The attraction of brand new cars

[Arese]

I've noticed a change over the last few years that has made (for me) buying a brand new car more attractive.

I first noticed these ultra-long warranties. 7-year warranties, which I thought was fantastic. But, I wouldn't want to own the cars they were offered on. But I now see that Toyota are now offering 5-year warranties on all cars in their range. But then I excitedly go to their website to see if they do anything sporty. Nope, just different sized replicas of the same car. Although I could be tempted by a V8 Land Cruiser!

I also notice finance getting more affordable. Some brands offering 0% over 2 or 3 years with a sizeable deposit. I have no issue with that really, you're paying no interest so it's just the same as saving up. £7000 down and £250 a month gets you a £16k car.

I always said I'd never 'finance' a car again, and I'm currently pottering around in a £2k Alfa 156. But, the attraction of knowing you can drive around in a brand new 'nice' car for a set amount each month, with no worries about it breaking down for 5 years is very tempting.

So, do you think we'll ever have a situation where say 90% of manufacturers offer 5+ year warranties and 0% finance on all their range? The first negative I can think of this is that it will make the 'exclusive' models more accessible and thus dilute them a bit...

[briSk]

i thought pretty much the whole of the US market revolved around lowish finance. low but not 0%. GM made most money from finance not manufacturing..

______

i agree a kia/hyundai for 5 years if you did 20k miles pa is attractive. even if it's worthless in 5 years (which ot won;t be) it'd be better than a company Leon or something..

[Arese]

briSk said:

i agree a kia/hyundai for 5 years if you did 20k miles pa is attractive. even if it's worthless in 5 years (which ot won;t be) it'd be better than a company Leon or something..

The thing is I don't think I'd ever want to own a Kia or Hyundai, but as soon as the manufacturers that I do like start offering the same deals, I'd be sorely tempted.

On the other hand, my Mum's boyfriend has no interest in cars so bought a brand new Kia something and will just run it into the ground for 5 years.

[briSk]

Arese said:

briSk said:

i agree a kia/hyundai for 5 years if you did 20k miles pa is attractive. even if it's worthless in 5 years (which ot won;t be) it'd be better than a company Leon or something..

The thing is I don't think I'd ever want to own a Kia or Hyundai, but as soon as the manufacturers that I do like start offering the same deals, I'd be sorely tempted.

On the other hand, my Mum's boyfriend has no interest in cars so bought a brand new Kia something and will just run it into the ground for 5 years.

i could see us getting a nealry kia c'eed 1.6d estate or similar as a 'dull car'. they're perfectly reasonable. never have it as my own/only car but for 'family' it would be reasonable. the dealers mostly have a decent rep too unlike all the 'known' marques.

[unpc]

Not sure if that would ever happen, but I just don't 'get' the new car thing. Sure I've had a few and I hear all the arguments for speccing your own car etc. etc. but I always buy and never lease and to me, it makes no sense. When I changed the wife's car I bought nearly new and sold privately and saved over £10k over the deal on offer on a new one. The FiL for instance always buys new and gets royally screwed fiscally for the privilege. I'd rather blow the savings on drugs and hookers or some such.

[Thudd]

I was at a supermarket petrol station the other day and they counter staff were admiring a white Kia Ceed 2.2 Diesel, and saying how "nice" it looked!

[Arese]

unpc said:

Not sure if that would ever happen, but I just don't 'get' the new car thing. Sure I've had a few and I hear all the arguments for speccing your own car etc. etc. but I always buy and never lease and to me, it makes no sense. When I changed the wife's car I bought nearly new and sold privately and saved over £10k over the deal on offer on a new one. The FiL for instance always buys new and gets royally screwed fiscally for the privilege. I'd rather blow the savings on drugs and hookers or some such.

I suppose you've got to look at the total cost of ownership, taking into consideration repairs and depreciation etc. But, you have to admit there's a certain amount of peace-of-mind knowing that if anything goes wrong it will be fixed for free. Maybe it's just because I've driven Alfa's for years

Thudd said:

I was at a supermarket petrol station the other day and they counter staff were admiring a white Kia Ceed 2.2 Diesel, and saying how "nice" it looked!

They do look nice, but I prefer the Soul

[briSk]

Thudd said:

I was at a supermarket petrol station the other day and they counter staff were admiring a white Kia Ceed 2.2 Diesel, and saying how "nice" it looked!

they're not bad though are they? i mean they're as conservo-middle england as an astra or migraine aren't they... should appeal to an older person who'd have got all excited by an e46 316!

[Wacky Racer]

Nothing wrong with Kia's or Hyundais....

OK, they are not flash or exciting, like say an Alfa, but they do what they are supposed to do, at very reasonable cost with great warranties.

I had a 2.0 Coupe which was a great car for the price.

Too much snobbishness on here for my liking......

