Should I Upgrade My Car or Wait?

justme8786

I have a dilemma and I was hoping to get advice from people who are more well versed in the financial details of cars.

I currently have a 2013 Dacia Duster, passed down to me by my late mother. This car has been going strong, however in the past few months I have had to spend ≈ £1k on general repairs (something crumbling in the breaks, bonnet latch snapped, cam belt replacement etc.). But since it is not often that something happens, and I am in uni at the moment and I only use it occasionally, I am happy with it. If I was to sell, I'd probably get around £1k as it is very dented, scratched and not in the best condition.

The situation is that my dad is selling his car, a 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Bought new, extremely well maintained, which he has offered to me for about the same price as what they are going for on the general marketplace second-hand.

I do have the funds, but this is only owing to the savings that my mother left me. There is a significant reason to accept the offer, due to the fact that my Dacia is becoming a liability, and a well cared-for Toyota is a worthy spend if it can "guarantee" many more years of reliable travel. Eventually I'd have to replace my Dacia anyway, and isn't it better to buy a known car from someone trustworthy? I could in theory save myself tons of hassle and stress of buying and selling random second-hand cars, with this single big purchase.

On the other hand, it is a very very big spend, more than I have earned in my entire life. Sure it's not buying it brand new, but still way more ££ than I would ever consider spending on something like a car if it wasn't for this particular familial situation. It will depreciate, may even fail on me since no car gives a 100% guarantee, and I would have a big chunk of my savings gone which I could've put into investments instead. I could just wait my car out and continue the cheap marketplace route when I need to. I am only 20 and in uni, what do I need a fancy Toyota for?

Does anyone have suggestions on which choice would be better for me long-term?

BikingBud

Is your dad under the impression that he is doing you a favour as I currently cannot see any benefits for you?

Spending more than you need, or planned, to buy a vehicle that you might not currently need seems more about enabling your dad to maximise the value of his cast off.

Can you "guarantee" many more years of reliable travel? Perhaps until it fails for some reason or it gets written off due to a road collision.

I would stick with what you have and see where you are once in gainful employment and have a reliable income stream.

Bigwheels1111

My 5008 is 9 year old, owned since new.
Has only 28k on the clock.
Needs a timing belt, water pump, antifreeze and I will replace the 10 year old battery next year.
Around 1k fix.
I will be keeping it for as long as possible, an upgrade for 5k, 10k etc is of no benefit.
I may change when it’s 15 years old. I will be over 60 and should be my last car.

Nobbie1967

I’d stick with the Dacia and then when you finally tire of it you can decide what car will suit you best rather than just taking this RAV4 because it’s available. The Dacia is probably a smaller risk as it’s a relatively simple car. I’d worry about some major issue on the RAV4 Hybrid drivetrain now it’s getting on a bit.

justme8786

BikingBud said:

Is your dad under the impression that he is doing you a favour as I currently cannot see any benefits for you?

Spending more than you need, or planned, to buy a vehicle that you might not currently need seems more about enabling your dad to maximise the value of his cast off.

Can you "guarantee" many more years of reliable travel? Perhaps until it fails for some reason or it gets written off due to a road collision.

I would stick with what you have and see where you are once in gainful employment and have a reliable income stream.

There is something to be said for the benefit to my dad of this. However, whilst it is true that no car can give a full "guarantee", Toyota's I've heard are known for durability, and a Toyota with a comprehensive history has a much higher chance of serving me well than a stranger's second-hand car which I know nothing about, surely? Say I pay around £1k on repairs/ year now for my Dacia, and then in 3 years I realise it's time for it to go, that would be money lost on repairs, not much gained in the sale, around £5k gone on a new car which I don't know very much about, neither the car nor the owner, + the hassle and stress of it all.

This is me playing the devil's advocate. I guess I'm trying to analyse if the financial hit to me now can pay off in the future, maybe not necessarily financially but at least practically.

Mildly_Miffed

justme8786 said:

I currently have a 2013 Dacia Duster, passed down to me by my late mother. This car has been going strong, however in the past few months I have had to spend ≈ £1k on general repairs (something crumbling in the breaks, bonnet latch snapped, cam belt replacement etc.).
...
my Dacia is becoming a liability

None of what you describe is "becoming a liability". 

The brakes and cambelt are simple routine maintenance.
The bonnet catch... well, chances are it seized through lack of routine maintenance, a little bit of lubrication every time it's serviced.

The Toyota might be newer, but it's still an 8-9yo car. It's also not priced any cheaper than if you were buying it from Joe Random, so there's no financial benefit to buying this one over any other.
Why is your father's maintenance regime likely to be any better than anybody else's?
Why is he selling it, if it's such a good bet for the short-to-medium term?

BikingBud

All vehicles are a liability - ie there is a always a cost to running them. It is not simply adding fuel and driving.

At the moment you may have maintenance costs but If you buy the Toyota you will find your liability will need to  include depreciation as well as day to day costs. Can you afford to, do you need to, absorb vehicle depreciation at this time?

If it were being offered at a good price rather than book price there might be some benefit to purchase from your dad but I presently cannot see how it meets your immediate, or even medium term need.

Can you live within a budget whichever option you take or will one option inhibit some of your other budget and lifestyle choices?

facade

If you only use the car occasionally, avoid a "modern" hybrid. The 12V battery will quickly go flat if it isn't used all the time (or continually recharged), so you will end up having to buy a jump pack to start it when you need to, and a new 12V battery every few months.

Your dad isn't doing you a particular favour offering it to you for "What they go for", maybe if it was what WBAC would give it would be a good buy, but it sounds like you don't actually have a use/need for it at present.

(Plus, if you have paid a great deal of money, it is going to cause a lot of friction between you if Something Expensive goes wrong with it, Toyotas are reliable, but the RAV4 is not without faults- burning oil is one of them)

Unless you have a definite need for it in the short term (like a job lined up for next year where having your own transport is vital), it would be better to pass.

Herzlos

Have you looked at what the insurance on the new Toyota will cost?

Personally I'd stick with the Duster; you're not using it much, it's cheap and in good working order, and you're a student. 

jimjames

justme8786 said:

I am only 20 and in uni, what do I need a fancy Toyota for?

I think you've answered your question right there. Newer car is also a liability for getting damaged which you don't care about with your current one. Spending all your savings on a car you don't need sounds like madness to me.