Parkers depreciation calculator

benjus

So my old car looks like it's nearing the end of its life... it's at the garage today to find out if it's financially viable to get it through the MOT (in which case I'll probably replace it next Spring) or if it's got to go now...

My OH is keen on the Nissan Qashqai and cars of that ilk (I don't want this thread to turn into a discussion of the merits of particular models please...). So I ran some prices through the Parkers used car cost calculator for some models between 3 and 5 years old. I was rather surprised by how high the depreciation figure was - between £100 and £130 per month. When combined with interest on a loan, this would be £135-£175.

Now those figures are comparable to some lease figures I've seen for similar cars. However, when the lease vs buy conversation comes up, it's always said that while leasing can be cheaper than buying new, it's not really comparable to buying used, which should work out cheaper.

So what am I missing? The figures from Parkers suggest that I could lease a new car for a similar cost of ownership to buying a 3-5 year old car. Does Parkers tend to exaggerate depreciation? Or does the Qashqai depreciate particularly badly? Or is there something else I'm missing?

motorguy

benjus wrote: »

So my old car looks like it's nearing the end of its life... it's at the garage today to find out if it's financially viable to get it through the MOT (in which case I'll probably replace it next Spring) or if it's got to go now...

My OH is keen on the Nissan Qashqai and cars of that ilk (I don't want this thread to turn into a discussion of the merits of particular models please...). So I ran some prices through the Parkers used car cost calculator for some models between 3 and 5 years old. I was rather surprised by how high the depreciation figure was - between £100 and £130 per month. When combined with interest on a loan, this would be £135-£175.

Now those figures are comparable to some lease figures I've seen for similar cars. However, when the lease vs buy conversation comes up, it's always said that while leasing can be cheaper than buying new, it's not really comparable to buying used, which should work out cheaper.

So what am I missing? The figures from Parkers suggest that I could lease a new car for a similar cost of ownership to buying a 3-5 year old car. Does Parkers tend to exaggerate depreciation? Or does the Qashqai depreciate particularly badly? Or is there something else I'm missing?

Buying at retail prices from a dealer, then trading in at trade prices 3 years later will mean stiff ish depreciation on most cars.

And yes, its part of the conundrum at the moment - leasing isnt that much more expensive - if at all - over a "set" period, however you dont own the car and theres no option to own, and you're pretty much tied in for that period with a lease.

FreddieFrugal

benjus wrote: »

Does Parkers tend to exaggerate depreciation?

i checked figures using Wise Buyers Guide - I had to do it for 5-8 year old Qashqai as there aren't any 3-6 ones within the same version years.

It had a 5 year old Diesel Acenta for £9200 retail, 8 year old Diesel Acenta P/X for £5200. So £4000 depreciation over 3 years (would be higher I'd assume if it was a younger car) which is £111.11 a month.

So that fits with what you found on Parkers.
Depreciation should slow over time so if you kept it say for 5 years it should be lower monthly cost of depreciation than just for 3.

Basically there isn't really an inexpensive way of motoring. Other than buying cars that barely cost anything to start with.

jimjames

benjus wrote: »

So my old car looks like it's nearing the end of its life... it's at the garage today to find out if it's financially viable to get it through the MOT (in which case I'll probably replace it next Spring) or if it's got to go now...

It's almost certainly more financially viable to pay to get the MOT than to get a brand new car especially the depreciation rates you've quoted.

bigjl

I always felt that the CR-V, RAV4 , Kuga and even Freelander retained their value a bit better.

They are nice enough, my dad had a Qashqui that he gave to my sister when he stopped driving and it retained its value fairly well.

benjus

jimjames wrote: »

It's almost certainly more financially viable to pay to get the MOT than to get a brand new car especially the depreciation rates you've quoted.

Yes, I'm sure... but it's an old car and I don't think it has long left. It's also not very comfortable to drive and we have been talking about upgrading it next year. I don't want to shell out a lot of money now just to get rid of it in a few months.

agrinnall

Is the mileage offered by a lease enough for your purposes? If not then the additional per mile cost will bump up the total.

forgotmyname

Well done for actually taking depreciation into account before taking the plunge, makes a change to see that compared to the threads you get where someone wants to spend £15k on a a new car because it will save them £100 a year in tax.

They fail to think that their £15k car will lose £3k straight away and then a further £1k a year on average.

benjus

agrinnall wrote: »

Is the mileage offered by a lease enough for your purposes? If not then the additional per mile cost will bump up the total.

Should be fine. I almost always commute by train so the car is really only used for social, domestic and pleasure (as the insurers would say).

nomoneytoday

FreddieFrugal wrote: »

...£111.11 a month.

So that fits with what you found on Parkers.
Depreciation should slow over time so if you kept it say for 5 years it should be lower monthly cost of depreciation than just for 3.

Basically there isn't really an inexpensive way of motoring. Other than buying cars that barely cost anything to start with.

+1

A new car depreciates but comes with a warranty, whereas older cars tend to cost more in "bills", especially for the non-mechanical minded.

benjus

nomoneytoday wrote: »

+1

A new car depreciates but comes with a warranty, whereas older cars tend to cost more in "bills", especially for the non-mechanical minded.

I expected the depreciation on a new car to be significant. What surprised me was that some of these lease deals seem to be comparable to the depreciation on a 3-5 year old car.