[excel monkey]

Due to the nature of the cars they sell (and the people they sell them to), it's far cheaper for Toyota or Kia to offer a long 5 or 7 year warranty on its cars than it is for Porsche/Ferrari/Lotus...

Even if the manufacturer/dealer doesn't offer a finance deal, you can still get one yourself from a bank or building society.

If Toyota is too dull for you, then just go for whichever "exciting" brand you want, price up the car of your choice, add X years of extended warranty on top of the usual 3 years, and then go to a bank for a loan. Or go to a leasing company and get a full maintenance/warranty deal.

[Arese]

Wacky Racer said:

Nothing wrong with Kia's or Hyundais....

OK, they are not flash or exciting, like say an Alfa, but they do what they are supposed to do, at very reasonable cost with great warranties.

I had a 2.0 Coupe which was a great car for the price.

Too much snobbishness on here for my liking......

You're probably right. And maybe if I drove one I'd probably like one for a daily car, but I'd need something fun as well. Which then kind of gets expensive and defeats the point.

[kambites]

To me, a long year warranty will make second hand cars more attractive and new ones less so, because I'll be able to buy a 3 year old car which still has 4 years warranty left (assuming they're transferable).

[Arese]

excel monkey said:

If Toyota is too dull for you, then just go for whichever "exciting" brand you want, price up the car of your choice, add X years of extended warranty on top of the usual 3 years, and then go to a bank for a loan. Or go to a leasing company and get a full maintenance/warranty deal.

My point was though, adding an extended warranty and taking 'expensive' finance in the form of a bank loan isn't attractive. Having a long warranty as standard and 0% finance is. And I don't believe Toyota (for example) add the cost to them of the warranty and 0% onto the price of the car, as they are comparable to other brands.

[Thudd]

briSk said:

Thudd said:

I was at a supermarket petrol station the other day and they counter staff were admiring a white Kia Ceed 2.2 Diesel, and saying how "nice" it looked!

they're not bad though are they? i mean they're as conservo-middle england as an astra or migraine aren't they... should appeal to an older person who'd have got all excited by an e46 316!

Not bland as such (though I think the facelift was a retrograde step), but I was parked up next to it in my little hairdressers car, and they didn't comment on that. Oh no, it's the Golf/Auris/Focus clone all the way

They were middle-aged wimmin, though...

[hornetrider]

I always said I'd never buy a brand new car due to the depreciation involved. However, the prospect of high running costs when using my GTV V6 as a DD against the low running costs of what I bought to replace it, coupled with a mahoosive list price discount and uber cheap finance, made me jump into a new car 6 weeks ago.

So, I'm now driving round in an awesome MX5 Coupe, 3 years warranty and 3 years european breakdown, approx 15 more mpg and no cambelts, suspension or a.n. other random Alfa issues to worry about.

Winner.

[Deva Link]

briSk said:

i thought pretty much the whole of the US market revolved around lowish finance. low but not 0%. GM made most money from finance not manufacturing..

It does for new cars. The weird thing in the US is that used cars are expensive compared to the UK. In fact the UK has very low used prices generally - in Europe they're a fair bit more expensive, year for year.

[Shropshiremike]

Thudd said:

I was parked up next to it in my little hairdressers car, and they didn't comment on that. Oh no, it's the Golf/Auris/Focus clone all the way

They were middle-aged wimmin, though...

Obviously all MX5 lovers Si.....

[TheRoadWarrior]

I never considered myself a 'new car person' either. However I currently have a Renaultsport Clio 200 on order. I'll be paying it off with Renault's 0% finance deal.


3 years of (reasonably!) trouble free motoring, and a fun PH car to play with.

Shame the delivery date has been put back so much.

[hornetrider]

TheRoadWarrior said:

I never considered myself a 'new car person' either. However I currently have a Renaultsport Clio 200 on order. I'll be paying it off with Renault's 0% finance deal.


3 years of (reasonably!) trouble free motoring, and a fun PH car to play with.

Have you owned a Renault before?

[300bhp/ton]

Arese said:

briSk said:

i agree a kia/hyundai for 5 years if you did 20k miles pa is attractive. even if it's worthless in 5 years (which ot won;t be) it'd be better than a company Leon or something..

The thing is I don't think I'd ever want to own a Kia or Hyundai, but as soon as the manufacturers that I do like start offering the same deals, I'd be sorely tempted.

On the other hand, my Mum's boyfriend has no interest in cars so bought a brand new Kia something and will just run it into the ground for 5 years.

so what car makers do you like?

Personally I base my liking on a model, actually model spec by model spec basis. Not just the entire brand or badge.

As for new cars, well I do see the appeal, although I do feel it is often a deluded appeal. For me a car is more than just getting from A to B. I want to enjoy the car to the fullest.

I did look at new MINI's last year and was tempted, but by the time I'd specced up what I wanted I could have bought a few year old supercharged Mustang for the same money. Slap on a 3rd party warranty and the MINI then had little to offer in comparison in the "fun" and "interesting" stakes.