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Car Forum / Australian Car Forums / General Car Topics (Australian group) / October 2006When to buy a new car?
Been giving some thought about when to replace our 2001 Astra with something new. Originally I'd been thinking somewhere in the range between 2007 and 2009, but the fact that it clocked up 150,000km the other week has got me thinking sooner rather than later. This is mainly for the reason that it would probably be worth more and be easier to sell if I didn't let it go over 200,000km (psychological barrier and all, even though the car is in excellent condition and has no problems), and ideally before it gets to 180,000km as it would need a timing belt then and last time that cost me about $600. Redbook is saying its current value would be $8000-9400 based on 80-130,000km so I can probably safely assume I will be at the bottom end of that scale, if not lower, with mine. I suppose that would depend on what I traded it on. Which does make me wonder, how much more money could I really lose on it if I kept it until say 2009? By then it would be an eight year old car with something like 230,000km on it so you'd have to think that wouldn't be worth much more than a couple of grand. The loss in resale value would have to be weighed up against the likely cost of repairs it will probably need as it gets older and things start to break. Also, I'd need to find more money to buy a new one because of the bigger gap between the value of my old car and the price of a new one. On the other hand, money I don't spend on a new car in the meantime is money that can reduce my mortgage. Other factors? The oil is going to run out, and I want to own a V8 before it does. Every day I spend driving the Astra is a day not spent driving a V8. I could find that in 2009 petrol is so expensive that owning a V8 would be financial suicide, but on the other hand I could miss out on a couple of years of V8 driving before that happens by waiting, and that opportunity would never come by again. Also, we plan to have children in the next couple of years, so a larget car would be handy for that and the additional safety features of a new car would be good from that point of view too. Just musing at the moment, but would appreciate some views on things I haven't considered. Marco mf1@project1221.com中华人民共和国<המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדיםPT-141& P2 Member - 09 Oct 2006 03:26 GMT Why not buy a Turbo6 Falcon, have come down $2k with new model, power and economy [new BF11 pricing]: http://editorial.carsales.com.au/car-review/2092098.aspx Re fuel cost, whats a V8 going to use extra over yours?Max.50%, prob. not even that, its not a lot extra in the scheme of things. Petrol wont run out till well into next century if not longer [its ok, u can quote me on it] forget what the doomsdayers are saying U can always put in on LPG.Holden Engineering have them running around no word yet when its [if] its going to be released. Redbook is worth jackshit, like the dealer said "if its worth that get them [redbook] to buy it" GOLD! U be better off waiting for series 2 VES2? OUT! > Been giving some thought about when to replace our 2001 Astra with > something new. Originally I'd been thinking somewhere in the range [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Marco mf1@project1221.com中华人民共和国<המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדיםPT-141& P2 Member wrote: > Why not buy a Turbo6 Falcon, have come down $2k with new model, power > and economy [new BF11 pricing]: Not really a big fan of the AU-BF Falcon - even though it's much better these days, there's still too much AU in it. Anyway, I thought everyone knew I was a one eyed Holden man :) No, it has to be a V8, that's the whole point. > Re fuel cost, whats a V8 going to use extra over yours?Max.50%, prob. > not even that, its not a lot extra in the scheme of things. Yeah, maybe not even 50%. Most of my driving is freeway driving, the Astra does low 7s there and although there's not enough VE data to know yet, previous six speed Gen 3 V8s have been known to get into the high 9s and low 10s under those conditions. I've already worked out what other expenses I will be more than willing to cut back on for the pleasure of V8 ownership, such as eating out and buying takeaway coffee, and some memberships to various things. > Petrol wont run out till well into next century if not longer [its ok, > u can quote me on it] forget what the doomsdayers are saying I hope you're right... > U can always put in on LPG.Holden Engineering have them running around > no word yet when its [if] its going to be released. Hmm, that's interesting, I would definitely be interested in that, boot space permitting. > Redbook is worth jackshit, like the dealer said "if its worth that get > them [redbook] to buy it" GOLD! Are you saying