I’m weighing up the benefits of buying a (nearly) new car now. We have two cars, a Seat Leon ST and a Renault Scenic. The Scenic is 11 years old and the plan was to replace this with a VW Touran when the Scenic finally gave up. However, in the current situation the Seat Leon isn’t being used, so I’m considering trading it in for a VW Touran now and keeping the Scenic as a run about. I was using the Seat for my daily commute but like most I’m probably not going to return to the office for quite a while.

Autotrader shows that car prices are lower at the moment. This means I can probably get a good deal, the flip side is the Leon is also worth less. However, the Leon will continue to depreciate. So trading in now would probably be best, as opposed to waiting until prices (perhaps) rise again.

Also we have our second baby arriving in July, which is putting some pressure on getting things sorted, but we could just wait until Autumn to do anything.

WWSTWD?

So the Seat’s not being used and you’re going to buy another car to replace it and sit on the drive?

So the Seat’s not being used and you’re going to buy another car to replace it and sit on the drive?

🙂

My wife would use the new car instead of the Scenic which she uses now. Essentially, the Seat is sat there not being used, I’m unlikely to use it as much again and with the 2nd arriving the Seat is going to be too small for going away to see family or us all driving to Barnard Castle to test my eyesight.

I think I need to get rid of the Seat and I could just go to We Buy Any Car. I can’t see it being worth more if I hang onto it.

If you older car is depreciating the newer ( more expensive?) one will depreciate faster.

If you aren’t using a car, why not sell one and just have one? Get a newer one when you need 2?

Cheapest option for depreciation?

Me+ sister+ 2 cousins were stuffed in A jaguar xjs by my uncle occasionally. If you can get 5 in a 2+2 I’m sure you can get 4 in a Leon. It wasn’t what I’d call comfortable.

My wife would use the new car instead of the Scenic

So the Scenic will sit on the drive unused? How big are the kids (inc the pending arrival) if you can’t all fit in?

I’d say sell the Leon, use the Scenic if you need the extra space and replace that when needed. Not financing a Seat replacement will help build a kitty for the new car(s).

If you older car is depreciating the newer ( more expensive?) one will depreciate faster.

There is this, but we’d probably keep the Touran for a long time. In hindsight the Seat wasn’t the car to buy, but we’d never have known that at the time

Me+ sister+ 2 cousins were stuffed in A jaguar xjs by my uncle occasionally. If you can get 5 in a 2+2 I’m sure you can get 4 in a Leon. It wasn’t what I’d call comfortable.

The issue will be the luggage/accessories required for two young kids. I already have a roof box for the Seat! My family are down south and we have to take everything with us as we tend to stop over on the way

I just bought a new car. Brand new 5 series. Stock isn’t moving quickly and revenue has taken a beating in the car market (from what I’m told) so I got a 54k car for 34k with 18k guaranteed future value, 4 year PCP basically financing 16k at 3.9% apr.

Is now a good time to buy a car? I’d say yes – as long as you have confidence in your financial position/job security etc etc.

Change now, some great deals about. Ignore the people telling you that a small car is all you need for a family of four, why make life difficult for yourself?

New car sales have been on their arse for a long time now, predating all the COVID nonsense.  However it’s so far back YOY dealers are not all chasing their Registration targets.  Also important to understand that new car supply has taken a hit, manufacturers don’t stock pile huge amounts of stock like they used to.  As such desperation to sell new ‘owned stock’ isn’t something we really see nowadays.  All that said I still think it’s a great time to buy a new car, there will be deals out there especially on dealer owned new stock (showroom or stock new cars) providing you have the income security moving forward!

What russyh said… Not just cos he knows what he’s talking about, but if you MUST buy a new car, there really are deals to be had right now. Same with motorbikes, or many other markets to be fair, but NOT the bicycle market… That’s one to wait for.

Times like this highlight the chasm between the supply and the demand for products… I know new car dealerships who are close to going bust, but I also know specialist 2nd hand dealers that have never had it so good right now too!