Have we ever been in a worse car buying era I don't know where to turn next.

midimanuser

I am lost and don't know what to do next. 
Buying an electric car now is like buying an iPhone from Apple and buying a pertol car is like buying something that I could no longer sell.

What on earth do you do? 
I can't even buy anything in the hope that it would become a classic for fear of it being outlawed from the road in time. 

 

 

Emmia

Don't buy a car? Have a car free life?

Tucosalamanca

Take a lease?

Mildly_Miffed

How long do you normally keep your cars for?

Nobody's talking about banning petrol-only or diesel-only cars from the road... Just about not selling any more new ones from 2030 - the same date that was announced in 2020...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54981425

Even that won't be the end of new petrol or diesel cars - plug-in hybrids aren't banned until 2035, a decade away.

And that's only BRAND NEW ones. You'll still be able to buy, sell, drive existing ones.

I'm not sure I follow the "but EVs are boring appliances" argument, either. Something like a petrol or diesel Qashqow or i10 or Puma is hardly guaranteed to make your heart beat faster...

user1977

midimanuser said:

I can't even buy anything in the hope that it would become a classic for fear of it being outlawed from the road in time.
 

Why do you think anything's going to be "outlawed from the road"? Look at all the lawfully-used "classic" cars still around, which don't meet any of today's safety or emissions standards, for example.

Money_Grabber13579

user1977 said:

midimanuser said:

I can't even buy anything in the hope that it would become a classic for fear of it being outlawed from the road in time.
 

Why do you think anything's going to be "outlawed from the road"? Look at all the lawfully-used "classic" cars still around, which don't meet any of today's safety or emissions standards, for example.

I guess it’s unlikely that anything will ever be outlawed from the road but in time, I can see fuel costs becoming ridiculously expensive and difficult to get, so that they almost become unusable. That would seem to be a long time away yet though, probably 2050 or beyond.

Goudy

Money_Grabber13579 said:

user1977 said:

midimanuser said:

I can't even buy anything in the hope that it would become a classic for fear of it being outlawed from the road in time.
 

Why do you think anything's going to be "outlawed from the road"? Look at all the lawfully-used "classic" cars still around, which don't meet any of today's safety or emissions standards, for example.

I guess it’s unlikely that anything will ever be outlawed from the road but in time, I can see fuel costs becoming ridiculously expensive and difficult to get, so that they almost become unusable. That would seem to be a long time away yet though, probably 2050 or beyond.

That might not be too far fetched.
I can see fossil fuels becoming obsolete, either banned or there just being no profit in production and synthetic fuels being the (expensive) alternative.

Whatever, these things shouldn't reflect on buying a new car anytime soon.
Yes, EV's are going to be replaced by better and better EV's in future.
That's the way things work, we're not all still driving around in "steam buggies" or going to work on a horse and cart.

Fuel, particularly petrol (hybrids) isn't going anywhere anytime soon either.
Diesel can be made for plant oils, so even those last remaining "classics" will find something to run on.

Buy a suitable car for your needs now and it won't be going out of fashion while it lasts.

Want to "pick" a classic car, buy a classic car now. Why take the risk of one becoming one when you can be certain of buying one. A classic now is only going to get more classic.

MCT56

Just buy a good petrol car that has a track record / reputation for longevity and reliability, say Toyota or Honda for example. Find a second hand one with a warranty, maybe 2 or 3 years old and you will have saved thousands on early year depreciation. You could still be driving it in 15 years time if you look after it. Battery powered cars are best suited to a certain category of people, who have their own driveways and charge points at home or workplace and not people who have to park in a street or rely on public charging. Who has time to waste waiting 30 minutes or more for a  battery to charge anyway. All this new electric stuff  is so complicated and full of sensors and digital nonsense that nobody knows how to fix in many instances. They will almost certainly have to go to main dealerships for rectification or software updates when problems arise. Even then there is no guarantee they can fix it either. Local garages and diy types won’t be able, or willing to do it and for anything other than basic tyre brake and suspension issues they will be unserviceable by anyone other than expensive main dealerships. You could of course put an each way bet on getting a petrol / hybrid car, as a hedge against Government regulations. Think I will just get the bus if the Government prices me off the road - which is probably the hidden agenda. Only the wealthy will have cars - like it used to be in the 1960’s. Back to the future !

Car_54

MCT56 said:

Only the wealthy will have cars - like it used to be in the 1960’s. 

Eh? In the 1960s my dad was a railwayman, earning less than the average wage.  He managed to buy a used car in 1960, and then a new one in 1963.

MEM62

midimanuser said:

Buying an electric car now is like buying an iPhone from Apple 

So what?  Nothing wrong with that.  It is just different

midimanuser said:

and buying a pertol car is like buying something that I could no longer sell. 

Why not?  People will be wanting ICE cars for years - particularly those that do not like iPhones  :-)

midimanuser said:

What on earth do you do?  

Buy the car that suits your need just as you have always done and stop over-thinking things.    

WellKnownSid

MCT56 said:

Local garages and diy types won’t be able, or willing to do it and for anything other than basic tyre brake and suspension issues they will be unserviceable by anyone other than expensive main dealerships

I remember walking past an AA man scratching his head at a two day old Rover 214 which had just broken down in a town centre in the 90's.  "The trouble is this car has fuel injection - they aren't ever going to be repairable by anyone other than the main dealer".

I think it was the same year that a popular DIY motoring magazine had a photo of an Audi 80(?) on it with the driver having celebrated taking it 'round the clock twice' - an almost inconceivable 200,000 miles on the same engine.