Any advantage in buying new?

  • mikeg's Avatar
    Last time I bought a car, I did consider buying new, but in the end opted for a demonstrator model, which was significantly cheaper. If not, I'd probably have gone for something nearly new. I can't think of any real advantage in buying a brand new car... unless someone can correct me?
  • 39 Replies

  • Jonny Fortnight's Avatar
    The only reason I can think of for buying a new car is so that you can have the car built exactly how you want it.

    I've just recently bought myself a second-hand Mini Diesel. My only reason for buying it second-hand was because BMW stopped making the diesel about a week before I'd decided to change cars.

    I wanted very specific things for my car. Leather seats, climate control, cruise control, sports seats, etc. I was really struggling to find anything that came close to having the spec that I wanted. The car I ended up buying had most of the things that I wanted and quite a few more that I wasn't really bothered about. For instance, I would never pay an extra £1k+ for built-in Sat-Nav (now I've got it I'd never not pay it!).

    I don't believe you'll ever find the perfect car without buying new.
  • ChrisFlyByNight's Avatar
    If you buy nearly new you don't get the VAT overhead. Is this the case anyone?
  • Quilgy's Avatar
    Last two cars I've had were new. In both cases it was a company car, but I got to spec them out with the leather, sunroof etc, which I find is the biggest advantage to going new. You get what you want.

    In our case we didn't have to worry about depreciation, which is the biggest reason I'd not buy new if it was my own money!
  • Markyboy's Avatar
    I have bought three new cars and three second hand cars over the last 7 years. Buying a new car can be a great experience and is something special but overall I must say that I will never buy a brand new car again. I have lost well over £20,000 in depreciation on new vehicles alone so I really cannot justify buying a new car anymore. No soon as you roll of the forecourt you have already lost at least £3k so its much better to buy second hand where you can get some great bargains. One bit of advice.... never buy a Vauxhall or a Ford brand new... Far too much depreciation!!!!
  • Nikki's Avatar
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The only reason I can think of for buying a new car is so that you can have the car built exactly how you want it.

    i agree with jonnys quote as above
  • hoseman's Avatar
    Last time I bought a car, I did consider buying new, but in the end opted for a demonstrator model, which was significantly cheaper. If not, I'd probably have gone for something nearly new. I can't think of any real advantage in buying a brand new car... unless someone can correct me?

    I think you made the right choice, bought my wifw 06 Fiesta Zetec in March she's only done 2,500 miles still mint condition as you would expect, took it to Volkswagen dealer see what trade in was paid £9,000 offered £5,795. I will always buy demonstration or one 9 to 12 mths old.

    hoseman
  • Call Clear's Avatar
    I have bought three new cars and three second hand cars over the last 7 years. Buying a new car can be a great experience and is something special but overall I must say that I will never buy a brand new car again. I have lost well over £20,000 in depreciation on new vehicles alone so I really cannot justify buying a new car anymore. No soon as you roll of the forecourt you have already lost at least £3k so its much better to buy second hand where you can get some great bargains. One bit of advice.... never buy a Vauxhall or a Ford brand new... Far too much depreciation!!!!

    Depreciation is the major factor why I'll never buy new. That and the fact that I prefer older cars where you don't have to worry too much where they're parked, or if the kids decided they wanted to eat a bag of chips with cream cakes to follow :eek:
    As for buying new, people would be really surprised by the amount of drivers that have already been behind the wheel of that 'new' car.
  • Needs Tow!!'s Avatar
    Buy a new car????? Are you all nuts!!!!!:eek:

    In all seriousness though, if you were fortunate to have the 'Readies' burning a hole in your pocket, and you can afford the loss in depreciation that you get when buying some new cars, then great, go for it if it makes you happy.:)

    However, if your like one of the 250,000 motorists who purchase a vehicle on finance you must then also add the depreciation over the full term of the agreement, plus the interest of the finance deal against how much the cars worth at the end of that term. The amount of people that I meet on a weekly basis that have a tale of woe concerning
    a. How much the dealer offered me for my one owner motor, was a joke

    or

    b. The car may have been only (!) £18000, but ive lost 7 grand in 3 years and its cost me £20500 in payments for the car!! AAAAGGGGHHHH!!

