New car or second hand?

[Noggin]

If you had the option to buy a new car, would you? Or is a second hand, maybe 5 year old ish, a better choice?

Not sure I'll have much choice about it, but interested to know thoughts about it!!

[KungFooBob]

In the UK or mainland Europe?

From what I've seen depreciation isn't anywhere near as bad in Europe as it is in the UK.

Over here you can knock 50% off most cars value in three to four years, which makes 2nd hand a sensible option.

I'd only buy a brand new car if it was on 0% PCP in the UK and I really really wanted that brand new car smell.

[Noggin]

In the UK or mainland Europe?

From what I've seen depreciation isn't anywhere near as bad in Europe as it is in the UK.

Over here you can knock 50% off most cars value in three to four years, which makes 2nd hand a sensible option.

I'd only buy a brand new car if it was on 0% PCP in the UK and I really really wanted that brand new car smell.

France - too much hassle to buy in the uk and import it, and importing a new one clears the benefits when you pay import taxes (or whatever they are)!

[wheelnut]

Having the new car warranty is not to be sniffed at. Cars are a lot more complex these and can cost a fortune to fix once out of warranty.

Currently got a Nissan Navara which has had a new engine, new Adblue system, new navigation system to name a few things.

Before that I had a Mercedes A250 which spent more time in the dealers than it did on my drive. Faulty heating syetm, replacement of the TFT screens (twice) as well as other things.

[Ditchfinder]

I've only had 1 new car - a MK1 Duster - spent more time in the dealers with rust issues than on the road. The depreciation was staggering.

I tend to go for 10 year old cars with good history, not too many owners and a list of usual suspension and brake replacements done recently with a recent timing belt change done.

If I was better off I would go for a 3 year old with at least a couple of years warranty remaining.

[Noggin]

Having the new car warranty is not to be sniffed at. Cars are a lot more complex these and can cost a fortune to fix once out of warranty.

Currently got a Nissan Navara which has had a new engine, new Adblue system, new navigation system to name a few things.

Before that I had a Mercedes A250 which spent more time in the dealers than it did on my drive. Faulty heating syetm, replacement of the TFT screens (twice) as well as other things.

If I had a new car that needed all that, I’d want to give it back!!

A mate had an electric porche for over a year. Due to all the issues he only had it on his drive for less than five months!! He gave it back

[Noggin]

I've only had 1 new car - a MK1 Duster - spent more time in the dealers with rust issues than on the road. The depreciation was staggering.

I tend to go for 10 year old cars with good history, not too many owners and a list of usual suspension and brake replacements done recently with a recent timing belt change done.

If I was better off I would go for a 3 year old with at least a couple of years warranty remaining.

Looking at the second hand prices here I don’t think that depreciation is quite so bad here. But I’ll look at it more

[Yorick]

Dacias always rate highly in tests and reviews.
Had ours 6 years and no problems despite lots of abuse.

[Skub]

I tend to buy a car when it's around 4 or 5 years old,then run it until it's not viable to repair,or becomes unreliable. Under no foreseeable circumstances will I ever buy a brand new car.
If it's something you get pleasure from,then yes,but all I need is utility. I've owned just 7 cars since I passed my driving test.

For reliability I'll either buy a Toyota or a Homda,nothing else.

[Count Steer]

I dislike paying the new car premium but it is nice to get in a new one. The last time I bought a new car (for me*) I kept it for 17 years. Now I go for something 2-3 years old. Lots of people buy new and chop them in every 3 years so it's something to take advantage of and you can usually get a decent warranty if you buy from a brand dealer. Dunno if new cars in France plummet in value when you drive away from the dealers as much as they do here though.

* The missus seems to go on a new, S/H, new, S/H cycle.

[mangocrazy]

France is a very different box of grenouilles compared to the UK for secondhand cars (as I'm sure you're aware). No idea about new - it's not something I've ever remotely considered. I've seen complete knackers of French cars advertised for the same price that would get you a premium, cosseted, low mileage equivalent in the UK.

My modus operandi with cars is always buy secondhand, buy when depreciation has pretty much levelled off and run it until it stops working. I'll service and maintain the car to a similar standard to that which I use for the bikes, but once it starts becoming a moneypit, move it on or scrap it.

[Yorick]

In Spain we pay about 5% tax on a used vehicle.
If France does the same, it might be better to buy new.

[cheb]

I tend to buy used vans, up to about three years old and then drive them until the rust kills them.

If I didn't need it to go to the big island I'd be back into bangernomics.

[Horse]

Dacias always rate highly in tests and reviews.
Had ours 6 years and no problems despite lots of abuse.

Little-known thing about Dacia is they don't build cars, they're grown on a farm.

Here's one emerging from it's chrysalis.

[Docca]

I’ve done both.

For new cars: Fiat 500, Mini, Mercedes E class, discovery sport, Volvo XC40 and now the Beemer.


Second hand: Rover 75 (clutch went bang after a year- car scrapped) , Ford Smax - developed loads of faults and sold it to a mechanic, Renault convertible thing - engine kept going into limp home mode so flogged it to WBAC, Fiat Panda (current) - after one year owning it’s needed new head gasket and a few other things, Landy defender (ahem)

All the cars in the first bit have never given me grief.

Every single car in the second bit have cost me money. Sometimes a lot.

The Fiat is so the kids can learn to drive. The landy is a part of the family. However I’d only buy new now. Own for 3 or 4 years and move on

[Mr. Dazzle]

I'm fortunate in that I can get a brand new car through work for loads less than it would otherwise have cost me.

Mrs Ds car is second hand, as were all the ones I owned before I worked here.

I've concluded I'm just really bad at second hand car shopping. I also hate maintenance.

I listen to people at work or whatever talking about the car they went to view at the weekend, or the work they're having done or the problem they're fixing or whatever. Whereas I'm like "I rolled into the garage and collected my 100% functional car and it was exactly the model I wanted"

I know which I prefer.

[Horse]

If you're close to affording new, the 'dealer registered' route can bring prices down.

They do it to meet sales quotas, to get bonuses.

Means you get full warranty.

[Mussels]

I bought a 3 year old car on a manufacturer's approved scheme, they key thing was it came with a 3 year manufacturer warranty rather than a dealer one. So when I took it for a dealer service and they found extra things wrong I was able to pull the warranty card and get them done for free.
There's a bigger chance of an older car getting sold on because of faults, I think a 3 year old car is more likely to be fine and handed back only because the lease period expired.

[Bigjawa]

Dacias always rate highly in tests and reviews.
Had ours 6 years and no problems despite lots of abuse.

He might be talking about the 1980s one. They were 100 times worse than just about anything for rust.

[Mr. Dazzle]

IIRC the first Dusters in the UK were awful for rust, to the point of recalls being issued.

It was a specific problem effecting vehicles built in a certain factory I think.