Should I buy a new car right now?

[portmoon]

Apologies if this seems like an insensitive question in the current climate.

I was just about to sign a PCP contract for a new car, my old one has >100,000 miles on it.

As the economy seems to be taking a nosedive I'm now very nervous about doing this.

I am extremely unlikely to lose my job, but am worried the price of cars will also nosedive and I'll be tied into a contract for a car I could have bought for half the price if I'd waited 6 months.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated

[baldchap]

In my own opinion PCP is a bubble waiting to burst, even before the current downturn.

100,000 is nothing on a well serviced car. Maybe put aside the money that would have been your monthly contribution to a PCP vehicle and see what used and nearly new bargains start to appear?

[DrFfybes]

I agree with baldchap on both counts.

Prices of new car won't nosedive, but there might be a bit of a hit on 'premium' used ones as poeple who are in financial difficulties look to raise cash.

At the higher echelons of the used market car some dealers are returning customer cars they have on "Sale or Return" in order to try and sell their owned stock, and I know of some dealers (including Franchised ones) knocking up to 25% off the windscreen price of nearly new car to shift stock. I can see this moving down price brackets to more mainstream stuff.

Save your pennies and keep the banger for a few months, but keep an eye out. If used prices plummet then hiring a car long term (or PCP as you call it ) is lilely to go up to cover the higher depreciation.

Paul

[bungeejumper]

As Dr F points out, the difference between a PCP on a new car and a used car is crucial. If it's new, you know what you're getting and the PCP company is taking the depreciation risk. If it's used, it'll very likely be worth waiting.

But what's this? What Car reckons that new car prices are also likely to fall in the autumn. https://www.whatcar.com/news/how-corona ... ket/n21152

Either way, I was just saying to my wife last night that I could think of nothing more frustrating than buying a shiny new car today, and then being unable to drive it very much (if at all?) for the next 12 months.

BJ

[DrFfybes]

Either way, I was just saying to my wife last night that I could think of nothing more frustrating than buying a shiny new car today, and then being unable to drive it very much (if at all?) for the next 12 months.

BJ

You're finen if you keep 2 metres apart.

http://www.limos4sale.co.uk/

Paul

[kenko92]

I was looking to change my car just before the dealers closed down.
Does anyone have any insight into how new car prices will be when they reopen?
Will there be a pent up demand or will customers be in short supply?

[bungeejumper]

Does anyone have any insight into how new car prices will be when they reopen?
Will there be a pent up demand or will customers be in short supply?

No idea. But I do have personal experience of buying a car which had been built during a highly disrupted period, where the supply of components had been lumpy. I don't think I'll be exactly rushing to do that again.

The year was 1977, and the car was a Renault 5 that had been built during the great Renault strike of 1975/76. A plucky management had carried on with car production throughout the strike, using any manpower it could get hold of (i.e. the gearboxes had been mounted by electricians, and the paintwork seemed to have been applied by the tea ladies). Whenever components had been in short supply (as they are now at JLR, I gather?), the manufacturers had either substituted with parts that had been designed for other cars, or else they had simply contracted out to third-rate suppliers who helped to ensure that nothing really worked properly.

When my car needed new brake shoes, my local Renault dealer said he'd never seen anything like the ones that I had on my wheels, and I had to send drawings off to Paris so that they could be identified. (The brake assemblies turned out to be American!) And the highly non-standard carburettor needed to be hand-tweaked in its own special way, or the engine wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding - the official workshop procedures just left the technicians baffled and cursing!

Of course, it couldn't happen these days, could it?

Luck was on my side,fortunately. My wife and I divorced, and I got the savings and she took the crummy car. Didn't look back

BJ

[PrincessB]

and the paintwork seemed to have been applied by the tea ladies

The technical term for this level of finish is:

'Did you paint it with a broom?'

[Mike4]

Apologies if this seems like an insensitive question in the current climate.

I was just about to sign a PCP contract for a new car, my old one has >100,000 miles on it.

As the economy seems to be taking a nosedive I'm now very nervous about doing this.

