What's the most "New car" you can get for your money?
Discussion
Not a car buying thread; But seeking opinions - Where do you think the "Value cut off" or "point of diminishing returns" is with new cars?
20,000? 30,000?
In my opinion, The point of diminishing returns would be somewhere around ~£30,000 - That's a fully loaded hot hatch from most marques, meaning a family-size car with a reasonable (Modern) interior, and a great deal of drivetrain tech to go with.
20,000? 30,000?
In my opinion, The point of diminishing returns would be somewhere around ~£30,000 - That's a fully loaded hot hatch from most marques, meaning a family-size car with a reasonable (Modern) interior, and a great deal of drivetrain tech to go with.
If I may reply to myself as no-one else seems interested in this topic... 
I was thinking about this over breakfast (as I am a dullard) and I reckon any of the Golf derivatives are 'all the car you need'.
Enthusiasts have the choice of the Golf GTi or R, or the Octavia vRS or the Leon Cupra. Even estate versions if you want some more practicality.
Sensible people can just have a base model Golf and impress the neighbours in a middle class suburb.
Families can have an Octavia Scout as a bargain priced crossover/soft roader.
Company Car drivers can have either an electric or hybrid Golf for low tax reasons.
I think the only things they don't offer any more is anything with more than 4-cyls, with the end of the VR5 and VR6 engines.
I was thinking about this over breakfast (as I am a dullard) and I reckon any of the Golf derivatives are 'all the car you need'.
Enthusiasts have the choice of the Golf GTi or R, or the Octavia vRS or the Leon Cupra. Even estate versions if you want some more practicality.
Sensible people can just have a base model Golf and impress the neighbours in a middle class suburb.
Families can have an Octavia Scout as a bargain priced crossover/soft roader.
Company Car drivers can have either an electric or hybrid Golf for low tax reasons.
I think the only things they don't offer any more is anything with more than 4-cyls, with the end of the VR5 and VR6 engines.
It's a valid question, that is at what point are you paying for fluff but perhaps it's framed too widely, too many car types etc. who knows.
It would be good to know what are the extras that people aren't interested in, specially when buying and keeping an eye on selling down the line.
It would be good to know what are the extras that people aren't interested in, specially when buying and keeping an eye on selling down the line.
I think this a "depends". If you want to get from A-B with an engine and a warranty, value starts diminishing at probably around £12k or so. The new small MG's can come in under £10k. If you want to be an ecological type of person then the MG ZS Ev is now <£26k (after grant) and seems to offer most things a family need. There's so many variables and reasons for vehicle ownership it's hard to point at a single price point and say it's the best value for money.
One of the annoying things about the new car market is how many necessary, in my opinion, options are crazy expensive. I was looking at M140i recently and they really need to have:
On the mummy wagon cars we've been looking at for my wife it needs to have
- pro nav
- heated seats
- HK speakers
- adaptive dampers
On the mummy wagon cars we've been looking at for my wife it needs to have
- reverse camera
- adaptive cruise
- heated seats
- remote boot
- pan roof
- leather seats
- auto
Great idea for a topic Haltamer. There’s no simple answer to this question. But my own view is that value for money would probably be in the £25K-£35k range. Any cheaper you’d be getting a pretty limited product, but any more expensive and you’re probably just wasting your money on something you don’t need.
Andrew[MG] said:
One of the annoying things about the new car market is how many necessary, in my opinion, options are crazy expensive.
Very true when looking at value:- German cars seem to start at the same price as Japanese / Korean counterparts and then end up a few thousand pounds more by the time you've added the options which are rolled into trim levels with other manufacturers.As soon as you start seeing things like electrical boot opening or, even worse, electrical boot opening by waving your foot under the rear bumper so you don't have to use your hands.
Yes, I get it's handy, but really, think about the amount of kit being engineered in when you can simply put the item down or open the boot before loading.
For me that's the sort of "feature" you have paid way more for than it's ever worth.
Yes, I get it's handy, but really, think about the amount of kit being engineered in when you can simply put the item down or open the boot before loading.
For me that's the sort of "feature" you have paid way more for than it's ever worth.
Edited by pistonheadforum on Friday 21st August 13:44
Are we talking value for money? In that case depreciation is also an aspect.
The Fiat Tipo is ridiculously cheap (giving Dacia a run for its money). Most new cars are absurdly expensive, considering that the driving bits have not improved radically over the last 15 years. The useless electronic gimmicks are overpriced, and do almost nothing for the driving experience.
The Fiat Tipo is ridiculously cheap (giving Dacia a run for its money). Most new cars are absurdly expensive, considering that the driving bits have not improved radically over the last 15 years. The useless electronic gimmicks are overpriced, and do almost nothing for the driving experience.
Haltamer said:
Not a car buying thread; But seeking opinions - Where do you think the "Value cut off" or "point of diminishing returns" is with new cars?
20,000? 30,000?
In my opinion, The point of diminishing returns would be somewhere around ~£30,000 - That's a fully loaded hot hatch from most marques, meaning a family-size car with a reasonable (Modern) interior, and a great deal of drivetrain tech to go with.
You can’t get a fully loaded hot hatch for £30k, my sister bought a focus ST LINE X with a 182bhp and that was £31k, my Audi A3 saloon was £29k.20,000? 30,000?
In my opinion, The point of diminishing returns would be somewhere around ~£30,000 - That's a fully loaded hot hatch from most marques, meaning a family-size car with a reasonable (Modern) interior, and a great deal of drivetrain tech to go with.
Cars are expensive, but I think over and above 33k you don’t get much more for your money, a Audi A6 doesn’t give you anything more than a A4 does for example
The days of there being a big difference in the brands has gone, recently I speced a focus, new Leon, new golf. New A3, ceed, and a Astra
All came out between 28-30k to get to a very normal spec of metallic paint and a 1.5 manual engine
I've only ever had one brand new car and that was 20 years ago. To me, they are ridiculously expensive nowadays.
But aren't new cars all about finance deals and monthly payments rather than list price? I can't imagine many people buying new cars outright. If you are paying cash it makes far more sense to buy slightly used for half the price. But if you lease or do PCP then it's all about the deal, deposit and monthly. That's all too complicated for me!
But aren't new cars all about finance deals and monthly payments rather than list price? I can't imagine many people buying new cars outright. If you are paying cash it makes far more sense to buy slightly used for half the price. But if you lease or do PCP then it's all about the deal, deposit and monthly. That's all too complicated for me!
Andrew[MG] said:
On the mummy wagon cars we've been looking at for my wife it needs to have
"Needs"? Not surprised not many cars have them - wife has a £30K SUV and the only thing it has on that list is auto, and it only has that as I thought it worked better as auto, she'd have been happy with manual.- reverse camera
- adaptive cruise
- heated seats
- remote boot
- pan roof
- leather seats
- auto
Sheepshanks said:
Andrew[MG] said:
On the mummy wagon cars we've been looking at for my wife it needs to have
"Needs"? Not surprised not many cars have them - wife has a £30K SUV and the only thing it has on that list is auto, and it only has that as I thought it worked better as auto, she'd have been happy with manual.- reverse camera
- adaptive cruise
- heated seats
- remote boot
- pan roof
- leather seats
- auto
Nickbrapp said:
All run out models no longer on sale. So today you can’t.
They weren't run out models in 2016, when those prices are from. I looked tail end of last year, prices were the same. Your sisters focus isn't far off what Focus RS' were going for.Edited by Jonno02 on Sunday 23 August 11:25
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