buying a car 3 years old or brand new

loates123

over 3 years would a 3 year old car save u much more money than buying a brand new one?

i mean for a example
you can buy a brand new golf from motorpoint
for 16300 5 door 2.0 gt sport tdi

the older 3 year old models 2nd hand sell for around 12000

so in them 3 years the golf loses 4300

would the 2nd hand golf lose more than 4300 after 3 years?

daveyjp

Look for a 6 year old Golf and see what it's selling for.

Also factor in that any problems in the first three years of a new car are covered by the warranty, after this it's down to you to pay.

BTW the Motorpoint car may not be UK spec so it will be worth less than £12k when you come to sell.

GunJack

what ?!?!?!?! why spend so much money on a car that will only ever lose value ???? Best decision I ever made was to buy for less than £1k (and usually less - my current Ibiza was £400 and it's in it's third year with me) and then run them into the ground. Recycling on a grand scale, costs you so much less and you get to drive a wider variety of stuff - great fun !! My last 4 cars have lasted me for 13 years and have averaged £600 each. Weigh that up against your depreciation......

daveyjp

If people didn't buy new cars where would your cheap bangers come from?

bandraoi

GunJack wrote: »

what ?!?!?!?! why spend so much money on a car that will only ever lose value ???? Best decision I ever made was to buy for less than £1k (and usually less - my current Ibiza was £400 and it's in it's third year with me) and then run them into the ground. Recycling on a grand scale, costs you so much less and you get to drive a wider variety of stuff - great fun !! My last 4 cars have lasted me for 13 years and have averaged £600 each. Weigh that up against your depreciation......

depreciation vs maintenance costs vs reliability vs safety vs comfort

lots of reasons really

kammyk

You can usually get warranty on used cars as well. I brought my first (peugeot 206) and second (vw passat) car from www.cargiant.co.uk You just go there if theres a car you like you buy it if you dont like it, your free to walk away without the huge sales pitch most car dealers provide you with!

I wouldnt ever buy a "banger" unless i could not afford a half decent car. We save money to get the good things in life, well i do anyway! Having said that I would only buy a car that I could pay for in "cash" no loans, credit cards etc.

Its probably a good time of the year to buy a used car as well, I usually look around for prices out of curiousity and they seem to be really low at the moment.

Best Of Luck!

nomoneytoday

kimevans wrote: »

The newer the car, the safer.

Not necessarily. A two year old Renault with 5 star NCAP is "safer" than a brand new Chevvy Matiz (with 3 stars)...

Both a 6 year old VW Polo and Audi A2 score 4 stars, so are not poor performers. I guess it's the old Metros with 1 star to worry about, not 3 year old cars doing their first MOT's...

barron_hard_up

just had experience of this actually. Earlier this year we were in the situation where our 9 year old Vectra diesel (wife's car) was staring to cost us money. We explored various options and found it was cheaper to get a brand new car than a used one through the volkswaggen Options Scheme.

The cost to us is £146 a month, servicing included for three years, also first years VW version of AA for free. Also, the road tax is under £100 as it's a 1200 engine. The car has a full warrenty, so no unexpected expenses.

Buy a half way decent used car at £4000, you will pay for a new exhaust, all servicing, any other things that go wrong such as clutches, radiators and so on and so forth. We couldn't believe how much simpler and easier it was to get a new car, and for us it was less outlay. True, My wife is in a smaller car than she had before, but she likes her new one - VW Urban Fox, alot more than the car she had before. If she wants to use a bigger car, she can use my company car. Also, using the VW finance deal the apr was far lower than using a loan. Our first brand new car we have ever owned!

GunJack

...or pay £400, no expensive dealer servicing, diy oil/filters/plugs/etc.,(if at all). My last 2 MOT's have cost me 2 tyres and a couple of bulbs. Even cheap bangers are safe if looked after a little bit, and bought without haste. For example, in baron's post above...my cost for 3 yrs £650-ish. baron's - £5256, PLUS any depreciation on the car which will be maximised if buying new.

No contest......

Primrose

Although I have often bought new cars in the past when I was driving a high mileage, now I am no longer doing so, my next replacement car will probably not be a new one as the depreciation is far too high. I shall do what I have also done on previous occasions and that is look for a used Demonstration Car from my preferred car dealer. If you can one with with only 2000 miles on the clock and you can still get a good warranty with it, this is worth considering. Then put the money you have saved into your next Car Replacement Fund so that further down the line you have some money for its successor.

barrymung

kimevans wrote: »

The newer the car, the safer.

Road safety statistics suggest it's down the the weight of the car, rather than the age.

As new cars are generally heavier than older ones the statistics are gerrting skewed.

A 20 year old Beemer, well maintained, will be safer than a modern day Smart car.