Have I been missing out?
Discussion
Looking at some of the figures that some people are paying every month in payments/ depreciation has got me thinking. Instead of changing my car frequently, I have only bought three cars in the last 20 years (Citroen Xsara, Alfa 156 and Mazda 6, all estates) The Citroen was new, the others fairly new, one owner, low mileage. All have done the job I wanted them for, been trouble-free and depreciation has been no more than about £100 per month. So far so good, but in the same time I could have owned about a dozen cars and had a wider variety of motoring experiences rather than the limited range in this period.. It would no doubt have cost me more, but then I might have had a more interesting time behind the wheel to look back on. I am now thinking of replacing the Mazda, but I don't intend to keep the new one for more than a year. I would be interested to know if those who have bought and sold cars like this have thought that this was the best way, or sticking with one that is unlikely to let you down is the way to go?
I'd guess a lot depends on whether you intend to buy new or not. Depreciation for most cars is worst in that first year... thus yes, you'd lose more money.
Personally I think 3ish years is about right, in that time you get not only the novelty, but get used to it, feel comfortable with it, and know more about it, how it handles in lots of situations and how to get the best out of it.
If you don't mind the added cost, and want lots of "experience" and/or something new and shiney, then yes, change often.
I guess it depends what job you want the car to fulfil.
Personally I think 3ish years is about right, in that time you get not only the novelty, but get used to it, feel comfortable with it, and know more about it, how it handles in lots of situations and how to get the best out of it.
If you don't mind the added cost, and want lots of "experience" and/or something new and shiney, then yes, change often.
I guess it depends what job you want the car to fulfil.
I've always bought mine, but that was mainly due to the ever-changing annual mileage I was doing. Some years it would be 30-35k miles (if I was working in the UK), other years (if I was working abroad or in Central London) 5k miles.
The monthlies on a 1 year lease/pcp for higher mileage years seemed very high, and lower monthlies for longer leases/pcps mean I would be stuck paying out when I wasn't using the car much.
The also seemed a bit restrictive on what could be done to or with the cars with regards to mods and track days/Ring trips - understandably, as it's not my car.
I just buy 2-3 year old 10-30k mile cars (at about 50% of their new price) and drive them until they're uneconomical to repair (get about 180,000 miles out of them before parts become hard to get or very expensive).
The monthlies on a 1 year lease/pcp for higher mileage years seemed very high, and lower monthlies for longer leases/pcps mean I would be stuck paying out when I wasn't using the car much.
The also seemed a bit restrictive on what could be done to or with the cars with regards to mods and track days/Ring trips - understandably, as it's not my car.
I just buy 2-3 year old 10-30k mile cars (at about 50% of their new price) and drive them until they're uneconomical to repair (get about 180,000 miles out of them before parts become hard to get or very expensive).
( so now it's a "shed" )I can honestly say I derive more enjoyment from driving the Daihatsu Shed than any of my other cars. Of course there is a disclaimer to that - if i need a 5 up with luggage continent muncher then the Dai is low on the list. The fact that it gets me around at 9/10ths without breaking the speed limit, goes off road where friends 4x4's gets scratched etc.
PH isn't about big balls, brand new V12 behemoths that do 2k per annum. Check out Readers Drives and see the huge interest in older cars.
PH isn't about big balls, brand new V12 behemoths that do 2k per annum. Check out Readers Drives and see the huge interest in older cars.
I tend to think that the memories in the car matter more than the variety itself. If you think you've done the right thing, that's all that matters. Often it's more satisfying owning something long term that stays nice instead of going new every couple of years.
You could have spent the money on leasing things on something like holidays, or other fun things to do.
You could have spent the money on leasing things on something like holidays, or other fun things to do.
Bennet said:
No you haven't been missing out. All of those were probably pretty decent to drive.
I'm not knocking the ops choice of cars. But really!!! 
Meaning no offense, all of those cars are whitegoods, unless the 156 was a GTA, which I'm guessing it wasn't. Perfectly good tools, but completely devoid of excitement.
300bhp/ton said:
Bennet said:
No you haven't been missing out. All of those were probably pretty decent to drive.
I'm not knocking the ops choice of cars. But really!!! Meaning no offense, all of those cars are whitegoods, unless the 156 was a GTA, which I'm guessing it wasn't. Perfectly good tools, but completely devoid of excitement.
Analyse those 3 purchases and issues you may have had, and why you got rid (Reliability, end of paying for it, finally fancied a change?).
I have had 10 Toyota Supra's, a Mki Mr2, Mk1 Aristo, x2 205 Diesels x2 405 estate Diesels, Volvo V70, Volvo XC60, Seat Alhambra.
so nearly 20 in the last 20 years! none in the 1-3 year old bracket, most very old, XC60 was I think 5 years old and the newest of the lot.
Not major issues or running costs outside the norm, some bangers run and scrapped, some made money most lost probably the same sort of depreciation as you.
Probably been lucky but I think you could take 5-7 or even 7-9 year old cars of a perhaps more interesting nature and not do any worse financially but it depends on your feelings on older cars and your bork risk attitude?
