Car "downgrade" dilemma

[matrignano]

I have a 2006 Aston V8V which I'm thinking of downgrading from as:
1) It will owe me ~£4k at some point this year (tyres, brakes, service)
2) I'm worried that at 11yo it will start exploding to bits!
3) I want to release some equity and put it into the "first home" fund

Current thinking is to replace it with a leggy old Porsche 996 which should release ~£10k equity (plus the £4k I wouldn't have to put in the Aston).

HOWEVER, I am wondering, the Aston has definitely reached the bottom of its depreciation curve, but is there a chance it will start going up in value? Would I miss out on that if I sold it now?
Bear in mind it's got 40k miles, bog standard, in good mechanical nick but not 100% cosmetically.

Same could be said of the 996, however I doubt a 70-80k miler would appreciate much more...

Opinions?

[Ninja59]

Better the devil you know....a leggy 996 could equally cause you a lot of problems and it in any case is less of a known quantity.

If you were really looking at it from an equity stakes point of view and an age perspective why not lease something on the surface more dull Golf R/S3 etc. which are in warranty and probably be a lot cheaper to run? It dependa how far you want to consider downgrading, but my first thought is a 996 is not the answer

[Risotto]

I agree - a 996 is hardly cheap to maintain. When new, they cost a similar amount to the Vantage and servicing, even at an independent garage isn't cheap. They can suffer unpredictable and expensive problems and consumables like discs/pads & tyres are probably no cheaper than the V8V. Having said that, my 996 suffered none of the scary issues and was a great all-rounder.

If you want to downsize, do it properly and go for something like an MX-5 - there's often a great sense of freedom associated with downsizing to something that you can park anywhere without worrying, that you can explore the limits of at legal speeds, and that can costs less to buy than a service cost on your previous, more expensive car, etc.

I'm no expert on Astons but my perception is that the early ones have tracked something like the 996 Turbo in terms of prices - i.e. £30k-£35k or thereabouts for some years. Similarly, early C2/C4 996s seemed to hover just above the £10k mark and have risen slightly but not drastically. I doubt either the Vantage or the 996 are going to shoot up in value any time soon so I wouldn't get hung up on the potential to appreciate.

Edited by Risotto on Thursday 9th February 10:40

[BluePurpleRed]

Risotto said:

I agree - a 996 is hardly cheap to maintain, it can suffer unpredictable and expensive problems and the consumables (e.g. tyres) are probably no cheaper than the V8V. Having said that, my 996 suffered none of the scary issues and was a great all-rounder.

If you want to downsize, do it properly and go for something like an MX-5 - there's often a great sense of freedom associated with downsizing to something that you can park anywhere without worrying, that you can explore the limits of at legal speeds, that costs less to buy than a service on your 'upsize' car, etc.

I totally agree with this. Swing to something under 3k. Really go for it :P

A nice SLK can be had for 2k. Its sporty bangernomics really.

[benjijames28]

Downgrade to a ford mondeo. You can get a decent one with a years MoT for 500 quid.

[pdavison]

I went from a Bentley Continental GT to a Mini Cooper S Works Convertible (2005). If you're going to do it do it properly!

Have to say I have had loads more fun driving the Mini than the Bentley so a downgrade can actually open your eyes to different ways to enjoy motoring (the Mini is for sale if you think it might float your boat!).

[matrignano]

I was hoping to retain a modicum of sportiness and "imagine", I can't push the bar to Mondeo levels! I'd rather take the tube, almost...

[Frances The Mute]

V8Vs have firmed over the last 12 months and in the case of well-equipped, low mileage cars, they're slowly creeping up.

Moving to a 996 would be a poor choice given their histrionics IMO. I'd be looking at something like an M3/Alpina instead. Appreciably, the M3 is not without its issues but they're easier to trace and cheaper to put right compared to the Pork.

[Risotto]

matrignano said:

I was hoping to retain a modicum of sportiness and "imagine", I can't push the bar to Mondeo levels! I'd rather take the tube, almost...

How about an Elise then? You'd be spending similar money to a 996 but would drastically reduce the running costs.

I found mine hateful to use as a daily but I suspect part of that was due to it being an early S2 from when they hadn't quite got the hang of how to put them together. They're very cheap to run - being light means they don't need big engines, they don't have huge tyres, don't eat disks/pads and do decent MPG. They certainly meet your 'sportiness' criteria and to the man on the street they look flash enough, if that's what you mean by image.

Edited by Risotto on Thursday 9th February 10:54

[Fittster]

Frances The Mute said:

V8Vs have firmed over the last 12 months and in the case of well-equipped, low mileage cars, they're slowly creeping up.
.

Are there any aging performance cars not going up in value?

[NickCQ]

I think you'd get more value for your money (assume budget is mid £20-30k) with a 987.II Cayman S rather than a 996, with less risk of big bills

[covmutley]

You may lose close to £4k in the buying/selling process anyway.

Any high performance car will need money spending on it.

If you spend money on the AM, I assume it will be sorted, and you will know this and perhaps worry less?

Or maybe you just fancy a change?

