Worth investing in a new car?

[Stu607]

I was always told buying a car is a financial burden, with depreciation, servicing, etc, etc....... but could buying a new car be a good, short term investment?

More specifically, a Jaguar F-Type R-dynamic.

As I currently work abroad, I qualify for Tax free new cars that often come with additional discounts. These discounts make cars that would normally be out of my budget, very tempting. Now for the numbers;

Jaguar F-type R-dynamic 2.0 Coupe UK RRP = £55k Discounted price = £35K Saving = £20K
Jaguar F-type R-dynamic 3.0 V6 Coupe UK RRP= £58K Discounted price = £37K Saving = £21K

The prices above are without any optional extras. I would have to ship the car to the country I work in and keep it for at least a 6 month period before obviously shipping it back to the UK for selling. The total cost of shipping here and back is approx £2k. The car would be registered in the UK before shipping, making it a UK car.

As to financing it, I would have to take out a £25k loan which I can afford as I have very little outgoings.

I have looked at current resale values for 2017 Jaguar f-types and the lowest price is £45k.

My questions is, do you think if I was to buy one of the above mentioned cars, occasionally drive it and then re-sell it after 6 months or a year that I would make any money on it? if you were in my position would you do it?

[Stu607]

Thanks for replying!

I would be shipping the car to Cyprus and then back to the UK.

I struggled to find anything online stating how long a UK tax free car, shipped to an EU country and then brought back to the UK to be resold had to be owned to prevent paying the tax back. From the dated sources I've found it only states you have to own the tax free vehicle for a minimum of 6 months before selling to avoid paying the tax back.

[h0bbsy]

I looked into this. I believe it's 6 months out of the UK. Which can obviously include transit times however I'm pretty sure you have to keep it for a year once back in the uk before you can sell it.

I too was tempted under similar circumstances by an F type but my shipping costs were a bit more (don't forget marine insurance) and look at prices when they are a year older. It wasn't as clear cut. However man maths was still tempting as you get to have a nice car for 18mths for "free".

PM me if you want to discuss in further detail. Also I think the way JLR sales are handled for this type of changed a couple of years ago.

[mikef]

You can bring a vehicle back to the UK tax-free as part of your possessions if you are moving your residence back here after living abroad for at least 12 months. You’ll need to
1. have owned the vehicle for 6 months with documentation to prove
2. have lived abroad for 12 months with utility bills etc to prove
3. demonstrate you are moving your residence back to the UK

As noted, there are restrictions on resale