Article on DT on big depreciating cars
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/mike-rutherford/9480309/New-cars-that-will-burn-a-hole-inyour-wallet.html
Article is based on %ages off list price rather than street price - therefore not a true guide to depreciation.
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The last Saab 9-5 that died with Saab. Almost new versions were available recently at almost half the price that was extant when Saab existed. There will be little expertise at fixing Saab-specific components and they could be a nightmare to maintain, with extremely restricted parts availability. As a long-term Saab owner I was tempted to buy one given the ludicrously low prices but luckily a reality check cut in.
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I see Rutherford reports the Ka has come down in price.
Seat is offering a new Ibiza for £8,995, not many toys, but it has air con and central locking.
I wonder if it's one of those deals where you will be strongly pushed into taking the finance?
www.seat.co.uk/content/uk/brand/en/models/special-offers/new-cars/ibiza-sc.html
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I bought 2 brand new Ibizas in 2003 for that same price - base models, 1.2 petrol, but still came with aircon and RCL. This demonstrates to me that the prices of cars relative to almost everything else are actually coming down in real terms.
Two things constantly amaze me about new car prices - that the 6-9k-ish superminis are so cheap, and that there are people out there willing to pay £25k+ (plus interest) for larger new cars. But Gawd bless the latter, or there wouldn't be luvverly second hand S80s around for peanuts.
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...This demonstrates to me that the prices of cars relative to almost everything else are actually coming down in real terms...
I have the impression mid-range cars have gone up a fair bit since I bought the CC3 in 2009.
List prices are only a guide an I've made no in-depth study, but it appears a Focus hatch could easily be £20K, and the local BMW dealer is pushing 3 series on a finance offer which are £30K+.
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>> I bought 2 brand new Ibizas in 2003 for that same price - base models,
>> 1.2 petrol, but still came with aircon and RCL. This demonstrates to me that the
>> prices of cars relative to almost everything else are actually coming down in real terms.
They must have come down a bit after that - I bought one in late 2004 with a/c and some options inc side airbags and metallic paint and it was £8K.
>> Two things constantly amaze me about new car prices - that the 6-9k-ish superminis are
>> so cheap, and that there are people out there willing to pay £25k+ (plus interest)
>> for larger new cars. But Gawd bless the latter, or there wouldn't be luvverly second
>> hand S80s around for peanuts.
>>
I'm amazed at people who will pay the best part of £40K for a loaded Merc C Class. Mercedes are always doing very 'cheap' lease deals and that's going to do nothing for used values.
Interesting on the S80 - colleague in Holland recently bought one with 160000Kms on it and was thrilled to get it for €11K. Same car about £4K here!
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...colleague in Holland...
Similar story: I picked up a visiting Danish colleague in my three-year-old E220 estate. He told me a car like it in Denmark would cost about the same as I'd have paid for a new one here. Mostly the effects of radically different tax regimes.
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>> I see Rutherford reports the Ka has come down in price.
Presumably to compete with the VW Up, but I agree with Rutherford, it needs to come down to £7K. VW have increased production of the Up, despite healthy initial sales estimates. With luck it will bring down the price of other small cars.
I am always dubious of these stories about how cars plummet in price. Whenever I went to look at 4 year old cars, they seemed far more expensive than people like Rutherford suggest. Buy private and you need to be able to examine the car and know what you are looking for. Buy from a non main dealer, errr, no. The cars I saw were all scheisse. Buy from a main dealer, and you pay through the nose.
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"I see Rutherford reports the Ka has come down in price."
DTD has 1.2 Studio for £6,795
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>> "I see Rutherford reports the Ka has come down in price."
>>
>> DTD has 1.2 Studio for £6,795
Probably a bargain at that price. Given that it is basically the same car as the Fiat 500, it makes you wonder how much profit Fiat are making thanks to a cute body, and where Ford went wrong.
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Oo, I could go an S80 D5 185 auto. Soften the missus up for that Phaeton. Then again, I might actually prefer the S80 to a Phaeton.
Now that I have less use for the load carrying capacity of our Galaxy, I might just have a shufty at a few S80s........
