This was an important point for me too actually. I didn't want to fork out a heap of cash for a car that will become somewhat obsolete in the next 5 years.
PCP a new car or buy a 3/4year old car
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This was an important point for me too actually. I didn't want to fork out a heap of cash for a car that will become somewhat obsolete in the next 5 years.
Will petrol/diesel cars be somewhat obsolete in the next 5 years? I got a new diesel last year (on PCP) and I expect that I will replace it in 6 or 7 years with another diesel.
galway_blow_in
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I'd buy a four year old Toyota landcruiser and keep it ten years if I didn't think the war on large diesel engines is only getting started ( currently drive a 2006 landcruiser which I've had eleven years)
The penalties for driving diesel are going to get more stiff
Yip. Also electric and plug-in hybrids are going to become more & more common. I would expect in 5 years time there will only be a small market for pure petrol/diesel cars which will start to affect their value. Perhaps the word "obsolete" isn't quite right - the cars will still function fine, but they won't be the same demand for them
Thanks for all the replies. They helped us finally decide the right avenue for us. PCP isn't for us so we're going to duck into our savings and add maybe 10-12k to our own trade in and but a 3/4 year old car. The sensible option is the Toyota Avensis and the car that we actually want to buy and drive is the Hyundai Tucson so still a further decision to make!
Ceist Beag
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Obviously electric/hybrid cars are going to become more common, they are coming from a very low base. However I think it is greatly overstating things to say that in 5 years there will only be a small market for petrol/diesel cars. The growth of popularity in electric/hybrid cars in terms of pure numbers (forget percentages as any headline quoting those is just for attention) has been relatively gradual to date. Tax increases on petrol/diesel will probably speed up the transition but no way do I expect to see a swing from the current <1%* to be the vast majority in just 5 years time.
The current government target is to stop selling pure petrol/diesel cars by 2030** so if previous targets are anything to go by we can expect this to mean anything from 2035 to 2045!
I very much doubt consumer behaviour will change radically in 5 years time - 15 years might be a more realistic timeframe for this.
* Sourced from below article
"In 2008, the aim was that EVs would make up 10% of the national car fleet — equivalent to 200,000 — by 2020. In 2014, that target was downsized to 50,000. Last year, it was reduced to 20,000." - source https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/only-8000-electric-cars-to-be-on-our-roads-by-2020-471479.html
** Sourced from http://www.*****************.com/electric-cars-facts-figures.html
Brendan Burgess
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This is very important.
You should buy the car that you can afford and spend the least amount of money, given your other plans.
Can you get PCP at 0% on a car which you otherwise pay for cash? Then it might be worth going for, subject to Red's point about it limiting your borrowing capacity.
So that is the next question. How will you be financing the building work? If you can get the money through remortgaging, then that is probably what you should do.
If you are "saving hard" for anything, you should not be buying a new car.
Brendan
Needs must as regards the new car buy Brendan. I drive alot and have a young family so safety on the road is probably more important than a house renovation. We've decided to use cash to trade up rather than the 0% PCP. We both feel more comfortable just owning the car outright. Appreciate all the advice here though.
galway_blow_in
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If you are buying new, using cash is a waste with rates so low, opting for a cash purchase on principal alone is unwise
You never know when you might need a lump of cash and it's not like selling the car is an option, cars don't hold value like a house
Some people think you will buy cheaper by paying cash, you won't, the car companies are so intertwined with credit lenders, it makes no odds
galway_blow_in
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Agree fully, I would have no interest in trading up after three years, that's the motor trades thinking, it gets people in a loop
If you buy new through PCP but intend to keep ten years, it's a very good way to get hold of a car, a large amount of people do not maintain their car correctly, if you buy new, your in control from the start
I would bet that the vast majority of people, if managed to save 40k would be very slow to spend it on a new car. For some reason people seem to be happier to borrow for the same thing. Each to their own....and it's great for those of us buying second hand
That may be true (and you should always keep a rainy day fund), but being on the hook for a loan won't help either!
galway_blow_in
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I would bet that the vast majority of people, if managed to save 40k would be very slow to spend it on a new car. For some reason people seem to be happier to borrow for the same thing. Each to their own....and it's great for those of us buying second hand
That may be true (and you should always keep a rainy day fund), but being on the hook for a loan won't help either!
If a three year PCP loan costs 32k for a 30 k car, it would be silly to fork out 30 k in one lump, 2k is very little over three years, the security of a new car over a used one dilutes the interest burden further
One thing is certain, you won't get a home improvement loan for under 4%, keep the cash pile for other expenditure
Not buying new, going for 3-4 year old and going to add 12k to our car so it's whatever we can find within that budget. PCP repayments on €355 over 3 years totals 12780 and although we will have a 6-7 year old car then rather than a 3-4 year old one, at least we don't have to face a balloon repayment and also run the risk of running into difficulties with financing renovations on the house. The money we're using in cash is earning next to nothing right now in the bank so it's cheaper than buying via PCP also.
Ever watch those home improvement programs and wonder how the (usually) couple get their finances so off? Well take it from me it happens! If I were you I'd buy something like this :
Cars Northern Ireland - Used Cars NI. Second hand cars for sale.
You'll have trouble-free motoring and get to keep your money for your house cos you'll need it!!