Are cars expensive or what?

[HustleRussell]

Now that my Mum is zipping up and down the A3 three times a week I'm starting to wonder whether I should suggest that she changes her 15 year old Corsa for something more comfortable and safer.

This means I've stuck my head into the <5 years old used car market for the first time in a while.

First of all, where have all the private sellers gone?

Secondly, what happened to value for money?

The last time a friend asked me for advice with a similar brief and budget I ended up accidentally upselling him into a brand new car via an online broker because nearly new used cars just didn't look like value... they're a few years old, the warranty has expired, and the forecourts seemed to have them at about 80% of the price of the equivalent new car from a broker.

I've come away thinking jesus it's not worth wading in unless we're going to do £8k+ and if you're spending that kind of money you start looking at the Dacia and considering new cars again...

Of course the Corsa is worth the square root of fk all which won't help.

Where am I going wrong? Where should I be looking?

[300bhp/ton]

HustleRussell said:

First of all, where have all the private sellers gone?

I thought similar. Not just private sellers, but small home traders too.

When looking about, most cars seem to be car supermarkets or worse.

I'm sure some of these are fronts for something else. And most seem to have no care or interest in cars, customers or even selling in some cases.

[mrbarnett]

Five years old and £5k. It's slow, but surely no slower than the Corsa?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


EDIT: Or a three year old Toyota Avensis for £6.5k? Private sale, too.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Edited by mrbarnett on Tuesday 4th December 13:56

Edited by mrbarnett on Tuesday 4th December 13:56

[HustleRussell]

mrbarnett said:

Five years old and £5k. It's slow, but surely no slower than the Corsa?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I don't want my Mum driving a FAP Active, it sends out the wrong message

Interesting left-field option which I wouldn't have considered... but diesel, 70k miles- I am trying to avoid. I would consider a Peugeot but I wouldn't necessarily recommend one to my Mum.

I am looking at Jap and Korean cars mainly. Family hatchbacks.

[Russian Troll Bot]

300bhp/ton said:

HustleRussell said:

First of all, where have all the private sellers gone?

I thought similar. Not just private sellers, but small home traders too.

When looking about, most cars seem to be car supermarkets or worse.

I'm sure some of these are fronts for something else. And most seem to have no care or interest in cars, customers or even selling in some cases.

Probably all gone to WBAC. I can see why people would take the financial hit to avoid dealing with the no shows and the "whats ur best price m8?" brigade

[Luke.]

HustleRussell said:

Where should I be looking?

Leasing.

[HustleRussell]

Luke. said:

HustleRussell said:

Where should I be looking?

Leasing.

Current car bought for £5,350 and owned for 13 years, surely not the answer?

[edd344]

eBay is where all the private sellers are these days.

[designforlife]

Facebook buy and sell groups

[V8mate]

designforlife said:

Facebook buy and sell groups

Gumtree is pretty busy for private sales too.

[if in doubt]

According to the Office for National Statistics composite price index, prices in 2018 are 45.02% higher than prices in 2005. The pound experienced an average inflation rate of 2.90% per year during this period.

In other words, £5,350 in 2005 is equivalent in purchasing power to £7,758.82 in 2018, a difference of £2,408.82 over 13 years.

So yes, to buy something equivalent to what she bought 13 years ago she needs to spend ~£8k.

[anonymous-user]

if in doubt said:

According to the Office for National Statistics composite price index, prices in 2018 are 45.02% higher than prices in 2005. The pound experienced an average inflation rate of 2.90% per year during this period.

In other words, £5,350 in 2005 is equivalent in purchasing power to £7,758.82 in 2018, a difference of £2,408.82 over 13 years.

So yes, to buy something equivalent to what she bought 13 years ago she needs to spend ~£8k.

This ^^^

OP: Have you seen how much a fking Freddo is now?!

[Frimley111R]

I remember someone saying (TG Richard Hammond IIRC) that a Micra is the same price (adjusted for inflation) to what it was 20/30 years ago but now it is absolutely loaded with kit and massively more safe, etc.

I think cars have never offered better value. You can buy amazing cars for relatively next to nothing these days

[HustleRussell]

Inflation isn't lost on me, my complaint isn't so much that £8k is too much for a car, my complaint is that I expected to have a wealth of decent used and private sale options at this price point representing good value for money, however instead I'm seeing a limited number of options including many damaged cars, recorded losses, filthy or dubious looking cars etc. This is on FB and Gumtree.

[anonymous-user]

HustleRussell said:

I've come away thinking jesus it's not worth wading in unless we're going to do £8k+ and if you're spending that kind of money you start looking at the Dacia and considering new cars again...

