Why are so many people buying new cars??

kluivert

Its not the end of the month yet and i dont recall seeing so many new cars on the road (06) so early on in the year.

Have people got more money now or willing to take out a loan for a new car.

This country has gone car mad.

Its alot of money to be spending, so why or whats the motivation behind buying new and is it recommended.

I know people are going to say...well at least you know its been looked after properly, but a few checks can clear that up on most cars hopefully.

Anyway if you bought an 06 car let us know what you bought and why!

samo

Friend of a friend is looking to buy an 06 Laguna...at a cost of approx 27k :eek: He still owes finance on his existing car which is 5k (existing car is perfectly good by the way!) so thats to be factored in as well.

He cannot be disuaded from going ahead with it and the amount of other perfectly good nearly new cars for the same kinda money that he could get if he wanted is staggering. He's not even bothered by the depreciation he's gonna be hit with when he drives it out of the showroom - well its his money not mine

Kinetic^

Its got to do with the whole "I've got a new car".

I have to say great if you can afford it but with the national debt rising I can only imagine that its all on borrowed money.

I feel sorry for those people who feel that they "need" a new car just to impress people.

I really hate "keeping up with the Jones", a friend's family had to give back the family car just because the mother wanted to have a BMW in the driveway. They resorted back to the car they had before the BMW.

All the finance companies are making a killing of these car sales.

BrianD3

Nothing wrong with buying a new car now and again but trading up every year or two just so you have a new car is a bit daft. I say let them at it. Think of all the VRT they are contributing to the exchequer If this country was like Australia/NZ where it's common to hold onto a car 15-20 years, we'd have hundreds of millions less to spend on health, roads etc.

el tel

Kinetic^

el tel wrote:

Excellent tel, just excellent!!!

maidhc

Finance is easy to get, a neighbour buys a new car every 3 years "because it costs him nothing", he gets his new car, and the finance house gets 3 more years of repayments. Simple as that.

Other people buy new cars because they do a lot of driving. It is easy to preach the virtue of s/h cars when you do low milegae, but people doing 20/30k a year will probably see a new car (along with the guarantee, roadside assist etc) as a must.

More people buy new cars because they have the money. My grandfather does this. He doesnt really have any other expenses, and likes getting a new car every two years. Fair play, it isnt the worst way to spend your money!

Creamy Goodness

this is what my mum does, she changes the car every two years to avoid massive depreciation.

at the moment she has an '04 1.4 golf which is fully paid for, so the trade in + depreciation value she can get a new car for 4-5k which she can afford as she doesn't smoke or drink.

seems sensible to me.

4-5k is nothing to pay over 2 years considering most people will go out buy a car on hire purchase and pay like 20-30k in 3-5 years.

Bluehair

Imho it's 'new car' syndrome for the most part, we all have more money than sense these days and the smug satisfaction from driving a new car off the forecourt is more than a lot of people can bear (especially now that credit is so easy to get).

Couldn't bring myself to do it. Take new laguna man mentioned by Samo above and imagine the second hand bmw, jag, merc etc. he could get for €27k...

HelterSkelter

I like people who buy new cars, if it wasn't for them I couldn't get my second hand cars for a bargain!!

Alun

HelterSkelter wrote:

I like people who buy new cars, if it wasn't for them I couldn't get my second hand cars for a bargain!!

Exactly! Someone has to do it or else the supply of good second hand cars would dry up.

Having said that, it can be quite difficult here sometimes to source second hand cars with exactly the spec you require, especially if you like your little luxuries, so maybe buying new is the only option for people who don't want the hassle, say, of importing fom the UK.

sandyg

I just got my 06 punto grande last week having previously owned an 04 fiat panda. My reason:
1) i had put up over 31k on the clock
2) panda was only a 1.1
3) saved up so i required no finance
4) More safety features in bigger car.
5) get 4 years warranty/AA membership so have hassle free driving.

Hubbie has ordered his new 06 passat 1.9 tdi. At present owns 04 A4 1.6 petrol. His reasons:

1) Too much depreciation on audi if left another year
2) requires a diesel with travelling he expects to do within the next 2/3 years.
3) He likes them!
4) He has his own savings to get it.

If someone wants to get a new car why not! Its not a case of keeping up with the jones. As far as were concerned. We work pretty hard for what we have and if we want to spend some of our savings on cars why not - u cant take it with you!:D Theres nothing like geting into a brand new car and driving out of the garage with it!!

pontovic

whats the deal with them 3 cups ? i dont get it

Bluehair

sandyg wrote:

Theres nothing like geting into a brand new car and driving out of the garage with it!!

Sure there is, it's parking my 3 year old fulled loaded 3-series beside your new passat, knowing i paid less for it today and it will depreciate less over the next few years than the passat.

Very satisfying indeed

(Then again as HelterSkelter and Alun have pointed out i probably should be thanking you lot for buying the new cars and allowing us to pick up the bargains a few years down the road! )

blastman

My thoughts as the new year started: "Hey, only another five years and this baby's eligible for classic road tax!"

jayok

pontovic wrote:

whats the deal with them 3 cups ? i dont get it

I think they are Mugs....

Kinetic^

pontovic wrote:

whats the deal with them 3 cups ? i dont get it

Mugs

maidhc

Bluehair wrote:

Sure there is, it's parking my 3 year old fulled loaded 3-series beside your new passat, knowing i paid less for it today and it will depreciate less over the next few years than the passat.

Buying s/h can be a very hit and miss affair. Your 3 year old BMW may expire on the road in 6mths time and it will be your problem, if the same happens the Passat it will be VWs. That means a lot to many people.

The Passat is a nicer car than the 3 series anyway!

Big Balls

So people want to spend their money on new cars... so what?

