Car Purchase - Help Required !

Cardelia

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Oh really? Where do you get that money from when the time comes to replace it like for like? Fresh air?

I disagree with your assertion that a car is not an investment. If you're buying a car for work then it most certainly is an investment regardless of profitability.

Who said anything about a like-for-like replacement? A CRV is not a very fashionable car, but it will easily do 100k miles without much in the way of maintenance. Look after it well and it will last you for 15, 20 years. That's plenty of time to save enough for a replacement.

However, assuming like-for-like is what you want to do, surely the same logic applies to any other item you buy? Computer, fridge, TV - you use them until you want/need a new one and then you replace them. If you're lucky enough to get a bit of money for your old item, will you get the full purchase price back? Of course you won't because it's now second hand, contains older technology, costs more to maintain, is out of warranty and it is nowhere near as valuable as a new item. Using your logic, a £1000 laptop should be thought of as a £2000 laptop because 5 years down the line you'll replace it for a new one and the money to do so doesn't come from fresh air. It's a patently ridiculous stance to take for a laptop, so why is it different for a car?

PS - the OP specifically stated private purchase rather than company car. In what way is the purchase of an item which will depreciate in value, and actually cost money to maintain, an investment?