For me it goes like this

1)Just get a shed for £1500
2)Why not just lease something for two years, get a warranty and no Tyres/MOT etc. to worry about. Oh that works out at £5k for two years and nothing to show for it.
3)For £5K I would rather buy something outright, trouble is it is in no mans land, not cheap enough to scrap if it goes wrong. For a couple of grand more I could get a new Dacia with no worries.
4)Hmmmm the Dacia is £8500 by the time you add a few options such as aircon etc. For £9999 I could get a brand new Fiat Tipo (in recession white) which looks like a bigger and nicer car
5)For £10K I could get a nice second hand BMW/Mercedes. Trouble is what if there is a big bill around the corner and that is why the owner wants rid
6)I'll just get a shed for £1500......
Rinse and repeat

I have been over this scenario countless times, I end up just keeping what I have got as it is the least hassle and a known entity. I probably won't replace it until it dies and my hand is forced.

Last new car I bought was a Clio 1.2 Dynamique 16v for £8800 in 2002. According to the inflation calculator that equates to £13,609.55 in todays money. Looking at the Renault website the cheapest Clio Play TCe 75 is £13,615

So exactly the same price in real terms for a bigger car with more toys.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 4th December 14:49

[anonymous-user]

Joey Deacon said:

For me it goes like this

1)Just get a shed for £1500
2)Why not just lease something for two years, get a warranty and no Tyres/MOT etc. to worry about. Oh that works out at £5k for two years and nothing to show for it.
3)For £5K I would rather buy something outright, trouble is it is in no mans land, not cheap enough to scrap if it goes wrong. For a couple of grand more I could get a new Dacia with no worries.
4)Hmmmm the Dacia is £8500 by the time you add a few options such as aircon etc. For £9999 I could get a brand new Fiat Tipo (in recession white) which looks like a bigger and nicer car
5)For £10K I could get a nice second hand BMW/Mercedes. Trouble is what if there is a big bill around the corner and that is why the owner wants rid
6)I'll just get a shed for £1500......
Rinse and repeat

this is extremley familiar. Threw it all up in the air and bought a £3k XJ8 this time around.

[HustleRussell]

Joey Deacon said:

For me it goes like this

1)Just get a shed for £1500
2)Why not just lease something for two years, get a warranty and no Tyres/MOT etc. to worry about. Oh that works out at £5k for two years and nothing to show for it.
3)For £5K I would rather buy something outright, trouble is it is in no mans land, not cheap enough to scrap if it goes wrong. For a couple of grand more I could get a new Dacia with no worries.
4)Hmmmm the Dacia is £8500 by the time you add a few options such as aircon etc. For £9999 I could get a brand new Fiat Tipo (in recession white) which looks like a bigger and nicer car
5)For £10K I could get a nice second hand BMW/Mercedes. Trouble is what if there is a big bill around the corner and that is why the owner wants rid
6)I'll just get a shed for £1500......
Rinse and repeat

I have been over this scenario countless times, I end up just keeping what I have got as it is the least hassle and a known entity. I probably won't replace it until it does and my hand is forced.

I don't have this problem myself as I simply never change my car but it's a familiar pattern having looked at cars for others.

Currently I am reassuring Mum that her car is fine and won't let her down. It's old now and she is becoming paranoid that it'll imminently break down but it's only done 60k miles, I am checking it weekly and I don't see any cause for concern.

However I'm secretly looking at cars for her not because of reliability but because of safety and suitability. I think she secretly wants a newer car anyway so I don't want to suggest it until I know what we're letting ourselves in for.

[Cold]

Zooming up and down the A3? Is catching the train a viable option?



(Can I choose my own stick please?)

[anonymous-user]

Cold said:

Zooming up and down the A3? Is catching the train a viable option

(Can I choose my own stick please?)

With the cost of train fares these days it probably works out not worth actually going to work after you have deducted the train fare from your salary.

Evans Halshaw are allegedly doing the Vauxhall Corsa Special Eds 1.4 Energy 3dr [AC] 68 REG. Only £151 Per Month with a £151 Deposit on PCP. Save £4,889! Limited Stock. I say allegedly as two years ago they were doing a similar car for £129 a month so I went there to say "Take my money!" only to be told there were none left (even thought one was stickered up saying £129 outside). He then went away, spoke to the sales manager (course he did..) and said it would be £200 a month.

Renault are apparently doing the Clio I mentioned earlier for £169 a month with 0% finance. They are also offering a £2000 scrappage allowance on their website but I suspect they won't offer this with the 0% deal.

Also I suspect the reason you are finding it hard to find a private second hand car is most people lease or PCP and just hand it back after three years for exactly the reasons you are finding.

[AmosMoses]

Dacia Sandero?