Best age/mileage when buying a used car?

WoodpeckerHeadache

Hi all,

I'm just looking into the economics of purchasing a used car and wondering if anyone has any advice.

What's the optimal age/mileage for a used car in terms of money saving? In other words, when does the cost of depreciation plus running costs (maintenance, tax, insurance, etc.) start to level off?

This would obviously depend on the specific type of car. I'm looking to get a reliable, small (but not tiny) hatchback. I'm thinking Honda Jazz or Ford Focus at the moment.

And when to sell it on? My partner is uneasy about driving very old cars so bangernomics is not really an option!

I'd be grateful for any thoughts. Thanks.

motorguy

Unless you do starship miles I would go for a petrol 1.6 ford focus zetec - easily resold and rarely give any trouble.

Buy privately from the owner (not a trader masquerading as a private seller) with a full years MOT and service history.

I'd probably be trying to buy as new a one as i can for £2,500. Off the top of my head thats probably a mk2 focus of around 06/07 vintage. 03 cars are worth around £1,000, so you could have four years motoring for approx £350 a year in depreciation.

forgotmyname

Depends on the actual car. But depreciation is heavy in years 1,2 and 3. Then slows down over year 4 and 5.

But the older it gets the better the maintenance needs to be to get a good one rather than a money pit.

I bought my Mondeo (£18,000) or so in 2004. I paid just over £2000 for it in 2009 with over 100,000 miles on the clock.
Now passing 170,000 and still going strong.

Uneasy about driving old cars? Why? New cars breakdown as well as older ones.

Do you want to spend £20k on a new car and then trade it in for £6000 3 years later?

CC-Warrior

WoodpeckerHeadache wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm just looking into the economics of purchasing a used car and wondering if anyone has any advice.

What's the optimal age/mileage for a used car in terms of money saving? In other words, when does the cost of depreciation plus running costs (maintenance, tax, insurance, etc.) start to level off?

This would obviously depend on the specific type of car. I'm looking to get a reliable, small (but not tiny) hatchback. I'm thinking Honda Jazz or Ford Focus at the moment.

And when to sell it on? My partner is uneasy about driving very old cars so bangernomics is not really an option!

I'd be grateful for any thoughts. Thanks.

A Focus would be the better drive out of the two. Cheap parts too.

agrinnall

Jazz and Focus are not in the same classes, so you really need to decide what size car you need, and then it's down to what your budget is to consider what's available for the age/mileage balance.

reeac

There isn't a single best age/mileage at which to buy. If there were than everyone would go for it and the price would go up making it no longer a best buy. In practice, also, different purchasers have different trade off points in terms of reliability, appearance, price etc.

Paul_the_Painter

I like to think about what the previous owner paid for the car, this in my view is why 1 or 2 owner cars are good news.
To give an example, the good lady drives an 07 Lexus IS250 current value around £3000 - £3500, now she bought this car as an ex demonstrator, so essentially new, paying about £20,000 for it. She treats the car as a £20,000 car. Only ever been serviced at Lexus, everything that needs it gets fixed, servicing done on the dot.
Now if we'd bought the car a year or 2 ago for about £5,000 we'd probably be having it serviced at a local garage.
If I was buying it in couple of years for about £1500, it would get an oil change and MOT, and that's about it.
In my view the most important question you can ask about a car for sale is "how long have you had it?" The more common "why are you selling it?" Is entirely pointless, they are not going to say, "frankly it's become a bit of a money pit, and I'm fed up of spending my time at the garage drinking bad coffee"

p.s. the "how long have you had it?" answer needs to be backed up by the V5, and no "Oh it's been in the family for years, that previous keeper is my daughter, the next was my daughter in law, and this one is my wife (she uses her maiden name)" anyone who comes out with that old chestnut is a closet trader