Is now the right time to sell my ICE car?
Discussion
… I very roughly know the answer I’ll get but here goes.
We own a ratty ‘09 Suzuki Swift with 171,000 miles. It’s perfectly reliable but obviously very basic.
I did treat myself to a ‘71 plate Polo GTI earlier this year. It made sense t the time, I had a bit of cash spare and fancied something newish. Also the GTI badge appealed…
My other half now works 10 minutes walk away and I find myself driving the swift 90% of the time. One of the main reason is that I love not giving a rats ass about where I park it. It drives well and is reasonably fun to drive also.
The Polo is clearly far more up to date and comfy to drive. But I tend to worry about where I park it, worry about depreciation and also the fact that fuel has gone up considerably since I bought it. Also the fact that 2.0 sporty cars are simply not ever going to be attractive to the average buyer ever again.
I’ll miss it but should I cash in while prices are high?
We own a ratty ‘09 Suzuki Swift with 171,000 miles. It’s perfectly reliable but obviously very basic.
I did treat myself to a ‘71 plate Polo GTI earlier this year. It made sense t the time, I had a bit of cash spare and fancied something newish. Also the GTI badge appealed…
My other half now works 10 minutes walk away and I find myself driving the swift 90% of the time. One of the main reason is that I love not giving a rats ass about where I park it. It drives well and is reasonably fun to drive also.
The Polo is clearly far more up to date and comfy to drive. But I tend to worry about where I park it, worry about depreciation and also the fact that fuel has gone up considerably since I bought it. Also the fact that 2.0 sporty cars are simply not ever going to be attractive to the average buyer ever again.
I’ll miss it but should I cash in while prices are high?
This seems like a mix of short term factors (energy price, buyers remorse?) and a structural market change (EV) to me.
Looking at the 171k-mike Swift, this will continue ageing and you might get less utility than you do now from it. It’s arguably approaching - although not at - the end of its economic life.
The Polo on the other hand offers a realistic inventory of 15 years’ / 200k miles of use. You could do short or long journeys to your heart’s content, and it’s flexible to future changes (family, job) that might mean you use it more. The costs of acquiring the car are probably also sunk - you have paid the buying costs and are unlikely to fully recoup these.
An EV will have many benefits, but it would likely take many years to break even or be quids-in given the starting position (let’s say you go with a Mini Cooper SE to keep it comparable). Range and refuelling convenience still generally favour your Polo by some margin, too.
I’m not going to do the calculations for you, but I’m confident that a cost-effective solution would be to sell the Swift and expand your view of how long you’d keep the Polo.
Looking at the 171k-mike Swift, this will continue ageing and you might get less utility than you do now from it. It’s arguably approaching - although not at - the end of its economic life.
The Polo on the other hand offers a realistic inventory of 15 years’ / 200k miles of use. You could do short or long journeys to your heart’s content, and it’s flexible to future changes (family, job) that might mean you use it more. The costs of acquiring the car are probably also sunk - you have paid the buying costs and are unlikely to fully recoup these.
An EV will have many benefits, but it would likely take many years to break even or be quids-in given the starting position (let’s say you go with a Mini Cooper SE to keep it comparable). Range and refuelling convenience still generally favour your Polo by some margin, too.
I’m not going to do the calculations for you, but I’m confident that a cost-effective solution would be to sell the Swift and expand your view of how long you’d keep the Polo.
If you don’t need the money, and you have the space, keep both cars. You may get a good price for the Polo, but a replacement will be comparably as dear. There will be times when you both want a car at the same time. Nobody wants a 2.0 litre Polo? I imagine many will want that, now and in years to come.
Yes, sell the Polo.
You have a choice of the Swift or the Polo each time you leave the house, and you're consistently picking the Swift. This suggests you don't actually enjoy driving the Polo that much.
In which case you should sell it now, as it's only losing value as a newish car sitting depreciating on your driveway.
As and when you feel the need or desire for another car, either to replace or supplement the Swift, you can make another pick.
tboxes cannot be overstated.Sell both and buy a s/hand reasonably new Swift Sport. It won't be so new that you'll worry about where you park it. But also not as old as your 2009 Swift.
More fun than a Polo GTI and more reliable as well I'd wager. Plus you'll pocket some money on the difference.
I've got a 2018 turbo Swift Sport (non-hybrid). Comfortable enough when you just want to pootle about - and it's plenty fun / genuinely quick when you want to attack your local back road at speed. It might not be the fastest tool in a straight line - but the chuck-ability / cornering speed confidence is very high indeed. Easily as fast as any other more powerful supermini sized hot hatch down a lumpy, bumpy, tight and twisty back road - despite the power deficit. There's only 975 Kg of car to accelerate, brake and corner - which is considerably lighter than any other similarly aged supermini.
More fun than a Polo GTI and more reliable as well I'd wager. Plus you'll pocket some money on the difference.
I've got a 2018 turbo Swift Sport (non-hybrid). Comfortable enough when you just want to pootle about - and it's plenty fun / genuinely quick when you want to attack your local back road at speed. It might not be the fastest tool in a straight line - but the chuck-ability / cornering speed confidence is very high indeed. Easily as fast as any other more powerful supermini sized hot hatch down a lumpy, bumpy, tight and twisty back road - despite the power deficit. There's only 975 Kg of car to accelerate, brake and corner - which is considerably lighter than any other similarly aged supermini.
Sod’s law that you sell the polo ( which makes sense given your post perhaps ) and then the swift gives up given that mileage ? If you like the polo then would keep that all things being equal and sell the swift.
Until new car supply improves drastically then I doubt you would lose much if you keep hold of the polo for say another 6 months then reevaluate.
Until new car supply improves drastically then I doubt you would lose much if you keep hold of the polo for say another 6 months then reevaluate.
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