Does it make financial sense to change this car?

stifflers ma

A family member is intent on changing their car to avoid depreciation, as they percieve it.

It's a 2006 Civic, 5dr 1.4, 90,000kms, they are the second owners, they've owned it for the last 3/4 years approximately.
The car is running fine and hasn't given any trouble.
It doesn't do much milage (they're retired), and won't have to do much in the future.
It's regularly serviced by a family friend (non honda dealer).
They don't want a new car for the sake of it, they just think it makes financial sense to chage now to avoid "problems" in the future and increased NCT charges (!).

They want to change it for a 2011 Civic, 5dr 1.4, 12,500kms, "1 lady owner":pac:, found on carzone.ie, being sold by a Naas Honda dealer.

The dealer has priced the new Civic at 17,250 and wants the old civic plus 7,250 to complete the sale.

I believe that in these circumstances, the old Civic will run indefinitely with proper servicing and there is no need to change it.
Particularly as they don't want to change it, but feel pressured to do so to avoid "depreciation" and percieved future breakdowns and increased NCT charges etc.

What are the opinions on this case?

Would like as many opinions as possible, so weigh in folks, it's Friday

Gurgle

Yep, its a no-brainer financially.

That Civic has already lost most of its value to depreciation. If they buy something newer they lose more every year.

Stainless_Steel

They'd be mad to change IMO.

keithclancy

stifflers ma wrote: »

It's a 2006 Civic, 5dr 1.4, 90,000kms, they are the second owners, they've owned it for the last 3/4 years approximately.
The car is running fine and hasn't given any trouble.
It doesn't do much milage (they're retired), and won't have to do much in the future.
It's regularly serviced by a family friend (non honda dealer).
They don't want a new car for the sake of it, they just think it makes financial sense to chage now to avoid "problems" in the future and increased NCT charges (!).

They want to change it for a 2011 Civic, 5dr 1.4, 12,500kms, "1 lady owner":pac:, found on carzone.ie, being sold by a Naas Honda dealer.

The dealer has priced the new Civic at 17,250 and wants the old civic plus 7,250 to complete the sale.

You already answered your own question.

Would be crazy to change it.

mickdw

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

They'd be mad to change IMO.

On something like a civic, I would have to agree. On many modern cars, there is an argument to be made for keeping them within warranty and many people are happy to pay a monthly figure for a new car and be sure its not going to cost them unexpected bills here or there.
I have a feeling this is how the people in the op see it - keep a new car and not be hit with unexpected costs. If they can afford to change every few years and if it offers then peace of mind, who is to say they are wrong. If on the other hand, they plan to keep the new car forever, I would think they would be just as well served in keeping the 07 for ever and keep the 7k.

stifflers ma

mickdw wrote: »

On something like a civic, I would have to agree. On many modern cars, there is an argument to be made for keeping them within warranty and many people are happy to pay a monthly figure for a new car and be sure its not going to cost them unexpected bills here or there.
I have a feeling this is how the people in the op see it - keep a new car and not be hit with unexpected costs. If they can afford to change every few years and if it offers then peace of mind, who is to say they are wrong. If on the other hand, they plan to keep the new car forever, I would think they would be just as well served in keeping the 07 for ever and keep the 7k.

They're happy to keep the old civic indefinitely, and their mechanic is a family friend who keeps the car in good order at a reasonable price.
They do have a certain fear of something big going wrong with the car and being hit with a big bill.
I can't see that happening though, considering the light usage and the total lack of trouble with the car to date.

Thanks for the replies and keep them coming please.

MuppetCheck

Makes no sense financially but the cost to change seems very decent.

stifflers ma

stifflers ma wrote: »

A family member is intent on changing their car to avoid depreciation, as they percieve it.

It's a 2006 Civic, 5dr 1.4, 90,000kms, they are the second owners, they've owned it for the last 3/4 years approximately................
They want to change it for a 2011 Civic, 5dr 1.4, 12,500kms, "1 lady owner":pac:, found on carzone.ie, being sold by a Naas Honda dealer.

The dealer has priced the new Civic at 17,250 and wants the old civic plus 7,250 to complete the sale...............

€7250 to go from a 2006 Civic to a 2011 Civic?
It sounds like a tremendous deal to be honest.

However the Civic they have should last indefinitely (10 to 20 years) if serviced, so if they're sole aim is to avoid depreciation they'd be better off keeping it.

It does seem a very good deal though.

aujopimur

Have they asked for your advice, if not and it was me I'd say good luck with your new car.

Gurgle

RoverJames wrote: »

It does seem a very good deal though.

Sounds to me like €1,450 per year in depreciation.
That would cover a whole lot of maintenance.

Disclaimer: I'm a cheapskate.

Thoie

If it was me, and I had the €7,000 lying around, I'd put it in a 7 day notice account to pay for any unexpected mechanic bills. Or if I was going to take out a loan, I'd save the monthly loan amount in a similar account for the same reason.

stifflers ma

aujopimur wrote: »

Have they asked for your advice, if not and it was me I'd say good luck with your new car.

A good point and well made.

I have been asked for advice, and simply want them to have all available information/opinions before they make their decision.


Also, the new Civic hasn't been NCTd or serviced yet.

Is there any way to independently verify the milage and history of the new Civic?

Gurgle

Gurgle wrote: »

Sounds to me like €1,450 per year in depreciation.
That would cover a whole lot of maintenance.

Disclaimer: I'm a cheapskate.