    So, what are the alternatives I here you ask??

    Well, there is know real answer, however, you can limit your colateral damage buy following some basic advise.

    Dont buy a brand new model for at least 6 months.

    By this stage you can then decide if the vehicle in question will either depreciate quicker than a lead balloon or if there were any reliabillty issues.

    Choose your colour and spec wisely.
    A pink Merc with mohair satnav is never going to sell quickly.........!

    Also, cars that are ending their production life to make way for a new model, will have some great offers on them,which often out way their depreciation after the new one comes out. Its still a brand new motor don't forget.

    As far as buying an ex demo, well why not?! Dont be put off them by the guy down the pub..."Oh they ave all bin frashed mate! Woodun't touch em wiv a barge polll!!!"
    If you witnessed a prototype model going through its sign off stage, you can rest assured that 99% of the time, you ain't going to break it!!

    But the real bargains can still be found in the 'up to three year old' areas of the forecourt. Where all the little woes of that cars history have been ironed out over that time, which then allows you, the discerning motorists, to save yourself a wedge of the hard earned. The same rules apply here as does to the new cars, spec, colour but also mileage will effect the price and resale, so still tread carefully.

    Hope this essay helps someone!!:cool:
  • Nikki's Avatar
    it smells new, looks new, got a full warrenty, no funny stains on the seats, and no miles on it plus you can brag you have it from new :D
  • GOODFELLLA's Avatar
    nah second hand is the way forward if u ask me!
  • Teabag's Avatar
    New vs. nearly new

    I think the benefits of buying new are clear but the drawbacks are a big old grey area, especially where depreciation is concerned. If you look at the published statistics for how much money each new car looses and took those at face value then you'd never buy a mass market new car again. HOWEVER, if you take into account the massive discounts that some of the non-premium brands will offer you then the situation isn't so clear cut.

    For example, the Ford I just ordered has a list price of £24K (including options), and if the published figures are to be believed, will cost me £18K in depreciation and other running costs during the next 3 years (the same as if I'd spent another £4K and bought a similarly spec'd BMW, incidentally). But when you knock off the £7.5K discount that I squeezed out of the dealer then the overall cost is a whole lot lower, and probably quite close to that of a nearly new car.

    For the extra year's warranty, spec of my choice and general peace of mind, that small premium is well worth it. :D The only drawback with buying new as far as I'm concerned is the long old wait for the new toy to arrive!!
  • Kingfisher's Avatar
    This is my experience,
    Over the last year, I have had the opportunity to experience both, purchasing a new Hyundai and a two year old Hyundai, and our local agent, Drake and Fletcher of Ashford Kent made purchasing these two vehicles a lovely experience, it made no difference that the latter one was second-hand, they made the relationship really good, and I’ve made new acquaintances to boot.

    There servicing costs are displayed and very reasonable, the second-hand Terracan was purchased a few months after the new, both diesel, but this one has a manual gearbox, both returning very good MPG, with one to two mpg between them, the second-hand Terracan still has three years full manufacturer warrantee left on it. the new Terracan cost £22,000, the second-hand £12,500, and they gave me good money on my 3 year old MG, and 16 year old shogun.
    So for me the experience of both new and second-hand was really lovely and I cant tell the difference.
    So the question, for private ownership, well it must be down to what you are buying and where from, if you are going to loose 55% of your purchase price in three years, then buying a £40,000 car is a bit silly unless its a Merc or you have silly money, out of all the German and English cars I have had over the years, never again, I have been bitten too many times, I have to say now I have never been so happy driving. Thank you.
  • Snowball's Avatar
    Buying a new car.