Maybe they have more disposable income than you? Maybe they don't like driving someone else's car which is out of warranty, has had the crap driven out of it and has knocks and scrapes on it...

Just one way to look at it.

Big Balls

Bluehair wrote:

Sure there is, it's parking my 3 year old fulled loaded 3-series beside your new passat, knowing i paid less for it today and it will depreciate less over the next few years than the passat.

Eh, the words fully loaded and depreciate less don't go together.

bazz26

Big Balls wrote:

So people want to spend their money on new cars... so what?

Maybe they have more disposable income than you? Maybe they don't like driving someone else's car which is out of warranty, has had the crap driven out of it and has knocks and scrapes on it...

Just one way to look at it.

I agree, especially the way the Irish in general treat their cars and the amount of rubish that is sitting on many forecourts. It is difficult to find a nice used car these days that hasn't taken some sort of abuse or not properly maintained.

But in saying that changing to a new car every year does seem like a waste of money. Ah sure everyone to their own I guess.

Big Balls

bazz26 wrote:

But in saying that changing to a new car every year does seem like a waste of money. Ah sure everyone to their own I guess.

I've changed every year since 2000 and the last two cars have cost the same per month, I just got a new car out of it but yeh you can waste a lot getting caught out.

Squirrel

My family gets a new car every 4 years, but it's a company car so costs us nothing, perhaps alot of new cars are company ones

t5pwr

SSIA is starting to be dished out this April... Expect to see more.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Im buying my first car in the next few months, it will be second hand, but if i had the money i would buy new. I own/have owned 4 motorbikes in the last 5 years, 2 were brand new and 2 were second hand. And the feeling of getting a brand new bike is great . Much better than buying a second hand bike

lomb

agreed, u cant put a price on the feeling u get driving a factory ordered new car to spec. its probably worth the 20% loss in the first year. sure ud probably lose 15% anyway, whats another 5%. another way of looking at it i suppose.

ordered a new golf recently, looked at used, but concluded id only save 3 grand(not alot if u are spending 25 and ul never buy at trade prices anyway), and it would be a year old then anyway.
also the spec that we wanted in red with automatic and the fsi engine option meant the chances of finding one used in ireland or the uk was nil , he offered a 2 grand discount off list, so i said feck it and placed the order:D tis alot of cash thats for sure no getting around that, but then ive seen people collecting 100 grand new cars and they dont blink an eye. i suppose it all boils down to how much money u have..

Dagon

Depends on the kind of cars you buy. If you're into Renault, Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot, etc.. then yes, my advice is to change it - if possible - every 2 years, otherwise it starts to give trouble and is expensive to maintain, and quite unreliable.

If you buy Jap cars on the other hand, then you can always buy second hand with confidence. You will never need to go new, and the concept of buying new seems pointless. My parents used to buy Fords, and they had to buy them new. Then they moved to Toyota, and ever since then it doesn't matter how old the car is, it just keeps going (1990 Carina with 280,000 miles still on the driveway as a second car!).

So depends on what makes you're into.

Airblazer

I bought a 05 Nissan Primera for 28k...reason I bought it...I get a 3 year warranty with it and for me that means 3 years worry free motoring..for me that's worth it..my last card was a 98 megane and the timing belt went at 50k..really pissed me off as it cost me about €800 to pick up a 2nd hand engine for it plus all the hassle of arranging a spare car...another mate of mine picked up a 2nd hand bmw for 22k...got a 6 month warranty with it and the water pump went on it another month later..since then they've had nothing but trouble with it..so for another few grand more she could have bought a new car without all the hassle..
Also reason why everyone trades in every 2-3 years is it minimises the depreciation and gives you the most value out of trading up..

unkel

Isn't it great? I love the looks of all those 06 cars on the road and I'd particularly encourage people to buy nice big executive saloons with all the options ticked. BMW 750i, Merc S65 AMG, Maserati Quattroporte anyone? Bentley, Audi S8, Roller? Yours for €200,000 or thereabouts. Go on, you know you want it

On my shortlist for 2013 / 2014 and within my €10,000 budget

kluivert

It just goes to show in a way that people do not know how to take care of their cars properly so that they live out a long and healthy life.

A car should last no problem up to 100k and deisel cars at least 250k miles. If taken care of. Walking to work this morning as the girlfriend has the car this morning, the rattles and noises coming from newish cars ie 01-04 was incredible. People just drive the crap out of them and say what the hell its under warranty and anyway ill trade it in every three years.

What a waste of money. If you buy a new car and take care of it and hold onto it for ten years, then you ll gain some money back.

Meaning, two people buy a the same, owner one retains the car for ten years and the other trades in every three years. Term loan is for three years ok. Average repayments say on a 1.4 06 Astra is 450e a month.

Now at the end of the three years owner two trades in and renews the term loan for another three years. While owner one has no futher repayments. Thats a saving over owner two of €37800 (450*12 Months*7 Years).

I dont know about you guys but if a car is serviced regularly ie every 6k and and well maintened inside and out, it'll run no problem. And dont drive the crap out of it.

I can think of better things id rather do with €37800 than waste it on a new car every three years.

prospect

lomb wrote:

i suppose it all boils down to how much money u have..

I don't really agree.

I know people that have oodles of cash, but will still go for a decent second hand car. Also, they will usually limit their spend to about €40K, even though they easily could afford over €100K.

The I know people who borrow to the hilt to spend €35K on a car when they really should only be spending about €20K on a car. These people want others to think they have loads of money...

Buying a new car is nice, I have had 3 brand new cars since 2000, but am kinda reluctant to buy new again. I would prefer to spend the same amount of cash on a 1 year old car, get a nicer spec car with a bigger engine and let someone else take the first year depreciation. Kepp that for 2 years, then get another 1 year old car.