To buy or not to buy... now is the question?
Discussion
My wife's car is starting to show its age, with bits and pieces breaking on it more regularly. Whilst it is a 65 plate and still a decent car it is missing some nice to haves safety and others like Apple CarPlay. Our lifestyle with childcare and work means that we benefit from having two reliable cars, so with that in mind my thought process is we don't have time to "maintain" an unreliable car and as a result we should be looking at getting something newer and a bit more fit for purpose.
Maybe all of the above is irrelevant, but to get peoples thoughts you need to give a bit of context.
I'll open it to the floor with three options as I see them:
1) Keep the car and roll the dice that there isn't another bill coming or a period of when the car can't be used.
2) Buy a newer second hand car (loan/HP) maybe a year or two old EV (relatively short regular journeys with the odd 100 mile day) as they seem to represent good value given how expensive everything has got since we got the car in 2015
3) PCP, HP, Lease a brand new car likely EV again making use of quite a few 0% APR deals, likely a PCP as we would intend to do the same as her current car, pay the balloon and keep it for another 7 years or so.
4) A combination of 1 and 2 or 3, wait for a bit until a better deal comes along
My concern is all the uncertainty at the moment, the world is messed up and cars are pretty expensive. Assuming we can comfortably service whichever route we choose the question needs to be; Are cars generally going to get more or less expensive? I guess there is one answer for used and one answer for new.
Its crystal ball time do I do something now and what type or do I wait it out and see if everything gets a bit more stable/cheaper.
Maybe all of the above is irrelevant, but to get peoples thoughts you need to give a bit of context.
I'll open it to the floor with three options as I see them:
1) Keep the car and roll the dice that there isn't another bill coming or a period of when the car can't be used.
2) Buy a newer second hand car (loan/HP) maybe a year or two old EV (relatively short regular journeys with the odd 100 mile day) as they seem to represent good value given how expensive everything has got since we got the car in 2015
3) PCP, HP, Lease a brand new car likely EV again making use of quite a few 0% APR deals, likely a PCP as we would intend to do the same as her current car, pay the balloon and keep it for another 7 years or so.
4) A combination of 1 and 2 or 3, wait for a bit until a better deal comes along
My concern is all the uncertainty at the moment, the world is messed up and cars are pretty expensive. Assuming we can comfortably service whichever route we choose the question needs to be; Are cars generally going to get more or less expensive? I guess there is one answer for used and one answer for new.
Its crystal ball time do I do something now and what type or do I wait it out and see if everything gets a bit more stable/cheaper.
I don't think we can clearly foresee cars becoming more or less expensive, there are possible factors that could play in either direction.
I think there's a sweet spot in ~2-4 year old ~£15-25k ish EVs, you can find a very nice car and a fairly new one for a reasonable price, with battery still under warranty. And assuming you can charge at home, you can save 80% on fuel costs.
If you get such a car and keep it for ~5 years, I think it's attractive value over the term.
I think there's a sweet spot in ~2-4 year old ~£15-25k ish EVs, you can find a very nice car and a fairly new one for a reasonable price, with battery still under warranty. And assuming you can charge at home, you can save 80% on fuel costs.
If you get such a car and keep it for ~5 years, I think it's attractive value over the term.
Depending on how many miles you do per month and if you're able to charge at home, some of the deals mentioned in the other thread in this section would make a PCP deal look like a pretty attractive offer, my friend got one of those good deals on an MG, his monthly payment is basically the same as he was spending on fuel to get to work.
10 year old car isn't exactly at the end of it's life if it's well maintained.
End of the day once you start finance of any type, then that's it. Bill has to be paid each month. So if anything goes wrong with another car, you've got that on top.
Sometimes it's better the devil you know, especially if that devil is your current car with all new bits on it.
End of the day once you start finance of any type, then that's it. Bill has to be paid each month. So if anything goes wrong with another car, you've got that on top.
Sometimes it's better the devil you know, especially if that devil is your current car with all new bits on it.
Ankh87 said:
10 year old car isn't exactly at the end of it's life if it's well maintained.
You see well maintained doesn't seem to help... it is well maintained, serviced at all the right intervals by the dealer and then a reputable company. Still the turbo went (that was surprisingly expensive for what I assumed was a pretty widespread engine 1.4t) and a few other bits and pieces, the steering has developed on occasion a funny initial resistance and at the weekend the sunroof got stuck open (the tracks had disintegrated, the garage has closed it but it is broken and I have no intention of fixing it with a new one so now it has a fixed glass roof).Its a Stellantis product, whether that matters or not but the voice inside my head says more stuff is going to wear out.
