Things to bear in mind

[obi_waynne]

When you are buying a car do you ever think about the following...

Servicing costs (also cambelt changes due etc...)
Depreciation.
Running costs - fuel & oil used over the year etc...

I think most people just buy a car they like based on price but there is a lot more to it. A bad decision in car buying can turn out to be a very costly mistake!

Imagine buying a bargain "Maserati GT" and then discovering it needs a cambelt change and major service costing £1000's then whilst you've owned it you've lost 50% in depreciation! The similarly priced "newish mondeo" starts to seem like a much better buy.

 

[HDi fun]

I look at the whole lot.

Fuel is not the biggest cost so I don't set too much store by official MPG figures.

 

[Prince]

I look at the insurance costs, but more importantly... the power output!

 

[HDi fun]

I do indeed consider performance but it's not the primary goal other wise there's no way I'd have bought a 528i with an auto 'box.

It would have to have been the 540i 4.4 V8. But it's just too fond of it's unleaded for my pocket.

 

[aston]

I don't do Depreciation, Last night I bought a 2000 A4 avant v6 for £850, FASH, 1 Owner from new and s/line extras also 7 months tax and MOT, so with no loss to be made I can live with the 28mpg np probs. My friend bought the same car new and lost around £13k in just a few years.......Sucker

 

[HDi fun]

Depreciation is the biggest killer. I've only ever bought one new car and that was on a cash-in-lieu of company car scheme.

I was looking through the original prices for my E39 the other day. Bear in mind I bought it in July this year and it will be ten yrs old in January next year. Even at this age (the car's not mine ) I'm only the 2nd user and I have all the invoices and MoT's to prove the whole lot.

Previous owner paid just over £39,000 for the car (I have a copy of the original sales invoice from Cooper BMW, Ipswich). This was the total price including a few options, first time reg fee, years RFL, tank of fuel, etc etc.

And I bought it for just under £4000. So he's lost nearly £35,000. OK that's over nine years, but even so..... :blink: :blink: :blink:

 

[lutonmatt]

i only get it if i like it or what i want
dont care about mpg cost of running ect
i never keep cars that long to cost me to much and always make a profit when i sell a motor so dont loose out
as i am tight when i buy cars lol

 

[pgarner]

Depreciation is the biggest killer. I've only ever bought one new car and that was on a cash-in-lieu of company car scheme.

I was looking through the original prices for my E39 the other day. Bear in mind I bought it in July this year and it will be ten yrs old in January next year. Even at this age (the car's not mine ) I'm only the 2nd user and I have all the invoices and MoT's to prove the whole lot.

I did this with mine after buying it just shy of £20k bought at 3 and a half years old for just £6k.

 

[aston]

we bought a 2 year old Alfa s3 for £7k, it was around £25k new so it lost almost £175 a week in depreciation alone, Even at that I lost £2k on it a year later. The worst hit I ever took on a car,,,,,,Never again. Sub £2k cars from now on but I'd like a nice Mk3 Mondeo

 

[HDi fun]

Similarly with the 406 I bought in late 2004. Circa 3 and a half yrs old. Original price £21,435 IIRC.

Mine for just £6k. Bargain big car motoring.

 

[aston]

Jaguar have to be the biggest depreciating cars right accross the whole range I think the 6 and 8 cyl XJR's offer huge value for money to the bargain hunting bhp freak petrol head. such a lot of car for small£££'s I never could understand why people rave about the MG ZTv8 rwd thingy, hardly a bargain compared to the XJR's

 

[HDi fun]

Jaguar have to be the biggest depreciating cars right accross the whole range I think the 6 and 8 cyl XJR's offer huge value for money to the bargain hunting bhp freak petrol head. such a lot of car for small£££'s I never could understand why people rave about the MG ZTv8 rwd thingy, hardly a bargain compared to the XJR's

But anything post 1996/1997 with a Jaguar badge was under Ford's watchful eye and the quality control was superb.

The MG was a bargain as a new purchase but does indeed come with a very steep depreciation curve.