Today  – old car or new car? financial pros and cons

 

Hmmm… old car or new car? financial pros and cons

If you’re looking to change your car, then you may be having the much-discussed debate about whether you should buy an old or a new car – luckily, Sarah Thompson from brand new on-demand financial advice site MoneyCounsel.co.uk is on hand to advise.

There are a number of things that you need to consider – and you may not be correct in the assumption that a brand new car costs more overall than an old car. If you take everything into account, you can then make the decision about which choice is the right one for you.

 

Upfront Costs

Clearly, if you are buying a car outright, a second-hand one will cost much less than a brand new one of the same make. Car values plummet the second they leave the forecourt, meaning that even one a few months old could be a lot cheaper than one of the same registration year. However, when buying brand new, you have the ability to talk the price down. Never accept the first price that you’re given in a showroom because the salespeople do have the ability to drop it quite some way. If you feel as though they aren’t going to drop it any further, you could persuade them to add things like car mats or other equipment, which could save you money later.

Repairs

If you get an older car, it stands to reason that it is going to need more work doing to it. Not only this, but a newer car is likely to be under warranty, which means that when work does need to be completed, it will be done at the dealership for free. On the other hand, if you have a car under warranty, repairs will have to be done at a dealership otherwise the warranty will be void. If you have an older car, and independent garage may be able to work more cheaply on it, and perhaps more quickly too. A good option could be to buy a car that isn’t brand new but is still under warranty. This could give you the best of both worlds!

 

Fuel efficiency

Newer cars tend to be more fuel-efficient, so you will get more mileage for the fuel that you put in at the petrol station. Over the years, this may add up to quite a saving, so it is certainly worth thinking about. More efficient cars also tend to be cheaper to tax, which is another saving.

MOT Testing

Newer cars do not need MOTs until they are three years old, so this is something that you would not have to pay for with a new car at least at first.

Resale value

What is going to happen when you want to change your car again? If you bought an older car, then you’re not going to get very much money for it when you come to trade it in, however, if you bought a newer car it may still be worth several thousands of pounds, which would make your next purchase seem much more reasonable.

Although many people think that buying a new car is a luxury that most cannot afford, this is not always the case. If you think about the various costs along the journey of owning a car, you may find that the costs are much more even than you might think.

 

Your thoughts on old car or new car? financial pros and cons

Have you found this post  useful? I do hope so – You may also like my post on what to look for when buying a second-hand car