    For the first time in my life, at the age of 69, I decided to buy a brand new car. For the first time in my life, I got to choose the colour I wanted. I bought a VW Touran 1.9 TDI; they had a special offer going, and I got almost £3,000 off list price.
    I do about 9,000 miles per year, so I took out a VW 4 year service warranty based on 10,000 miles per year. I did not include the tyres, because I change these at about 3.5 mm tread, but everything else is covered, including VW breakdown cover, for just over £20 per month. Even MoT's within the 4 year period.
    I have to say that this is the most carefree motoring I have ever enjoyed, and I do not regret for one moment the decision buy new.
  • Toyota Hilux's Avatar
    it smells new, looks new, got a full warrenty, no funny stains on the seats, and no miles on it plus you can brag you have it from new :D

    Oh Nikki you are so right - no funny stains is worth three grand of anyone's wonga.

    But also on a slight reality check there are some great deals on ex-demonstrators
  • Legionreturns's Avatar
    I personally would always buy new if I had the choice.

    On the other hand I would follow these rules to minimise my cost (which is what it is, not a loss - a cost! You don't "lose" the money on a car, you "pay" that amount of money for the right to own and use it for the time you do!)

    1 - Get a car with good residuals
    2 - Get a car with full warranty for 3 years
    3 - Get a car with good reliability
    4 - Get it on a PCP deal (Personal Contract Purchase)
    5 - Get a new one every three years
    6 - Get a hefty discount, if they are not prepared to give you one, walk away somebody else will

    PCP deals are worked out using residual values. So if your new car is going to lose 55% of its' value in 3 years you will pay a higher monthly payment than if you get one that will lose only 45%. It's not rocket science and sometimes the cheapest car up front is not the best option because of the risidual value. Look at the What Car data pages for overall cost of owning for three years and the residual values of any car.

    The second benefit to PCP is that a monthly payment, sorted from the right place on the right car will save you money or allow you to buy a better car. My latest deal, £340 pm allowed me to buy a £22k car. £340 on HP or a Bank Loan will allow you to buy a car that's worth about £17k.

    Couple that with the benefits already described, hand picked equipment, nice feeling etc and I can't see the benefit of buying a car that isn't exactly what you want, just because it's a bit cheaper.
  • Teabag's Avatar
    The second benefit to PCP is that a monthly payment, sorted from the right place on the right car will save you money or allow you to buy a better car. My latest deal, £340 pm allowed me to buy a £22k car. £340 on HP or a Bank Loan will allow you to buy a car that's worth about £17k.
    I have two concerns about PCP. 1) Are the prices negociable? 2) Will you own the vehicle at the end of the plan?

    Through careful timing and negociation I was able to buy a £23K car for £16K and will still have an asset worth a few thousend when my loan is paid off, which gives me a deposit if I decide to change vehicles at that point.
  • indiapapaalpha's Avatar
    New Cars or not new cars?