they overvalue or undervalue? > U be better off waiting for series 2 VES2? Yeah, probably would be. Might have displacement on demand by then too. I would want to at least wait until the second half of 2007 to iron out the first-year bugs that every new model has. Could also be worth me waiting for the VE wagon to see if there's an SS version, although that's probably doubtful given how long it took to sell the VYII SS wagons in 2004. Marco >Hmm, that's interesting, I would definitely be interested in that, boot >space permitting. Plenty of gas tank options around, you don't have to have the biggest one that will fit. A smaller tank isn't good for long trips, but is great for around-town if you don't mind stopping more often than usual. >Are you saying they overvalue or undervalue? Both. It's useless, use a good online site eg Carsales and judge market value for yourself. EG http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?vehicle_id=3 427218 Expect $10-12k if in good nick, less if it looks quite used. Full logbooks will help a lot. >> U be better off waiting for series 2 VES2? >Yeah, probably would be. Might have displacement on demand by then [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >although that's probably doubtful given how long it took to sell the >VYII SS wagons in 2004. Hell, if you're gonna wait for S2 VE, why not wait for the next new Falcon? Or S3 VE? There's always going to be something worth waiting for. Considered buying a used low-k S1 VE? Will save you a substantial amount of cash over new if you can find one you like. -mark > Considered buying a used low-k S1 VE? Will save you a substantial amount of > cash over new if you can find one you like. That would definitely be one option, if the saving was big enough and I was able to find something that I liked with the options I wanted, not white or silver, etc etc. Marco > mf1@project1221.com中华人民共和国<המוסד למודיעין > ולתפקידים מיוחדיםPT-141& P2 Member wrote: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > everyone knew I was a one eyed Holden man :) No, it has to be a V8, > that's the whole point. FFS if you really want one that badly just go and buy one, you procrastinate almost as much as my missus:-) Daryl > FFS if you really want one that badly just go and buy one, you > procrastinate almost as much as my missus:-) I think procrastination might be my worst point, but I'll think it over and get back to you. Marco >> FFS if you really want one that badly just go and buy one, you >> procrastinate almost as much as my missus:-) [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Marco You could try joining the Procrastinators' Society, but they haven't had a meeting yet :-). >> FFS if you really want one that badly just go and buy one, you >> procrastinate almost as much as my missus:-) > > I think procrastination might be my worst point, but I'll think it over > and get back to you. ROTFL. Daryl > Been giving some thought about when to replace our 2001 Astra with > something new. Originally I'd been thinking somewhere in the range [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Marco I got 8k for the SRi as a trade-in in May this year. It was 4.5 years old and 180k on the clock. Cost $31k new. > I got 8k for the SRi as a trade-in in May this year. It was 4.5 years > old and 180k on the clock. Cost $31k new. That's a bit lower than what I would have expected an SRi to be worth. I guess it would heavily depend on what you traded it on, though. Buy an unpopular car and you could probably expect a bigger tradein (or a better discount). Marco >> I got 8k for the SRi as a trade-in in May this year. It was 4.5 years >> old and 180k on the clock. Cost $31k new. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Marco I couldn't sell it on the private second hand market for $12k. The highest figure a dealer offered me was $8k when I bought the GTI which we got below RRP for so I'm sure the $8k was the "real" trade-in value. Other dealers offered me $6k to just buy it from me. No-one wants a car with that many kays when new cars are so cheap. It was a bit of a niche model so they probably thought it would be hard to move anyway. Ben > Been giving some thought about when to replace our 2001 Astra with > something new. Originally I'd been thinking somewhere in the range [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > no problems), and ideally before it gets to 180,000km as it would need > a timing belt then and last time that cost me about $600. If the car is in sufficiently good working order to be easy to register and reregister, I'd keep it as long as possible. The main costs in running a car for most are a) Depreciation (in your case, the longer you run it the lower the rate it will depreciate at) b) Insurance -- Again, the lower the replacement cost, the lower the insurance; it's ceheaper if you don't owe