feeling peer pressure driving my old banger

Prothet_of_Doom

MatthewAinsworth wrote: »

I view cars as a horrific waste of money and view people who buy expensive ones as stupid
But its their choice, I'd much rather retire earlier

Someone has to buy NEW cars. Otherwise in 15 years time I won't be able to buy them at a knock down price.
I'd rather people who already have enough money to retire early, spent their spare cash on luxury goods and prefer if they were made in the UK, so that's pretty much only JLR products, so that at least some of the money pays for workers in Britian, and feeds the UK economy.

Better than leaving it in the bank, where it helps nobody.

My dad, who is on his third new Focus in his retirement, does not understand when I tell him to buy a Car made on the Wirral by Local Labour. But it's his 15th new Ford and he knows where the local dealer is, so he won't change brands now I guess.

System

I suppose if more people bought old and fewer people bought new, prices would rebalance so that prices directly reflect expected remaining life and not flashyness

bigjl

MatthewAinsworth wrote: »

I suppose if more people bought old and fewer people bought new, prices would rebalance so that prices directly reflect expected remaining life and not flashyness

If nobody bought new how would you buy old?

Prothet_of_Doom

MatthewAinsworth wrote: »

I suppose if more people bought old and fewer people bought new, prices would rebalance so that prices directly reflect expected remaining life and not flashyness

I understand what you mean.

But how do we predict remaining life? It's like predicting how long before you hit the ground, if you jumped from a plane with eyes closed.

Plus, the life remaining is so entwined with the perception of value at the time, that it becomes a complex equation.

For instance. You have a £900 quid Astra that the designer chose to fit with pointless 16 inch alloys and silly wide and low profile tyres, which cost a few quid. Say £350 for a set of 4.
Lets say it needs brakes, the parts cost is about £150, and the labour about £100. And a back box at £60.

It's value when fixed minus it's scrap value is about the same as getting it fixed. . Is this the end of it's life then ? More hassle to go out and find another one, so probably not.

What if it also needed a service which includes a cam belt? Call that about £250 to do. Should we play cam belt roulette ? The car could do another 2/3 of it's life, with only 50K on the clock but still.

Now bangernomics would scrap it. It's cheaper to buy another one with a years ticket than get a years ticket on this.

This was the dilema I faced the other month. I decided to ignore it's value, and look at how many miles I could expect from this car should I choose to basically service it. None of the costs were anything other than service items.

If like you said value was based purely on functional life remaining, it would be worth £10K, so the arguement goes away. You wouldn't scrap a £10K car for a £1000 of work.

System

Prophet - well I suppose its value to us should be different than market value, my cat c lupo has no value financially to other people but it can save me a few lots of £400-500 in 1 year bangers, and I think it really is down to what you think next year will be like. You could say that newer cars have more scope for uncertainty as there's more chance for things to go wrong, although I suppose a 1 year banger might not live out its year meaning a fair portion of its value is lost - albeit so small that its nothing compared to deflation.

My dad reckons 10 years expecting 3 more is a good age to aim for, so you're not incurring insurance switching costs or uncertainty from 1 year bangers, nor the deflation or uncertain future of newer cars

NBLondon

bigjl wrote: »

If nobody bought new how would you buy old?

Well, companies/fleets will always exist to buy new and then pass down. I suspect that might be as big a proportion as private buyers buying new. At the last few car shows I've been to - there has definitely been an increase in the private leasing sector (*); suggesting that there are still plenty of people who want/feel they need a new car on a regular basis and are calculating on the basis of "Can I afford the monthly payments?" rather than "Is this good value overall?" or "How long will it last?". A larger version of the mobile-phone contract thinking.


I bought my 2011 Focus new - mostly because I had a windfall that arrived around the time and there was a sale on. I didn't need a brand-new car, but I enjoy it more than the 2001 Mondeo it replaced (faster, more toys) and it's financially more efficient (lower tax, better MPG). I don't intend to change unless my needs change significantly or I get another windfall and feel like treating myself.


(* Actually - that might be skewed by the show - the Canary Wharf Motor Expo is probably a good target for that sort of deal.)

Prothet_of_Doom

I've been looking at a Volvo s90, 3.0 Auto 1997, 104K miles, Full history, for about £800, with silly fuel use, and thinking "This would be the perfect car for me. The fuel will cost about £700 a year more, but it'll last another 10 years so no real depreciation, and old school technology, so much easier to repair"
All my mates will laugh at me, all the people I work with will be confused, but the only person who counts is my wife. Not entirely sure how to get her blessing, other than it will be like driving a sofa and great for her bad back (hopefully)

Richard53

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

However I do keep looking at 20 year old S class mercs and thinking "that's a 50 grand car for 2 grand. What could possibly go wrong?"

A damn sight less than with a 2-year-old Merc, that's for sure.


I'm currently smoking round in a 24-year-old Merc and finding it a very pleasant experience. Everything works, no rattles or squeaks, and I stand a good chance of fixing anything that goes wrong.

Prothet_of_Doom

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

I've been looking at a Volvo s90, 3.0 Auto 1997, 104K miles, Full history, for about £800, with silly fuel use, and thinking "This would be the perfect car for me. The fuel will cost about £700 a year more, but it'll last another 10 years so no real depreciation, and old school technology, so much easier to repair"
All my mates will laugh at me, all the people I work with will be confused, but the only person who counts is my wife. Not entirely sure how to get her blessing, other than it will be like driving a sofa and great for her bad back (hopefully)

Wife said no.

[Deleted User]

Only problem with older cars/bangers is you are more likely to get stopped by the police. Simply because they see old car = unroadworthy.

I ran out of fuel last week in my 15 year old Megane and 2 passing police cars stopped by to check me out. I doubt that would have happened if I was in a 2 year old Mondeo.