    Teabag, I have bought 3 cars on PCP's , 1 brand new, the other 2 under 1 year old. In the case of the new car; price non-negotiable. With the nearly new cars, yes. I hacked £1,000 off the first one and £2,300 off the second.
    With regards to the ownership, well, I got PCP because I had a business and it was tax efficient - I intended to change it before the 3 years warranty ran out so I had no MOT 's to do and servicing costs were kept lower. If I want to own the car I would pay a 'balloon' payment at the end of the term.
    The thing is with a loan is that it depends on the term and how much you are paying in interest. Your 16k over 3 years will be actually £500 pm (7.9% apr) which is £18000 over 3 years or £20k over 5 years. Your saving maybe good now but think about depreciation average amongst makes is 54% (some are 77%) over 3 years. When you are paying a loan it certainly puts it into perspective. Most people tend to forget how much it will cost totally, I used to forget until I went PCP, but it depends on your circumstances as it doesn't suit everyone.
  • Teabag's Avatar
    Teabag, I have bought 3 cars on PCP's , 1 brand new, the other 2 under 1 year old. In the case of the new car; price non-negotiable. With the nearly new cars, yes. I hacked £1,000 off the first one and £2,300 off the second.
    With regards to the ownership, well, I got PCP because I had a business and it was tax efficient - I intended to change it before the 3 years warranty ran out so I had no MOT 's to do and servicing costs were kept lower. If I want to own the car I would pay a 'balloon' payment at the end of the term.
    The thing is with a loan is that it depends on the term and how much you are paying in interest. Your 16k over 3 years will be actually £500 pm (7.9% apr) which is £18000 over 3 years or £20k over 5 years. Your saving maybe good now but think about depreciation average amongst makes is 54% (some are 77%) over 3 years. When you are paying a loan it certainly puts it into perspective. Most people tend to forget how much it will cost totally, I used to forget until I went PCP, but it depends on your circumstances as it doesn't suit everyone.
    I think you would have to take tax into account to make it cheaper to be honest because even IF you borrowed the full amount (although my guess is that most people who are in the position to buy a new car have at least some cash at their disposal), AND paid 7.9% interest (my loan is at 6.0%) AND added depreciation the total would only be £320 per month. Obviously in the case of someone who borrowed the full amount you'd have to pay more per month over the course of the loan but then you'd end up with an asset to trade-in against your next car.

    I'm not saying that PCP is in all cases the wrong choice, but I think it's only a way to reduce monthly payments rather than the true cost of car ownership. And ultimately, the company that's running the PCP scheme will be doing so for profit, all of which will come from your pocket.
  • Legionreturns's Avatar
    The thing about buying outright on HP, is that at the start, £300 p/m may be good for the car you are driving, but by the time the car is 4 years old, you will be paying the same monthly payment and the car will most certainly not be worth the spend. The baloon payment on a PCP is set deliberatley low by the lender / dealer as they don't really want you to give the car back and walk away after three years. What you can do though, is sell it privatley for more than the balloon payment and then use the excess amount as a deposit for your next car. In general, a GFV (Guaranteed Future Value - same as balloon payment) is set about 5% under market value. So that gives you your deposit amount. The other thing with PCP is for circa £30 p/m you can include maintenance and servicing including just about everthing from oil to tyres.

    Re discounts, on my new car I have secured a £2350 discount off of the book price on top of a fairly low rate PCP deal (7.5%) which is slightly higher than the APR on a loan but on the other hand it only applies to the net cost of the car not including the GFV quoted. So I am paying interest only on about £11.5k instead of a lower rate on £18k ish, being the cost of car minus deposit.
  • Snowball's Avatar
    I bought my current car new just under 3 years ago, after selling my previous one privately. The new car was £13,587 OTR, after a manufacturer/dealer offer of £3,000 off list price, so would normally be £16,587.

    In addition to purchase price, I had rubber mats all round/headlight protectors/boot liner/towbar fitted/Scotchguard exterior and interior warranted protection and GAP insurance.

    I put down a deposit of £8,856, with 48 payments of £161 per month. The total price for the car, with H.P. charges, comes to £16,733.24p; only just above the normal retail price of the vehicle before the extras.

    After 4 years, the residual value of the vehicle should place me in a similar position to repeat the exercise. Obviously, I shall bide my time for a buyers' market.

    This is my first brand new car. I will have driven for 3 years under warranty, and no expense apart from new tyres. I pay an additional £20 per month for full maintenance cover (except tyres - my choice) over 4 years, which includes components, MoT when applicable, and rescue.
    So I consider that buying new was a good move.
  • MerseyPatrol's Avatar
    Id buy a new car if I could find the heart to sell my skyline

    its costing me a bomb but I just carnt say goodbye :(
  • Snowball's Avatar
    Being retired, the amount I am paying for having a new car is not exactly peanuts. But, this is the first time I have gone "new", and the combined manufacturing warranty and maintenance cover are great for worry-free motoring.
    At the end of 4 years, I hope I am able to buy new again, with similar cover.
  • Teabag's Avatar
    It's a shame new car warranties don't cover tyres. I'm looking at a £260 bill for 2 new ones after less than 12K miles. Ouch.
  • Snowball's Avatar
    It's a shame new car warranties don't cover tyres. I'm looking at a £260 bill for 2 new ones after less than 12K miles. Ouch.

