Volvo Owners Club Forum - The price of new cars.

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- - The price of new cars. (https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=285338)

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkyMelon (Post 2437941)

They're popular for 3 reasons.

1: People are materialistic - Like to have the latest and greatest and care what people think about them.

2: Cars are getting more expensive and people began to stop buying new about 10 years ago, hence scrappage schemes/the birth of PCP plans.

3: It's very easy to do PCP now. I could walk into pretty much any garage, wack a deposit down and drive off/spec whatever I want.

Back in the good old days you were considered pretty daft taking out a big bank loan to use on just a car, these days though, finance is just the norm, I read on an RAC (or something similar) article that 75% of all cars on the road are on finance now.

There are people I work with who are younger than me, earn far less than me, yet all drive nicer cars than me and I'm only 28! One guy I work with pays over £450 a month to drive an RS4 and he put down a hefty deposit too.

The only benefit I see to PCP is the dealer taking care of any issues, but any second hand car would have to go pretty horrifically wrong to be close to costing what someone on PCP is paying over the 3-4 years.

Also young people realise that they're not going to be owning property any time soon so they plough their money into owning a nice car on PCP & carry on living with their parents instead. To an extent I can't blame them for that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XC90Mk1 (Post 2438098)

Do you not find the tax v.high for all but the smallest diesel vehicles

No, still manageable but I'm a 20% person, I'm not in the 40% bracket. I look closely at the HMRC tables before choosing each car. The tax was a key reason why I'm no longer a Volvo driver. Volvo pricing has gone up and it was becoming an issue. The list price on my Superb is great and the emissions decent, as they have to be now. I've saved by swapping despite the rates going up.

This car is up in two years and I'll review the situation then. I suspect the option then will either be a hybrid or I will buy second hand as suggested. Other options will be taxed too high by then.

I would never purchase a car on PCP. The terms are against you. Better to save up and buy second-hand every couple of years after the gullible who lease have taken the initial hit in price.

Most people can't afford to 'buy' the cars they drive but, are happy to pay monthly for them, even if they have to cut back elsewhere. As a result, knowing that this is the state of the market, if cars were cheaper some market share would be lost to outright purchases. Higher prices mean the lease/PCP market stays strong, forcing people down that path no matter what.

I have done the lease thing on a 3 cars, 1 Astra GTC, 2x Mercedes E350. At the end of this, the PCP, lease etc thing was not for me, and I personally have no idea why anyone would choose this option, as you're still paying thousands a year for something that is not yours. Largely, I'm unimpressed with the true quality of new cars where the gadgets and tech hide the true cheapness of the build on most new cars. I'd happily spend £10-20K on a proper classic like Mercedes 190 Cosworth, BMW E34 M5 but, nothing modern that's for sure!

Its quite funny to see the large number of people with new cars, either their own or on lease/pcp etc that cannot afford tyres and are always begging far in advance if we can save them a pair or two of good quality part worns.

The used market has also shot up quite drastically over the past few years where people are asking daft money for some mundane old used cars. Interestingly even AutoTrader and dealers are by default showing monthly payment prices and seeing some modern used stuff, lets say a 3 series BMW for example, a couple of years old is more expensive on monthly payment examples compared to a new one....

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSK (Post 2439159)

Most people can't afford to 'buy' the cars they drive but, are happy to pay monthly for them, even if they have to cut back elsewhere. As a result, knowing that this is the state of the market, if cars were cheaper some market share would be lost to outright purchases. Higher prices mean the lease/PCP market stays strong, forcing people down that path no matter what.

I have done the lease thing on a 3 cars, 1 Astra GTC, 2x Mercedes E350. At the end of this, the PCP, lease etc thing was not for me, and I personally have no idea why anyone would choose this option, as you're still paying thousands a year for something that is not yours. Largely, I'm unimpressed with the true quality of new cars where the gadgets and tech hide the true cheapness of the build on most new cars. I'd happily spend £10-20K on a proper classic like Mercedes 190 Cosworth, BMW E34 M5 but, nothing modern that's for sure!

Its quite funny to see the large number of people with new cars, either their own or on lease/pcp etc that cannot afford tyres and are always begging far in advance if we can save them a pair or two of good quality part worns.

The used market has also shot up quite drastically over the past few years where people are asking daft money for some mundane old used cars. Interestingly even AutoTrader and dealers are by default showing monthly payment prices and seeing some modern used stuff, lets say a 3 series BMW for example, a couple of years old is more you actually sexpensive on monthly payment examples compared to a new one....

What’s always amazed me over the last 10 to 15 years is that if you actually save up and buy a car, especially from a dealer then you receive a warrenty and with some basic maintenance you can get to the point where a year or 2 down the line you know the car is a good one and you simply hang on to it for 2 years with nil depreciation (or virtually nil), good reliability etc and during god time you save for the next. If the car is rubbish then you simply move it on.

A lease car on the other hand is bought at the most expensive stage and you are constantly paying for a shiny new pin and have to chop it in just when it is at its most reliable!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueRebel (Post 2438503)

I would never purchase a car on PCP. The terms are against you. Better to save up and buy second-hand every couple of years after the gullible who lease have taken the initial hit in price.

It does depend on the individual deal and how desperate they are to make that months sales figures. We went into a Fiat dealer to but a second hand 50p for my wife but ended up getting a brand new one for less even before we factor in three years worth of interest on the money sat in the bank. I appreciate that is the exception but always worth having an open mind on these things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueRebel (Post 2438503)

I would never purchase a car on PCP. The terms are against you. Better to save up and buy second-hand every couple of years after the gullible who lease have taken the initial hit in price.

Which is what I did..... A £35k car for £22k with the bits I wanted apart from the colour of the paint and the seat colour scheme. £12k depreciation in 22 months, that’s a serious amount of money in the world of Thong. If it wasn’t for rust on the chassis I wouldn’t have sold my V50 but that’s another story.

TT

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSK (Post 2439159)

Enjoyed reading this thread. When I've previously done the maths for leasing a car I've wondered what I'm missing as I make it a very expensive way to 'buy' a car, yet everyone seems to do it. Not for me though. That 'part-worn' tyres comment above is a killer...

Do the math, lease over 36 months = £14,400. Assuming payments of £400.00 pm. Depreciation on a £30 odd k new car is at least £14,400. Plus no road tax to pay.

My cars costing me £269pm over five years but at the end it’s mine to trade or keep, nooooo balloon payment. Ok, the breakdown cost, servicing etc is at my cost but I still have something to show for it at the end. The way diesels are going to depreciate it’s probably not going to be worth much at the end but we’ll see in four years.
I looked at PCP but living on a terraced street where the local use your bumpers as a parking aid and the odd curious door key accidentally makes contact with your paintwork (yes, mines already been keyed) it’s an added cost when the car has to be handed back. I find the mileage limits a bit low too, 8k is unrealistic for us with the amount of touring we do so buying outright is a better option. I was offered an all singing and dancing V60 CC for £300pm on a 24 month contract but given my cars already been keyed and bunted in a car park it would have straight away added another £750 to the cost of the motor. Nah, I’ll stick to buying em outright and taking my chances.

TT