Cheap new brand or used luxury?
Discussion
Hello guys, just wondering what everyone’s opinions are on the above topic. For example should you buy a brand new fiesta or a used A3? For a luxury I mean Audi, BMW, Mercedes etc. Not talking about top top brands like rolls Royce, Bentley etc. Just wondering what everyone’s opinions is on this?
New cars are a massive waste of money, the best bargains are on the used market.
You can have a Rolls Royce for less than £6k for example. However for run-of-the-mill cars like Audi/BM/Merc etc the world is your oyster. People generally get scared away from cars over 100k miles, truth is that many are good for 200k miles. There are some real bargains out there to be had, aim for something towards 100k miles and in top condition with a solid history. Then just maintain it and you'll still have a £30k car, but for a fraction of the price.
You can have a Rolls Royce for less than £6k for example. However for run-of-the-mill cars like Audi/BM/Merc etc the world is your oyster. People generally get scared away from cars over 100k miles, truth is that many are good for 200k miles. There are some real bargains out there to be had, aim for something towards 100k miles and in top condition with a solid history. Then just maintain it and you'll still have a £30k car, but for a fraction of the price.
Either used and interesting (ie not just some soft touch plastics glued into a mainstream platform) or used and cheap for me.
I don't really see the point in buying new, but I also don't see the point in paying extra to get a bog-standard A3 over a Golf (or Octavia, for that matter).
I don't really see the point in buying new, but I also don't see the point in paying extra to get a bog-standard A3 over a Golf (or Octavia, for that matter).
You can get a 911 for the price of a fiesta.
Its the unknowns and risk people don't like. A new car is likely to not need anything at all until 5yrs+
A 5yr old car will need odd small bits and bobs (e.g. coil packs, maybe even a radiator if its vag).
A 10yr old car will need the odd big bits and bits and bob (suspension parts)
A 15 year old car will likely need fairly regular big bits and bobs (water pump, injector, exhaust, anything - possibly everything)
Depends on you tolerance to the car being in the garage, ability to weild spanners and negotiate with garages. Unlikely to actually cost any more than a new car.
I would say the sweet spot for something like an A3 is buy at 3 yrs old, sell at 8yrs.
Its the unknowns and risk people don't like. A new car is likely to not need anything at all until 5yrs+
A 5yr old car will need odd small bits and bobs (e.g. coil packs, maybe even a radiator if its vag).
A 10yr old car will need the odd big bits and bits and bob (suspension parts)
A 15 year old car will likely need fairly regular big bits and bobs (water pump, injector, exhaust, anything - possibly everything)
Depends on you tolerance to the car being in the garage, ability to weild spanners and negotiate with garages. Unlikely to actually cost any more than a new car.
I would say the sweet spot for something like an A3 is buy at 3 yrs old, sell at 8yrs.
Might be a controversial standpoint, but the A3 isn't a brilliant car to live with. We got rid of a 9 month old 2.0 petrol because other than road noise and (at the time) swooshy indicators, it was inferior to and irritating to live with compared to the Golf. Just hadn't been thought about the way the VW has. And the infotainment system that they tried to make like iDrive is bloody dogs
t. Neither of us could follow the sat nav.
t. Neither of us could follow the sat nav.Looking at the new Fiesta for example it looks like you can get all the bells and whistles on it for around £20k.
£20k can probably get you a 3 year old 3 series M-sport, A4 S line, C class AMG with about 20-30k miles on the clock but not much over the standard kit.
The customisation of brand new is appealing, but buying older you can get what is seen to be a "premium" badge. Your decisions at the end of the day, everyone has different opinions so no point worrying what others think.
£20k can probably get you a 3 year old 3 series M-sport, A4 S line, C class AMG with about 20-30k miles on the clock but not much over the standard kit.
The customisation of brand new is appealing, but buying older you can get what is seen to be a "premium" badge. Your decisions at the end of the day, everyone has different opinions so no point worrying what others think.
Used everyday for me. I know it suits a lot of people, but the benefit of buying new is massively wiped out by depreciation for me.
I was tempted by a new MX5 about 6 months ago. Think they look lovely, should be fun and would be reliable (and under warranty anyway). Then I worked out that the depreciation over 3 years would be more than running a used Porsche / Ferrari / Aston Martin. I lost interest after that.
I was tempted by a new MX5 about 6 months ago. Think they look lovely, should be fun and would be reliable (and under warranty anyway). Then I worked out that the depreciation over 3 years would be more than running a used Porsche / Ferrari / Aston Martin. I lost interest after that.
Go for a premium brand, a well specced model with a good reputation for reliability, full service history, and 100k+ miles and you'll get a bargain.
I currently run a 13yo Lexus GS300 (E-class/5-series competitor). Other than a low battery in tyre pressure sensor and a couple of dash rattles which were easily fixed myself, its been faultless. It's fast, comfortable, spacous, has all the gear you could need (including bluetooth, heated/ventilated leather seats, auto wipers, xenon headlights, auto dimming mirrors, keyless entry and go...etc...etc), surprisingly economical for a 3.0 V6 (40mpg on a motorway run), decent insurance, and all of this cost me just £4k from a dealer with a 3 month warranty.