My car isn't worth €1450 Neither will my next one be :pac:

It's still potentially a good deal if the 2011 Civic is in the condition you'd expect it to be in

Anan1

stifflers ma wrote: »

A good point and well made.

I have been asked for advice, and simply want them to have all available information/opinions before they make their decision.

FWIW, I think it's perfectly legitimate for you to want to save a family member from an expensive and entirely unnecessary mistake.

bazz26

stifflers ma wrote: »

A good point and well made.

I have been asked for advice, and simply want them to have all available information/opinions before they make their decision.


Also, the new Civic hasn't been NCTd or serviced yet.

Is there any way to independently verify the milage and history of the new Civic?

The car has to be at least 4 years old in order to be NCT'd. Also you can do a full history check on the likes of motorcheck.ie or cartell.ie.

djimi

RoverJames wrote: »

€7250 to go from a 2006 Civic to a 2011 Civic?
It sounds like a tremendous deal to be honest.

However the Civic they have should last indefinitely (10 to 20 years) if serviced, so if they're sole aim is to avoid depreciation they'd be better off keeping it.

It does seem a very good deal though.

I was thinking the same; they are effectively offering €10k for a 2006 Civic, which seems to be worth about €7500 with that mileage according to Carzone.

That said, I really wouldnt be spending €7500 just for the sake of having a newer car. Even factoring in NCT, newer tax brackets, increased servicing etc there would want to be some pretty major fault with their existing Civic to justify spending that kind of money on upgrading. If they are happy with the car they have then Id say keep it well serviced and stick with it; it wont give them much trouble if its looked after.

bazz26

They will only be back in the same situation again in 2 years time, you cannot dodge depreciation by upgrading to a new car. The best way to limit depreciation is to either keep what you have for a very long time or go down the bangernomics route.

anthony4335

Financially it will always be better to drive a car into the ground, or at least until the parts bill starts to get too expensive . But in saying that , it sounds like a good deal.

ShadowHearth

I think it's madness to spend anther 7000eu to save.... How much? Nobody knows. that civic might still be driving and live on with no additional costs even after we all die.

If they want save money on deprecation, then they need to down grade to cheapest car they can, and take their losses now, while it has the highest value, not upgrade to newer model and sink even more money.

L-M

They changed the Civic this year didn't they?

i know what will have a higher value in three years time anyway!

Marcusm

Ask them what holidays they could have each year for €1,000. I'd be surprised if the new car was more than €450 per year less to repair. At a retired stage of life, people need to think how t spend it!! Unless their motoring enthusiasts an updated car is uilikely to significantly enhance their lives!

TheZ

One possible reason to change is the gap to change to a 2011 car isn't that big. Would keep them in six year old car ( what they have now) in 2017. Tax may be lower on newer car and perhaps less to go wrong

Doesn't make financial sense to trade in strictest sense but will they have 17,000 lying around to get into equivalent car (one year old civic) when/if they do decide to change

stifflers ma

Limerick man wrote: »

They changed the Civic this year didn't they?

i know what will have a higher value in three years time anyway!

??

No, as per the OP they are strongly considering changing it now.

What's your specific point poster?




Appreciate all the replies and input.

L-M

stifflers ma wrote: »

??

No, as per the OP they are strongly considering changing it now.

What's your specific point poster?




Appreciate all the replies and input.

What i mean is, why would they come up 5 years to the exact same car, where as there is a new model out for the year 2012.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Honda/Civic/All-New-/5713322565178690/advert?channel=CARS

if you could find a demo model somewhere.

Why oh why they would literally pay for their number plate to say 11 rather than 06 is beyond me.

stifflers ma

TheZ wrote: »

One possible reason to change is the gap to change to a 2011 car isn't that big. Would keep them in six year old car ( what they have now) in 2017. Tax may be lower on newer car and perhaps less to go wrong

Doesn't make financial sense to trade in strictest sense but will they have 17,000 lying around to get into equivalent car (one year old civic) when/if they do decide to change

But they don't care about having a one year old car - they just want to avoid what they percieve as additional costs if they don't change.

All they are interested in is having a reliable car that they can stick knick knacks from knock in.



something along these lines is how it looks now :pac:

(I'll be showing them this thread)

stifflers ma

Limerick man wrote: »

What i mean is, why would they come up 5 years to the exact same car, where as there is a new model out for the year 2012.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Honda/Civic/All-New-/5713322565178690/advert?channel=CARS

if you could find a demo model somewhere.

Why oh why they would literally pay for their number plate to say 11 rather than 06 is beyond me.

Ahh, got you now, very good point, thanks.

galwaytt

stifflers ma wrote: »

Limerick man wrote: »

What i mean is, why would they come up 5 years to the exact same car, where as there is a new model out for the year 2012.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Honda/Civic/All-New-/5713322565178690/advert?channel=CARS

if you could find a demo model somewhere.

Why oh why they would literally pay for their number plate to say 11 rather than 06 is beyond me.

Ahh, got you now, very good point, thanks.

They'd be mad to change, from a financial and technical point of view.

However, if they are happy to spend 7500 for a degree of mental 'comfort', let them. But the reasons you quote them for doing so are completely unfounded. Of all the cars in the marketplace, they couldn't have picked a car LESS likely to give them cause for concern. Indeed, somewhat darkly, it could, truly, outlive them.......

I'm getting off the new/recent car merry-go-round, and going back to a 10yr old car. And not even a Honda at that.

Btw, love the holiday-every-year idea instead !