenon where most people that post there seem to be Powerfully Built Company Directors.

steve-L

CKhalvashi wrote: »

I personally did 106,000 miles on my S-Max, of which about 90k of those were business miles. The car plate started EO61, so the car was only a year old when I chopped it.

By rights, I probably should have taken the car allowance (even my Sportbrake does 47-48mpg on the M-Way, already has just over 36k on it, and has the 3.0 engine rather than the 2.2), but the problem is that the 25p/mile after a certain amount (can't remember which) makes it not worth doing.

CK

It's only 10,000 then 25p so you are probably doing the right thing....

zagfles

steve-L wrote: »

As Andygb said "Is it a realistic aim to "keep a car for life". With some exceptions (like being diagnosed terminally ill or buying a 'classic' as a hobby).

Cars are just so unpredictable. You don't really know what that car will start costing in 5 yrs or 10 yrs and having owned it from new won't make much difference (they were all new once).

However this scheme looks different they are only doing it to make more money from YOU.

Well I'm now in my late forties and have been a car owner since 21. But I've only ever owned 3 cars, does that count? I bought new and kept my cars at 10-12 years, and intend to keep my current one for a similar length of time. Last two I bought through brokers at about 20% discount on the list price (new Mondeo straight off the forecourt for £12k).

Few years ago I was comparing notes with a friend who reckons buying new is a mugs game, he always buys cars about a year old and sells them after about 3 years. He couldn't believe how little I'd paid in maintenance compared to him over the years (we are both sad enough to keep records!). Even though the average age of my car was older than his.

I asked him how he reckons cars which are bought new and sold after a year are treated by their first owners, can he be sure they've taken it easy over speed humps, not ridden the clutch, not mounted kerbs at speed, not crunched the gears, not driven boy-racer style, checked the oil regularly etc. Would an owner who intends selling after a year really look after the car properly? Perhaps that explains his much higher maintenance costs.

Also average depreciation of my cars is less that his, on mine about £1k per year average. Last car bought at £12k and sold for £500 after 12 years. This one bought at £12k and probably will sell after 10-12 years for maybe £500-1000.

I'm convinced buying new is :money: provided you keep the car a decent length of time.

steve-L

zagfles wrote: »

I asked him how he reckons cars which are bought new and sold after a year are treated by their first owners, can he be sure they've taken it easy over speed humps, not ridden the clutch, not mounted kerbs at speed, not crunched the gears, not driven boy-racer style, checked the oil regularly etc. Would an owner who intends selling after a year really look after the car properly? Perhaps that explains his much higher maintenance costs.

I guess it's always a lottery but it's knowing which are good bets and which to walk away from.
Also the 1 yr is possibly too short (IMHO) you will get less that don't get thrashed than in the 3 yr category.
[/quote]
Part of this is meet the previous owner! (I previous owner provate sale)
When I bought my BMW I met his Dad and the previous owner... he obviously took a lot of care of the car and it was a very reluctant sale. (I once got stopped by the police after a sidelight failed, I had spare bulbs and they looked over the car and basically said it was obvious I looked after it and it was a 306 XSi (so had possibility of prejudice)... and they just let me on my way.... tyres were all well in tread, car neat and tidy etc. etc. I honestly believe the condition of the car (in combination obviously with my demeanour and attitude) played a part. In other words had the tyres been close tot he limit and car looked neglected I bet they would have given me a harder time)

When I bought my Honda (with 155k) the service history was complete and an inch thick. (obviously he expensed everything) but it also made it obvious he always bought quality tyres, always did the service BEFORE it was required and on one occasion he'd had a Kwik Fit oil change and took it to a proper garage 1000 miles later to get the job done properly. Every detail was fastidious.... and the car has proven to be a great buy... I did change the clutch and DMF yesterday .... and not for the 1st time the mechanic has expressed amazement at the miles its covered and how good condition its in.
OK so £1040 for the clutch and DMF but I have 25k on a £4000 car and with a 36,000/3yr guarantee on clutch and DMF so really see no reason I won't get another 50k+ out of it before it might be uneconomic to keep?

The trick is knowing what to walk away from.....

Speedbumps - Are a just evil..... :mad:
Either they wear the suspension or clutch.... one way or another these are a sure sign to walk away unless you just had a new clutch fitted.

(Not saying there not better or worse way's just that however hard you try speedbumps wreck your car!)

Also average depreciation of my cars is less that his, on mine about £1k per year average. Last car bought at £12k and sold for £500 after 12 years. This one bought at £12k and probably will sell after 10-12 years for maybe £500-1000.

Given the care you take, I'd say you would have lost even less getting a good 3yr old car but.....

newfoundglory

I think buying a brand new car can be worth it - if you get a good price.

There are car discount brokers out there, which can save you thousands - so much so that it takes the price of brand-new down to second-hand almost-new prices.