What are your car buying habits?
Discussion
It's something that we all do but go about in very different ways but it's interesting to hear how different people approach buying their next vehicle. So:
1) Do you have a set change cycle (say 2-3 years) and always buy new/nearly new?
2) Do you have a set change cycle but buy older vehicles (3+ years old say)?
3) Are you spontaneous? i.e. you don't have a set time on when you change and just buy something new because you fancy it?
4) Do you buy new/nearly new and keep it for a long time (say 5+ years)?
5) Do you buy cheap cars and just throw them away when they break and replace it with another cheap car?
6) Do you work out what you want next and save up/keep searching until you can get it?
7) Do you have no idea what you want next and just wait until it's time to change and then see what's available for your budget/see what tickles your fancy?
8) Do you tend to only consider one vehicle e.g. my next car will be a Golf and maybe look at several examples before you buy or do you look at multiple options? e.g. Golf, Focus, Astra etc.
9) Do you go for the best deal or the car that you like the most regardless of cost?
To summarise, my wife probably fits into category 1), whereas I have had both new/nearly new cars and older cars. The shortest that I have owned a car is 9 months (technically 6 weeks but that was a stopgap car) and the longest 2.5 years. Unless it's something really special, I tend to get bored after about 18 months to 2 years. I've bought new/nearly new cars based on the deal being good before but usually regretted it. For my last but one car (a nearly new Honda Civic), I looked at multiple options and the Civic seemed like the most sensible option and the best deal but it wasn't the car that I really wanted, so I regretted that a bit. My last car purchase, (my current MINI Cooper daily) was much more spontaneous. It came up at a garage local to me, was the right price, the right spec and I didn't even bother looking at any other options and prior to seeing it, I hadn't really been thinking about changing my vehicle. I tend to be happiest when I have something decent, so nice condition, not crazy miles and less than 10 years old but more than 3 than in a scruffy old shed or something new and shiny but maybe that's because the new car that I have been able to afford has always been a bit of a compromise on what I really want.
As for what will I get next, I tend to get less certain as I get older. I'm most likely to see what options are available for my budget at the time and go from there but whether it will be a hatchback, a saloon, an estate, a coupe or an SUV, I couldn't really say at this stage.
So, what are your car buying habits?
1) Do you have a set change cycle (say 2-3 years) and always buy new/nearly new?
2) Do you have a set change cycle but buy older vehicles (3+ years old say)?
3) Are you spontaneous? i.e. you don't have a set time on when you change and just buy something new because you fancy it?
4) Do you buy new/nearly new and keep it for a long time (say 5+ years)?
5) Do you buy cheap cars and just throw them away when they break and replace it with another cheap car?
6) Do you work out what you want next and save up/keep searching until you can get it?
7) Do you have no idea what you want next and just wait until it's time to change and then see what's available for your budget/see what tickles your fancy?
8) Do you tend to only consider one vehicle e.g. my next car will be a Golf and maybe look at several examples before you buy or do you look at multiple options? e.g. Golf, Focus, Astra etc.
9) Do you go for the best deal or the car that you like the most regardless of cost?
To summarise, my wife probably fits into category 1), whereas I have had both new/nearly new cars and older cars. The shortest that I have owned a car is 9 months (technically 6 weeks but that was a stopgap car) and the longest 2.5 years. Unless it's something really special, I tend to get bored after about 18 months to 2 years. I've bought new/nearly new cars based on the deal being good before but usually regretted it. For my last but one car (a nearly new Honda Civic), I looked at multiple options and the Civic seemed like the most sensible option and the best deal but it wasn't the car that I really wanted, so I regretted that a bit. My last car purchase, (my current MINI Cooper daily) was much more spontaneous. It came up at a garage local to me, was the right price, the right spec and I didn't even bother looking at any other options and prior to seeing it, I hadn't really been thinking about changing my vehicle. I tend to be happiest when I have something decent, so nice condition, not crazy miles and less than 10 years old but more than 3 than in a scruffy old shed or something new and shiny but maybe that's because the new car that I have been able to afford has always been a bit of a compromise on what I really want.
As for what will I get next, I tend to get less certain as I get older. I'm most likely to see what options are available for my budget at the time and go from there but whether it will be a hatchback, a saloon, an estate, a coupe or an SUV, I couldn't really say at this stage.
So, what are your car buying habits?
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