Why I will never buy a new car

I agree with Chris that second hand cars are better value in most cases. There is an alternative approach that also works and that is buy a new one and keep it until it’s scrap. This works With cars that last. In my case a Volvo now 14 years old 145k miles. I am aiming for 200k then the capital cost is spread. Get it serviced at your local independent garage and keep maintenance costs lower while still maintaining the car.

My car is nearly 10 years old. I bought it new for less than the same car 1 year old but mine is a higher spec. It has never broken down. I had 3 years peace of mind with the warranty. It paid for itself years ago. Thorough research is the clue to getting the best deal in a vehicle along with haggling until you know the dealer doesn’t like you anymore :O). It’s really the only way with an item that is way over-priced to begin with and just a new pile of scrap. Drive safely :O)

There’s often good, logical reasons to buy new: firstly, if you want particular options (which may be very important for you) finding these on a used car can be damn near impossible. Secondly, I’ve found dealers, especially when faced with internet broker quotes and my intransigence, willing to do good deals on new cars, but they seem to be very, very reluctant to do sensible deals on used vehicles. So do your sums very carefully, because new cars often come with servicing deals, breakdown cover etc and these are real things that you’d otherwise have to buy. My last new car was about £500 cheaper than a year-old used (non-ideal spec) vehicle even allowing for some discount. And I got a car which hasn’t been abused or pre-crashed****

***Someone I know bought a year-old car from a car supermarket, after a few months it needed new tyres and he had the tracking checked. It’s on the ramp, tyre fitter calls him over, points out the ‘misalignment’ of the underneath which explained its slightly wayward handling – yep, it had received a rear-end shunt and had been shoddily repaired. What happened next? That’s another story……

I used to own a 2007 Fiesta 1.25 Studio which was listed at £8500, i got the car for £7000, but about 5years and 20000miles into ownership i discovered why, lost power on a hill, then the gearbox started to play up.

In August 2014 i bought a May 2014 (used) Kia Picanto 1.25 3 with 1262miles, it was £10250, but cost the 1st owner £13545, i went in for a Kia Rio 1.4 2 with 9000miles for £10500,

but in May 2016 i will be selling the Picanto what my grandkids call Picky or Pixel, i love the picanto because it is so roomy in the cabin, and it has the 2extra doors my Fiesta did not have

Yet the little Fiesta is still running for my daughter and with no faults,

new is good because you don’t have pay the VAT that you do on a brand new car. and same thing for sell my car.

I came extraordinarily close to buying a brand new car only a few weeks ago. I even got an insurance quote and measured the width of my gates.

Then for some reason I went and double-checked the spec against my old Ford Focus and realised that my old car had a lot of features the proposed new one was missing (the most notable being the heated front windscreen which is essential in Britain throughout the autumn and winter). I could get that feature, and lots of things I didn’t want or need, by coughing-up for a higher model (+£3k) but that took it well out of my budget.

Also missing was the lumber support, the electric seat height adjustment, the 12v socket in the boot, the securing posts in the boot, a full-size spare wheel, front and rear mudflaps…

One problem is that ten-fifteen years ago, British cars had a ‘British specification’ which was always higher than a ‘Euro specification’. Folk who thought they were buying a bargain when they imported from say Germany would soon stop bragging when they realised what was missing. In time the manufacturers have reconciled such inconsistencies and it’s the British motorist who has suffered.

So for the moment, though the Ford costs a bit in road tax, though I might not have a ‘Bluetooth interface’ on mine, I do get moving far quicker than my neighbors do on a cold morning!

Even if I won the lottery (Fat chance as I don’t do it!) I would never buy a brand new car. Two years ago I purchased a Mazda 6 which was four months old with under 5,000 miles on the clock. The car was that of the main dealers manager. Price new £24k I paid £19k. Best car I have ever owned. Best saving I have ever made.

No-one seems to have mentioned the spectacular value gained in buying older cars?
I bought a 2000 Honda HR-V in 2014 for £650, ran it for 50K miles and sold it with 175K miles on the clock 2 years later for £250. It cost me nothing in repairs, just usual servicing, brake pads and tyres.
I’m now on my second HR-V, a 2005 model which had similar miles – 128K – on the clock when I bought it 10 months ago. I’ve since put another 20K onto it with just servicing, tyres, brake discs & pads, and a battery.
If you are careful about who you’re buying from, the type of car you buy, and you treat it well, buying cars 10 years or older can be seriously cheap motoring. Oh and if one of them suffers an expensive problem you can simply sell it on for spares and buy another!
Paying out £20,000+ for a new car? You must be nuts!

I was quoted £12000 trade in from the Skoda dealer that I purchased it from 2year’s earlier at a cost of 25k against a manager’s special with a higher spec .which had done 1500 miles and was 18months old but I found that I could sell mine for £13600 and buy a new Skoda with the same spec cheaper on line .My message is if you must buy a new car, buy on line, it will be at least £1500 cheaper with the only difference a bunch of flowers and a cup of coffee.