    For an extra £4 per month, tyre replacement would have been included in my maintenance warranty. I declined this because I was advised that tyres would not be changed until they were down to 2 mm tread. I change my tyres at a minimum of 3 to 3.5 mm tread.
  • Teabag's Avatar
    For an extra £4 per month, tyre replacement would have been included in my maintenance warranty. I declined this because I was advised that tyres would not be changed until they were down to 2 mm tread. I change my tyres at a minimum of 3 to 3.5 mm tread.

    I've just worked out that I'm effectively spending £32 per month on front tyre wear alone.
  • Snowball's Avatar
    I've just worked out that I'm effectively spending £32 per month on front tyre wear alone.

    That is one hell of a monthly cost for tyres, unless you are covering extremely high annual mileages.
    I found my Golf 1.9TDI estate to be fairly heavy on front tyres, in my own opinion, and 10,000 miles from the front ones seemed about average. I have to admit, however, that I work on an absolute tread minimum of 3 mm, and on occasion have changed them with the tread nearer to 4 mm.

    I bought my present car (VW Touran 1.9TDI) new in Feb 2005. Now, at 25,000 miles, it is coming up for its second set of new front tyres. So I calculate the cost of my front tyres, at around £150 per pair, to be a little under £9 per month.

    With front wheel drive, both braking and acceleration put most of the hard work on the front tyres, and the improved cornering ability of modern cars can add further front tyre wear.

    I do not swap my wheels around, so the rear tyres last considerably longer; roughly 4 years at a guess. These I would change at a maximum of 5 years, or 3 to 4 mm tread, whichever came first. This practice also avoids the need to buy 4 tyres at once.
  • Gizmo78's Avatar
    I think pre-reg gives you the best compromise of new and second hand.

    It is a new car, just that you didn't spec it or choose the colour yourself and it will have a few months less warranty but it costs considerably less then what it would have done brand new.

    My current car (a Seat Ibiza) was bought as a pre-reg. I paid £9,600. The WhatCar target price for an identical spec brand new at the time was £11,300.

    Is a few months warranty and being able to spec it myself worth £1,700? Not in my opinion.
  • Teabag's Avatar
    I think pre-reg gives you the best compromise of new and second hand.

    It is a new car, just that you didn't spec it or choose the colour yourself and it will have a few months less warranty but it costs considerably less then what it would have done brand new.

    My current car (a Seat Ibiza) was bought as a pre-reg. I paid £9,600. The WhatCar target price for an identical spec brand new at the time was £11,300.

    Is a few months warranty and being able to spec it myself worth £1,700? Not in my opinion.

    I think that depends on how much wear and tear the car has suffered before you bought it. Clearly those first few months of depreciation have reduced the price you pay but they may also reduce the price you get when you come to sell it. There's another owner in the log book, and as noted by other users, garage staff dont always treat pre reg cars like you or I would. In fact a neighbour of mine works at a dealership and I see him thrash a different pre-reg up the street every morning! His way of running a new car in, no doubt!
  • mills705's Avatar
    I got a new 58plate GP (grande punto).
    Benfield had pre reg puntos in and had them at 8995 and these were series one (08 plates), they had the colour i wanted and alloy wheels!
    However go to the main newcastle dealer... he was able to get me a new (58plate) even better car (1.4 as opposed to 1.2) at the same price. Only downer was that it didnt have alloys as this was a changeover in the series one to two.
    Not complaining... youd probs wreck the alloys knowing my luck!
    It depends on you and price. I was shocked getting my better car at the same price and then im doing a few mods (all fiat ones) to get it to where i want it. put on running boards so they get wrecked and not the paint and then the side skirts just to make it look a bit more racey. And im still quids in!