I've done two long holiday drives this year in the Galaxy TDi - Costa Brava and Vendee, both via the tunnel. The Galaxy is very noisy and not very wafty at motorway speeds, and it's not nice at speeds over 70mph. An S80 would be a very nice proposition for next year's trips......
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... in the Galaxy TDi...
After a long gap with no stock, Addison Lee has some auto Galaxies with the TDCi engine which is a lot quieter than your TD:
www.addleecarsales.com/browse-cars/?cbf=89700
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Iffy, Those are tremendous bargain imho, but they are always the bottom of the range Edge spec. For my next car, I want something more wafty, less babyish and more luxurious. I don't want to buy another MPV, if I can get it past the breadknife.
I was in one of those newer Galaxies recently (a taxi), and can confirm that the 2.0 TDCi is about a million times quieter and more refined than my 1.9TDi.
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...For my next car, I want something more wafty...
I've seen Merc saloons on the AddyLee site, although not recently.
The Galaxies are 09, so I reckon they are not renewing the fleet as often as they once were.
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>> I've seen Merc saloons on the AddyLee site, although not recently.
Ah, you forget my irrational aversion towards luxury branded things. A Volvo or a VW suits me much better than anything with pointy stars or Olympic-stylee rings.
I would love a Renault Vel Satis as it goes, but I fear the inevitable with those. Citroen C6 and Peugeot 607 also on the list but the same caveat applies, albeit not quite so dramatically.
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>> The Galaxies are 09, so I reckon they are not renewing the fleet as often
>> as they once were.
>>
>>
Thought they had always renewed their fleet at 3 years old. I was very tempted by the E220's they had a while back - all 3 years old and around 10K from memory.
IIRC they do all their own servicing - think I read that each car on average gets serviced every six weeks as they use the extreme servicing regime
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It's interesting that a lot of the cars mentioned are small engined petrols, either explicitly named (508 1.6 THP) or implied to be the turbo-charged versions, the Insignia 1.4 the obvious one.
It seems that despite the drive-ability and relative simplicity compared to Euro 5 diesels, the public isn't taking to these engines yet.
As ever, depreciation is as much based on the fears and foibles of the masses rather than a true representation of what a car *should* be worth to a perspective owner. e.g. no reason at all why an S80 should depreciate so much more than say an Audi A4, except for the strange things that go on inside people's heads.
Good news for the savvy second hand buyer though.
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As far as I can see, Rutherford's just run down the old - and largely meaningless - table of trade-in values as a percentage of list prices. No-one pays list for a Peugeot, or for an S80, and no-one buys a Cadillac at all. (We came up next to a recent one at some lights last weekend, and even car-conscious Beestling Major had to say, "Dad, what's that?")
S80 D3s are abundant, though, and fantastic ex-lease value at a year old and £16,000. Look for the AJ plates and 35,000-plus mileage - and Titanium Grey rather than silver or black.
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>> S80 D3s are abundant, though, and fantastic ex-lease value at a year old and £16,000.
>> Look for the AJ plates and 35,000-plus mileage - and Titanium Grey rather than silver
>> or black.
Even Top Gear magazine rate it as their best used choice.
Here are a few words from the test verdict -
" An interesting and innovative car that's a big step forward over its stodgy predecessor. Choose the right engine (i.e. not the V8) and you'll have an economical, comfortable, yet rapid executive express. Go on, dare to be different. You won't regret it."
At least try one Alanovic :)
Last edited by: corax on Sun 19 Aug 12 at 12:24
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Interesting. Not sure why Rutherford is so down on the S80, but then I wouldn't give much for any opinion of his on money or motoring.
The S80 has much to recommend it, assuming it drives pretty much like its V70 sister: it's unfussily handsome, the D3 engine is perfect for it - punchy, quiet, economical and with five cylinders, which sound so much nicer than four - and it's very easy to get comfortable. The steering is oddly vague, and the automatic box is usually in too high a gear unless you pick one yourself, but it's certainly worth a look if you want a big four-seater.
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Ye Gods, is there a bigger bargain out there today than this?:
tinyurl.com/8c6uwxh
47.9mpg combined? Seriously? Why are these cars so cheap? Defies belief.
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Good leads for inexpensive 2nd hand car in 2015 - Mike H