If you think you missed out, do any specific cars come to mind?
I have had 10 Toyota Supra's, a Mki Mr2, Mk1 Aristo, x2 205 Diesels x2 405 estate Diesels, Volvo V70, Volvo XC60, Seat Alhambra.
so nearly 20 in the last 20 years! none in the 1-3 year old bracket, most very old, XC60 was I think 5 years old and the newest of the lot.
Not major issues or running costs outside the norm, some bangers run and scrapped, some made money most lost probably the same sort of depreciation as you.
Probably been lucky but I think you could take 5-7 or even 7-9 year old cars of a perhaps more interesting nature and not do any worse financially but it depends on your feelings on older cars and your bork risk attitude?
If you think you missed out, do any specific cars come to mind?
Justin Case said:
Looking at some of the figures that some people are paying every month in payments/ depreciation has got me thinking. Instead of changing my car frequently, I have only bought three cars in the last 20 years (Citroen Xsara, Alfa 156 and Mazda 6, all estates) The Citroen was new, the others fairly new, one owner, low mileage. All have done the job I wanted them for, been trouble-free and depreciation has been no more than about £100 per month. So far so good, but in the same time I could have owned about a dozen cars and had a wider variety of motoring experiences rather than the limited range in this period.. It would no doubt have cost me more, but then I might have had a more interesting time behind the wheel to look back on. I am now thinking of replacing the Mazda, but I don't intend to keep the new one for more than a year. I would be interested to know if those who have bought and sold cars like this have thought that this was the best way, or sticking with one that is unlikely to let you down is the way to go?
I'm not sure anyone but you can say if you have missed out or not.As for long term deprecation, well, own anything long enough and its cost per month from its retail price will keep getting lower. Whether it represents good vfm is probably up for debate however.
e.g. if it has cost you £18k over 9 years, that's only £166/month. Although it isn't most likely as most finance agreements would have been a lot shorter term. And buying outright as a cash purchase cost you the total amount on day 1. You won't "loose" any money on it until you sell or get rid....
I would say, there are lots and lots of awesome cars out there. I've only managed to sample a small number. But I'm not done yet. I wouldn't say new or newly new are always the most exciting and fun cars either. But obviously this needs to be balanced with your intended use.
Or maybe consider owning multiple cars, that is always another option.
I think to be able to buy and sell a new or nearly new car and not loose much money on it, is rather a fine art. And one that could prove costly quite easily.
UpThe said:
Justin Case said:
I have only bought three cars in the last 20 years (Citroen Xsara, Alfa 156 and Mazda 6, all estates)
Are you sure you are on the correct website?1974 Ford Capri 1600 (Mum's)
1979 Buick Regal Coupe 3800 (Dad's)
1983 Mercedes 230E (Mum's)
1988 BMW 318i (Mum's)
1972 MGB GT (My first owned car)
1993 Volvo 440 1.7 (owned)
1992 BMW 318i (Mum's)
1993 BMW 320i (owned)
1999 BMW 328Ci (owned from new)
2001 BMW 330Ci (owned from new, still own)
2001 Honda VFR800 (owned from nearly new, still own)
2006 Audi A4 2.0T (Mum's)
2012 Porsche Boxster S (Owned, written off)
2014 Porsche Boxster S (Still own)
During my driving career I've also had the good fortune to drive some really fun things with animals on the badges and ridiculous amounts of power as well as more regular cars like Audi RS4, BMW M3 and M4 but my all-time favourite of which is an old 246GT Dino which could never be called a performance car today but provoked some fantastic reactions from people. But as you can see, I've only owned three cars in the last 20 years and that's only because one was written off. I've never leased a car and don't get the itch to keep changing. I got my driving licence at age 17 in 1991, but drove since the age of 11 since I had access to roads on private land.
I don't feel like I've missed out, and if we never got to drive again I'd look back on the cars I've owned and driven and think I had some really decent cars and only one absolutely s
t one. I do have an urge to have a big American V8 and sometimes wish I'd had a hot hatch back in the Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 era.So do you feel like you've missed out? What cars would you have liked to own or drive?
Justin Case said:
Looking at some of the figures that some people are paying every month in payments/ depreciation has got me thinking. Instead of changing my car frequently, I have only bought three cars in the last 20 years (Citroen Xsara, Alfa 156 and Mazda 6, all estates) The Citroen was new, the others fairly new, one owner, low mileage. All have done the job I wanted them for, been trouble-free and depreciation has been no more than about £100 per month.
We haven't bought a family car for about 10 years. Your £100/month has actually been around £200/month amortised for us by leasing. That has however included road tax, no consumables, no MOT, no repairs, no major services, a warranty. And we've always been in cars that were no more than 2 years old but equally boring small SUV type (Tiguan, 3008 etc). There was a little opportunity cost avoided too. So the actual difference was probably closer to £50. For us that's a very small price to pay for the convenience of not having to buy/sell/partex, not to mention time saved by not having to MOT, tyres, pads, repairs etc... Edited by nickfrog on Wednesday 22 July 17:42
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