money on the car c) Interest on finance (if you've paid it off you avoid that) d) Recurrent maintenance and fuel Getting a new car typically involves substantial finance, and stamp duty both on the loan and the car. Then there's the insurance cost, and the reality that you are never going to get the full market value if you sell your car while you are trying to buy a new one. Even if your old Astra suddenly needs some expensive repairs a couple of years from now, the cost of stamp duties, warranty service, interest, insurance on a new vehicle, panel beating the first time your shiny new thing gets dented by some nong in a car park etc will probably far outweigh the cost involved -- and at least you're paying for actual use rather than stuff that has no intrinsic value. It's true that the cost of second hand V8s is probably going to fall sharply, so buying privately or at a dealer might be an option if you're really keen on one. Why not rent one if you just want the thrill of driving it occasionally? Fran > If the car is in sufficiently good working order to be easy to register > and reregister, I'd keep it as long as possible. The rational side of me agrees with you. The emotional side of me says the rational side of me wins these arguments far too often and if I let this go to its logical conclusion, I'll keep the Astra for another ten years then replace it with a white Camry :) Fundamentally, I'm a car enthusiast, not an A-B commuter - that is something I have to take into account. > It's true that the cost of second hand V8s is probably going to fall > sharply, so buying privately or at a dealer might be an option if > you're really keen on one. Why not rent one if you just want the thrill > of driving it occasionally? I don't think you actually can rent V8s - I've never seen a place that offers them, but would be interested to know if there are places that are. Second hand may be an option if prices do fall substantially over the next year or two, but I'm more inclined towards new for a variety of reasons, none of them particularly sensible. Marco > > If the car is in sufficiently good working order to be easy to register > > and reregister, I'd keep it as long as possible. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > this go to its logical conclusion, I'll keep the Astra for another ten > years then replace it with a white Camry :) In which case, if you put aside all the extra money you would have spent, perhaps investing it in paying off your mortgage or some other debt, you'd have a large pile of money available to do any number of even more irrational things. > Fundamentally, I'm a car enthusiast, not an A-B commuter - that is > something I have to take into account. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > offers them, but would be interested to know if there are places that > are. http://www.discovery-carhire.com.au/vehicle_cat.php?category=lux This looks like fun: http://australianexplorer.godo.com.au/activities/driving/classic-cars/ As does this: http://www.bcl.com.au/melbourne/active/v8carracing.htm and then there's this: http://www.chauffeursdirectory.com/melbourne_exotic.html There you go ... > Second hand may be an option if prices do fall substantially over > the next year or two, but I'm more inclined towards new for a variety > of reasons, none of them particularly sensible. > > Marco OK Fran >> > If the car is in sufficiently good working order to be easy to register >> > and reregister, I'd keep it as long as possible. [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > There you go ... First link had no V8s. Second link you don't drive. Fraser > >> > If the car is in sufficiently good working order to be easy to register > >> > and reregister, I'd keep it as long as possible. [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > > > http://australianexplorer.godo.com.au/activities/driving/classic-cars/ > > As does this: > > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > First link had no V8s. Aren't Fairlanes V8s? > Second link you don't drive. My apologies to all. I misread this Still, the others were OK. Fran > On the other hand, money I don't spend on a new car in the meantime is > money that can reduce my mortgage. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ If your concerned about your mortgage, you are not really in a position to buy a new car. -- Car.loan.is.bad.debt > > On the other hand, money I don't spend on a new car in the meantime is > > money that can reduce my mortgage. > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~ > If your concerned about your mortgage, you are not really in a position to > buy a new car. No, I was just making a pretty straightforward statement of fact - obviously, money not spent on cars is money that can be put to repaying mortgages. Marco |
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