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd make the house the priority if you want something reasonably sporty car that won't cost you the earth while you get your new house & finances sorted I'd recommend a (plus it'll be handy for carring bits & bobs to the new home) hot hatch, depending on how badge snobbish you are so the RS3/S3/Golf R/Focus ST/RS & of course Megane RS etc

RS3
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

S3
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Golf R
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Focus RS (these are holding there value well)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[matrignano]

Thanks for all the views which gave me some food for thought.

I reckon I could get £22-28k for the Aston and ideally wouldn't spend more than £15k on the replacement, putting £10k in the bank.
But given I'm in London, £10k isn't going to help much towards a house deposit, so the most sensible thing, as suggested, might be to get a cheap run around.

But then there's the valid point of the transaction cost of selling the AM, probably around £4k, so now I'm thinking, should I store it somewhere (not easy in London) and wait and see if values go up?
And in the meantime run around a £5k Mini Cooper S or Golf GTI or similar?

[Fittster]

matrignano said:

Thanks for all the views which gave me some food for thought.

I reckon I could get £22-28k for the Aston and ideally wouldn't spend more than £15k on the replacement, putting £10k in the bank.
But given I'm in London, £10k isn't going to help much towards a house deposit, so the most sensible thing, as suggested, might be to get a cheap run around.

But then there's the valid point of the transaction cost of selling the AM, probably around £4k, so now I'm thinking, should I store it somewhere (not easy in London) and wait and see if values go up?
And in the meantime run around a £5k Mini Cooper S or Golf GTI or similar?

And the annual cost for storage and maintenance will be? I'd be surprised if they are lower than any appreciation.

[kurt535]

2007 -ish BMW Z4 Coupe

[Yiliterate]

If you're going to do it, I'd suggest going for something quite different from the Aston rather than something similar but not quite as good. I was in a similar position with my 996 turbo and wanting to free up some cash ahead of a house move. In the end I went for a Jaguar S-Type R. I still miss the Porsche a lot but, because it has different strengths, I appreciate the Jaguar for what it. It's a relaxing drive but with the ability to hitch up its skirt when the opportunity is there; it has a fantastic V8 soundtrack with the sports exhaust on it, both at low revs (which makes a relaxed drive a thing of pleasure) and at higher revs when the supercharger whine joins in; and it's a very easy 'everyday' proposition. The point is, when I drive it, I'm enjoying its positives rather than being reminded of what I've lost with the departure of the 996t. I'm not sure that would be the case if I'd doubled my budget and gone for, say, a Z4M, etc, great though one of those undoubtedly is...

Edited by Yiliterate on Saturday 11th February 15:05

[Willy Nilly]

matrignano said:

I have a 2006 Aston V8V which I'm thinking of downgrading from as:
1) It will owe me ~£4k at some point this year (tyres, brakes, service)
2) I'm worried that at 11yo it will start exploding to bits!
3) I want to release some equity and put it into the "first home" fund

Current thinking is to replace it with a leggy old Porsche 996 which should release ~£10k equity (plus the £4k I wouldn't have to put in the Aston).

HOWEVER, I am wondering, the Aston has definitely reached the bottom of its depreciation curve, but is there a chance it will start going up in value? Would I miss out on that if I sold it now?
Bear in mind it's got 40k miles, bog standard, in good mechanical nick but not 100% cosmetically.

Same could be said of the 996, however I doubt a 70-80k miler would appreciate much more...

Opinions?

So you are looking to down grade from an expensive car to another, older, expensive car that you have no idea if it will serve up a healthy bill or not. I'm stuggling to see what the benifit of this move will be.

You also say you have 15 grand for a replacement and are looking to buy a house. There are loads of cars you could get for 15 grand that would be almost new and give you years of trouble free motoring while you get your house situation sorted and maybe putting something aside foranother interesting car in the future. If you are going to "downgrade" would it not be better to "downgrade" properly, rather than move sideways?

[anonymous-user]

I agree with some others - get rid of it now and instead of buying something that will keep you 'happy' Go buy a cheap car like £5k golf gti. Use it for all the house move stuff, all the B&Q trips and get set up in the home. Once settled the golf will still be worth 4k ish and then you can get something a bit more spicy. A nice golf is great to drive, fairly quick and easy to maintain and sell afterwards

If you email me the details of the V8V I might be interested myself - I was looking at a 996T but I'd not considered a V8V for a while.

[Yipper]

matrignano said:

I have a 2006 Aston V8V which I'm thinking of downgrading from as:
1) It will owe me ~£4k at some point this year (tyres, brakes, service)
2) I'm worried that at 11yo it will start exploding to bits!
3) I want to release some equity and put it into the "first home" fund

Current thinking is to replace it with a leggy old Porsche 996 which should release ~£10k equity (plus the £4k I wouldn't have to put in the Aston).

HOWEVER, I am wondering, the Aston has definitely reached the bottom of its depreciation curve, but is there a chance it will start going up in value? Would I miss out on that if I sold it now?
Bear in mind it's got 40k miles, bog standard, in good mechanical nick but not 100% cosmetically.

Same could be said of the 996, however I doubt a 70-80k miler would appreciate much more...

Opinions?

Looks like you need to run it up the flagpole and have a fireside with a financial solutions thought-leader to see if you can line up all your ducks in a row to have a come-to-Jesus moment for ROI vis-a-vis the hyperlocal car-retail cloud and then take it offline to fulfil the monetary transaction.