There is certainly a game to be played with new cars, that you might well win. Our Prius for instance was ex-demo, got almost 20% off new.
http://www.pentagon-seat.co.uk/new-cars/seat/ibiza/1.2%20s%203dr%20 [ac]/54879
£135 deposit, £135/month, 3 years free servicing:
Caveat: I only buy secondhand, and preferably cheap, cars, so have no idea whether this is a good deal..
OK so first you say
I had a Seicento new once (sort of new) brought pre registered for £5400 5 years 60k on clock on I sold it for £1500 cheapest motoring I have done.
Then later you say
As it happens I did run Daewoo Matiz for a while, a £700 one, it was awesome fun in the snow & the kids loved handbake turns in the carparks.It didn't break, I ran it 6 months and sold for £750
So the Fiat cost you £3900 over 5 years, or £780 per year in depreciation.
The Matiz you owned for 6 months you made £50 over 6 months, which at the same rate would equate to £100 per year appreciation.
Now would somebody care to remind me now, which is the bigger number, my maths is a little hazy... What's biggest, -780 or +100? 😕
ANYWAY... 🙄
What PP and molgrips have said is very true. If you simply want to justify a brand new car with the "nobody else has sat in it" argument, then ok, by all means go that route. And to be fair, car companies are often more free flowing with cheap and easy low rate credit on a new car than finance companies or banks are when it comes to loans for 2nd hand ones. BUT... Even if you're planning on buying a car to run into the ground, buy a low milage 3 year old car for 60% less than it cost brand new and you'll save a fortune!
Oh, and FWIW, I bought a Golf for £800 a few years back, did 30,000 miles in it over 18 months, then sold it for £950! And I could have got more for it, such was the interest for it on Autotrader, the phone didn't stop ringing for 2 weeks, and the first person bought it and thought they'd got a right bargain...
Ha ha, your quite right, but there is a huge difference between bangernomics & owning a decent car.
I have had 20 cars {may have forgotten a couple} only 3 of them new, the others went from very old to not very old, so I have tried all methods.
I have done some crude math in my head that i am now going to write down for the first time.
I could throw a few hundred at the car I have & run it another year or two, but right now it needs whatever the dodgy clutch is to fix {see other thread} maybe 300, but it will still be an old car {130k} relying on luck to keep running without a huge bill. so 300 pounds, 3 years MOT @ 45 = 135 I will stick a low 200PA for niggle things like shock bushes & things to do the next 3 MOT 's 600 total (lets ignore brakes & tyres as even new cars need those) Road Tax 200PA - Fiat tax 170 PA X 3= 510
500+135+600=510=1745
Wife's car Merc c class does average 23mpg with her at the wheel on just short journeys, approx. 600 miles = 165 pounds
New small car same journey must do 40-45, i will use 42.5 = 89 quid
So i have 76 in fuel alone per month. 3years 2736 + 1745 from above = 4481
Now i could do as suggested & get a 2nd hand Panda for 4.5k & over 3 years it would be almost free.
BUT, no way my wife will be wanting a 2nd hand one, if I take her to the dealer let her choose one, colour etc i might just swing it, & I can handle that kind of drop on having something new, bear in mind its a 5 year plan not 3 year one as all the math was done on, i just did the full warranty period for a Fiat.
Then I will use wife's old Merc on my low speed but steady run to work approx. 36+ mpg = same as multipla within 2 mpg, other running costs about same as outgoing Multipla
I have a minor opp tomorrow, i guess I am worrying a bit hence wandering house and doing crude easy to blow apart math at 4 am..
I'd never buy a new car, I think its a mugs game.
My corsa which I picked up for 1200 quid is still going strong after 5 years of runs into wales and the peaks at weekends and a weekly trip to asda.
Hyundai i10? I got one 18 months old for the OH. Cheap, a good little car and still more than 3 years left on the warranty. It's been great so far (now had it 6 months) and the OH loves it.
MathS
I was looking at buying a brand new car recently and discovered a finance quirk while browsing a couple of car forums.
Many car companies offer a big deposit contribution if you sign up for their finance. Problem is car finance always ends up loaded towards the final payment so you will always pay more than an equivalent bank loan of similar APR.
As I understand it, finance companies don't charge early repayment fees any more. So you can pay off the finance with a bank loan or cash really early such as the first month.
But you get to keep the deposit contribution as it is really a come on to get you to sign up to the finance.
Quite a few people on a particular forums did this.
Obviously, try and get it in writing in advance if there will be any early repayment fees.
Not the cheapest to buy, but in terms of value and depreciation the Fiat 500 twin air is a good option.
Brilliant little car too, genuinely fun to drive and very cheap. Free tax, 50mpg+.
People struggled to get good MPGs from those twin-airs. Might not be worth it over a normal Fiat 500, depending on what the cost difference is.
I used to do bangernomics, but now I want newer cars for their safety features. I say newer - both my cars are 6 years old now and I plan on keeping them much longer. But they are both 5 star NCAP rated. From about mid last decade, pretty much all cars are 5 star.
I just popped into the fiat dealer, I have made a terrible mistake, I think quoted finance on the Panda had a balloon at the end, my wife has refused the Panda & wants a 500, so its quite a bit more & still a balloon.
OK now is the time the search is on for a 2nd hand one.
Isn't finance with a lump sum due at the end actually PCP? As in, you lease it from them with the option to buy? Restrictions on the number of miles you can do etc?
If so, it's not finance.
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
People struggled to get good MPGs from those twin-airs. Might not be worth it over a normal Fiat 500, depending on what the cost difference is.
Well they quote 60+ I think, but my Mum gets well over 50.
On each time I've borrowed it I've loved it each time, in no way did I try and be economical yet still got over 50mpg. In my eyes thats pretty good and its a real blast to drive!
The twin air will hold its value far better than the 1.2 simply because its free to tax and everyone wants one. I am convinced it would be better value in the long run. Plus the 1.2 is gutless vs the twinair being very torquey.
500L might be worth a look? Not seen one in the flesh mind.
What about a new Audi Q7? 😆
