Is it worth buying a new car - anytime?

[dpsubaru]

Not just a recession question but in general. The company i work for has a Ssangyong Musso (for the last 5 years) since new and so far the following has had to have been replaced or fixed:

5 heavy duty batteries
starter motor
every single water pipe in the engine bay has cracked (all at diff times) and had to have been replaced
radiator
aircon fan
seized piston after only 1.5yrs, not due to lack of oil

ok, so a Ssangyong is crap, but it seems nowadays that you are more likely to see a new/newish car broken down at the edge of the road i/o of ones much older. So is it worth buying a new car or just keep buying second hand ones - at least then less depreciation to worry about,

 

[pgarner]

most new cars sitting at the sie of the road is due to the, computer says no. ECU ether goes into limp mode or shuts down to prevent engine damage.
most cars lose around 50% in 3 years, so you can buy a car second hand in good working order for half the price. yeah its not brand new but most issues from new will have been fixed

 

[prevtec]

its never worth buying a new car, in my eyes anyway

 

[obi_waynne]

The depreciation alone puts me off. I guess it is nice if you can specify colour, trim and gadgets but I still think most people go to a showroom to buy a premade car.

I also know of many new cars with faults and even 2 year old cars that would fail an MOT test!

Ideally you would buy at 3 years and sell at 5-7 but I tend to run my cars as long as possible and really look after them. Its much cheaper in the long run.

 

[dpsubaru]

i once was given a 3yr old Kia Pride (yes i know crap, but free) because the owner took it to the garage who told her it wasnt worth fixing for the mot. Changed the brakes (all round) and also replaced all the brake pipes think this was about it (fuel tank had to be dropped to do the pipes - bit of a pain) - MOT passed and flogged for about a grand. In my experience NEVER buy a Korean car,

 

[obi_waynne]

There are some real bargains around now. I don't think the low new car prices will last much longer. I wonder though if depreciation is the same or worse in a recession?

Surely used car values will stablise if the demand for them holds steady?