I've crunched the numbers and I get to waft around in luxury for a fraction of what I was paying to drive a 1.0 Hyundai i10 a few years ago!
I currently run a 13yo Lexus GS300 (E-class/5-series competitor). Other than a low battery in tyre pressure sensor and a couple of dash rattles which were easily fixed myself, its been faultless. It's fast, comfortable, spacous, has all the gear you could need (including bluetooth, heated/ventilated leather seats, auto wipers, xenon headlights, auto dimming mirrors, keyless entry and go...etc...etc), surprisingly economical for a 3.0 V6 (40mpg on a motorway run), decent insurance, and all of this cost me just £4k from a dealer with a 3 month warranty.
I've crunched the numbers and I get to waft around in luxury for a fraction of what I was paying to drive a 1.0 Hyundai i10 a few years ago!
A lot depends if you want to pay cash or use finance. There are some great finance offers on new cars (0% APR etc) plus deposit contributions that it starts to make sense to buy new. Used car finance tends to start around 8% APR, which makes a massive difference if borrowing 20k over 4 years.
Don't forget as well that a car that was expensive new still has expensive servicing costs. A Fiesta will be cheap to run, a M3, less so!
Don't forget as well that a car that was expensive new still has expensive servicing costs. A Fiesta will be cheap to run, a M3, less so!
davek_964 said:
Used everyday for me. I know it suits a lot of people, but the benefit of buying new is massively wiped out by depreciation for me.
I was tempted by a new MX5 about 6 months ago. Think they look lovely, should be fun and would be reliable (and under warranty anyway). Then I worked out that the depreciation over 3 years would be more than running a used Porsche / Ferrari / Aston Martin. I lost interest after that.
That's not really a sensible comparison. A new MX-5 is less than £20k. Even if it lost 50% in 3 years how much would the servicing and maintenance on a Porsche/Ferrari/Aston be? You can't even buy a Ferrari or Aston for 20k and any Porsche at that money will need money spent on it. I was tempted by a new MX5 about 6 months ago. Think they look lovely, should be fun and would be reliable (and under warranty anyway). Then I worked out that the depreciation over 3 years would be more than running a used Porsche / Ferrari / Aston Martin. I lost interest after that.
Camelot1971 said:
davek_964 said:
Used everyday for me. I know it suits a lot of people, but the benefit of buying new is massively wiped out by depreciation for me.
I was tempted by a new MX5 about 6 months ago. Think they look lovely, should be fun and would be reliable (and under warranty anyway). Then I worked out that the depreciation over 3 years would be more than running a used Porsche / Ferrari / Aston Martin. I lost interest after that.
That's not really a sensible comparison. A new MX-5 is less than £20k. Even if it lost 50% in 3 years how much would the servicing and maintenance on a Porsche/Ferrari/Aston be? You can't even buy a Ferrari or Aston for 20k and any Porsche at that money will need money spent on it. I was tempted by a new MX5 about 6 months ago. Think they look lovely, should be fun and would be reliable (and under warranty anyway). Then I worked out that the depreciation over 3 years would be more than running a used Porsche / Ferrari / Aston Martin. I lost interest after that.
I owned a 996 turbo for 5.5 years. I've owned a Ferrari for 5 years. I've owned an Aston for 3 years.
Yes, they need a more significant outlay to buy, but unless you are very unlucky - and I haven't been - they don't cost £10k to run for 3 years. And if you're lucky they'll appreciate rather than depreciate.
I'm not suggesting the OP should buy any of them - it was simply an extreme (real life) example indicating why I prefer high end used to new.
If you're looking at spending 20k then there is a car that means you can get nearly new with a large chunk of luxury (not German levels but Lexus levels) as well as a decent amount of warranty then it has to be one of these:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Just look at the photos & spec on the thing.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Just look at the photos & spec on the thing.
I’ve been asking this myself for the past 6 months. Must’ve read a thousand forum posts, read hundreds of reviews and chewed the ears off anyone who cared to listen.
Finally settled on a 3 year old Mk3 TT on Sunday just gone. Not to everyone’s taste I know but it’s an absolute stunner, like factory new, and runs like a dream.
I’m about to part with a small fortune (for me) when I pick it up next week, but it’ll be ALL MINE to enjoy. No worrying about the smallest of scratches or whether I’m doing too many miles etc. I know brand new cars have their place and if money was no object then yeah of course I’d be all over it... but I couldn’t be more confident I made the right decision to go used luxury brand over new cheaper brand. Each to their own suppose.
Can’t wait to get her out for a proper spin!
Finally settled on a 3 year old Mk3 TT on Sunday just gone. Not to everyone’s taste I know but it’s an absolute stunner, like factory new, and runs like a dream.
I’m about to part with a small fortune (for me) when I pick it up next week, but it’ll be ALL MINE to enjoy. No worrying about the smallest of scratches or whether I’m doing too many miles etc. I know brand new cars have their place and if money was no object then yeah of course I’d be all over it... but I couldn’t be more confident I made the right decision to go used luxury brand over new cheaper brand. Each to their own suppose.
Can’t wait to get her out for a proper spin!
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff