Would You Buy A New Car?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23797016
Interesting article but surely the best way to avoid depreciation is to not buy one in the first place. I have a mate who, against my advice, spent 40k on a new car, because "it needs to be reliable" - The garage has had it more than him and he's gutted. The sad thing is that new or old they can go wrong, many think new = good. My car cost 90k when new, I bought it 8 years old for less than a tenth of that.

[ToraToraTora]

indeed littlegem, for 23k you could get an SL55 amg for example £120k new, that's a lot of enjoyment.

[Littlegem]

Not for me, it has to be something new every time.

[pixie373]

Apart from knowing i was losing thousands by driving it off the forecourt, I'd be terrified about scratching it, leaving it outside, letting the children in etc. I don't have money to throw away and, if i did, i still wouldn't spend it on a collection of metal!

[woofgang]

It depends Pixie. My car is a big part of my life, its a practical need rather than a would be nice so I think its worth putting my money there rather than into holidays or other things that other people spend money on.

[Hypognosis]

Surely the "instant depreciation" is just another name for "manufacturer's profit margin"? We don't begrudge any other manufacturer/service provider's profit margins, do we?

What reduced markup level would induce dedicated s/h buyers to switch behaviour?

[Dodger666]

It's not just manufacturer's profit margin Hypo, all the VAT is wiped off the new price too as soon as it driven out the dealers..

[gingejbee]

Well, I buy new cars in the same way that I buy new furniture, new white goods, new clothes....I'm not into other peoples' cast-offs.

[vodkancoke]

I always buy new and change it 3-4 years later.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Just ordered a new Bmw M5...for the wife.....(honest)....keep it for 2 years and then have another...you cant take it with you!

[chrissa1]

A car salesman told me that they make the most profit on the second-hand cars they sell.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Yes chrissa you are right...however the manufacturers make good money on new ones.

[Hypognosis]

@Dodger666

//It's not just manufacturer's profit margin Hypo, all the VAT is wiped off the new price too as soon as it driven out the dealers.. //

Good point. There used to be Car Tax to pay, too. I can't remember when that was scrapped but I reckon the 'meme' about losing money as soon as you drive off the forecourt probably harks back to those times.

As for Voluntary Additional Tax payers? Gotta love 'em. I think they keep the country afloat.
:-P


@chrissa1

Good point about bigger margins on the used cars. I imagine the priciest of them are obtained via trade-in deals on the new models. Only those who have done that and then kept watch on the garage to see what their old model eventually sells for can really comment on that. I wonder how many are embarassed to such a level that they'd rather keep their lips sealed?