All what you have said with all the issues, I'd sell up and not look back. It's the risk that prices might go up but they more than likely won't, especially on a stellantis car. They are cheap on the used market and plentiful. I'm in a similar boat and I'm selling up, as the cost of the next few repairs, well out-weigh the value of the car.
Yep I have a drive to park/charge on. I have been looking at Smart #1's as a quirky replacement and actually it seems a used one a year old with very few miles can be had for low 20's. I mean its basically a quirky Volvo EX30 because Geely sold at a Mercedes dealership...
I'm pretty sure they are a low risk reputable EV, I've only seen a handful about though and I wonder if getting one would be the equivalent of buying a now ridiculously cheap Fisker Ocean and gambling on that (just to be clear I am not crazy enough to go Fisker).
I'm pretty sure they are a low risk reputable EV, I've only seen a handful about though and I wonder if getting one would be the equivalent of buying a now ridiculously cheap Fisker Ocean and gambling on that (just to be clear I am not crazy enough to go Fisker).
Moonpie21 said:
You see well maintained doesn't seem to help... it is well maintained, serviced at all the right intervals by the dealer and then a reputable company. Still the turbo went (that was surprisingly expensive for what I assumed was a pretty widespread engine 1.4t) and a few other bits and pieces, the steering has developed on occasion a funny initial resistance and at the weekend the sunroof got stuck open (the tracks had disintegrated, the garage has closed it but it is broken and I have no intention of fixing it with a new one so now it has a fixed glass roof).
Its a Stellantis product, whether that matters or not but the voice inside my head says more stuff is going to wear out.
Our last two cars have only had a fixed panoramic roof, rather than an opening sunroof...Its a Stellantis product, whether that matters or not but the voice inside my head says more stuff is going to wear out.
I appreciate your dilemma, I think that there are a few uncertainties at the moment with the issues Mr Trump is making. Personally I would bide my time for the next 12 months or so and see what happens, I'd also put away in a savings account each month the money you would have had to have paid to finance your new / replacement car, and either put that towards its replacement or use it to pay for the next issue to be fixed.
We managed to get one of the cheap PCP deals for a Honda e:Ny1 last year, my first car on a PCP, although its cheap monthly payments and doesn't cost much to charge, seeing the monthly sums go from my account and knowing I'm tied into it for 2 years annoys me.
I also wouldn't personally buy a new/newish EV with my own money as the prices seem to be falling and the technology is constantly evolving. Just my view though.
I think there will be a raft of cheaper EV's coming, but the relative cheapness will be achieved by lack of features, performance and range.
Some of these new-name brands coming in from China seen good value for money, but how good they will be in the long term, either as a car or as a brand has yet to be found out - will they become an established manufactuer or will they be a Fisker Ocean?
Some of these new-name brands coming in from China seen good value for money, but how good they will be in the long term, either as a car or as a brand has yet to be found out - will they become an established manufactuer or will they be a Fisker Ocean?
Moonpie21 said:
Yep I have a drive to park/charge on. I have been looking at Smart #1's as a quirky replacement and actually it seems a used one a year old with very few miles can be had for low 20's. I mean its basically a quirky Volvo EX30 because Geely sold at a Mercedes dealership...
I'm pretty sure they are a low risk reputable EV, I've only seen a handful about though and I wonder if getting one would be the equivalent of buying a now ridiculously cheap Fisker Ocean and gambling on that (just to be clear I am not crazy enough to go Fisker).
Smart is half-owned by Mercedes, half by Geely. Those are two pretty well established companies, I wouldn't worry more about a Smart than any established brand.I'm pretty sure they are a low risk reputable EV, I've only seen a handful about though and I wonder if getting one would be the equivalent of buying a now ridiculously cheap Fisker Ocean and gambling on that (just to be clear I am not crazy enough to go Fisker).
It'll depreciate, but if you spent £25k and kept it for 5 years and it was worth £10k at the end, that's £4k a year in depreciation to have a nearly-new car. Against that you might have £1k a year in fuel savings, and £1k less maintenance?
A slightly older car may cost / depreciate less, but then it's an older car out of warranty, so swings and roundabouts.
If you like the car, it seems a decent idea to me.
Moonpie21 said:
Ankh87 said:
10 year old car isn't exactly at the end of it's life if it's well maintained.
You see well maintained doesn't seem to help... it is well maintained, serviced at all the right intervals by the dealer and then a reputable company. Still the turbo went (that was surprisingly expensive for what I assumed was a pretty widespread engine 1.4t) and a few other bits and pieces, the steering has developed on occasion a funny initial resistance and at the weekend the sunroof got stuck open (the tracks had disintegrated, the garage has closed it but it is broken and I have no intention of fixing it with a new one so now it has a fixed glass roof).Its a Stellantis product, whether that matters or not but the voice inside my head says more stuff is going to wear out.
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