I am extremely unlikely to lose my job, but am worried the price of cars will also nosedive and I'll be tied into a contract for a car I could have bought for half the price if I'd waited 6 months.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated

You should never buy a new car. Hardly Foolish is it? Think of the depreciation the second you pick up the keys. Plenty of perfectly good second-hand cars on the market with only 100k miles on the clock for 25% of the new price. Why not get one of those?

And from an environmental POV, it is far more valid to wring another decade of use from your existing car.

[DrFfybes]

I was looking to change my car just before the dealers closed down.
Does anyone have any insight into how new car prices will be when they reopen?
Will there be a pent up demand or will customers be in short supply?

Interest rates are now virtually zero, so if you are looking to Finance then it will work out cheaper. Also demand is/will be lower as people recover from Furlough. As a cash buyer you could just make low offers on cars in stock if they have what you want, dealers will be desperate for cashflow atm.

My next door neighbour works for a very large Merc distributor that delivers up to 70 cars/day around the South - he says demand is picking up at nearly 10% of pre-lockdown rates, but whereas before nearly all ther business was 'lease' deliveries, the current ones tend to be cash purchases.

I think people will be very wary of committing themselves to 3 years of payments for a luxury item until this is over, and demand for used cars will firm up whilst demand for new cars (from private individuals) will drop. This means any p/x might be better now and/or private sales might be easier.

Paul

[Mike88]

I bought a 3 month old car on 10 March. Since then I have used it twice and it saddens me to think it is depreciating every day. Every time I see it from the window serves as a constant reminder about the mistake I made. My inclination would be to delay changing now even if prices rise as you can console yourself in the knowledge that you don't have an expensive asset depreciating your drive. Even if prices drop that would not make much difference to a PCP contract.

[Howard]

Apologies if this seems like an insensitive question in the current climate.

I was just about to sign a PCP contract for a new car, my old one has >100,000 miles on it.

As the economy seems to be taking a nosedive I'm now very nervous about doing this.

I am extremely unlikely to lose my job, but am worried the price of cars will also nosedive and I'll be tied into a contract for a car I could have bought for half the price if I'd waited 6 months.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated

We can't forecast the future so it's difficult to give you a guide as the answer depends somewhat on your own psychology and financial position What sort of car are you considering and what sort of price were you quoted for the PCP contract?

I'm one of those people who are convinced buying/leasing a new car is better than trying to find a reliable used car. I've never found a decent bargain second hand car which has compared with the spec of a new car purchased at a discount of more than 10%. In the current circumstances I'd guess a canny buyer might get a lot higher discount off a new car?

The advantages, to me, of two years trouble-free motoring and no visits to repair shops, tyre fitters, exhaust shops make a new car a no-brainer. But maybe I have been lucky that the brands I've driven have been totally reliable in all respects over more than 20 years.

In the current virus situation, driving a totally reliable car is a benefit, even if my mileage is a bit less than it used to be.

If you decide you would like a new car, it's worth checking leasing using an online broker. For a previous car, the broker I use supplied me with a car for £90 a month less than the local main dealer's PCP quote. And for Mrs H's Golf, a broker was also dramatically cheaper than my local main dealer's quote.

regards

Howard

[neversay]

As others have said, it depends on personal circumstance. I slightly hijacked the previous Electric Car thread while mulling on the same question of when to swap. The helpful comments I received there have made me realise that, our my case, it is perfectly fine to stick with the car we've got and just wait and see.

Given the only reason I have moved our car in the last 7 weeks has been to give it a run out and reduce brake corrosion, switching cars right now is hardly a priority for us. The idea itself was probably a result of overthinking what we can change in our present circumstance. On reflection there is no need to 'hedge' our car transactions and it is perfectly fine to decide on Option 1 "do nothing" and resist the urge to tinker.

Your mileage may vary.

[scottnsilky]

The OP asked should I buy a new car now, although it was 2 months ago, the consensus seems to be no. The figures I have just read for April show a 97% drop in car sales! Sales numbers about the same as for 1946!
The best selling car for April was the Tesla 3, with 658 units, about 14% of the total. Vauxhall could only muster 264 units of the Corsa, an hour's worth in normal times?

I am looking to buy myself, but only a banger, trouble is the auction sites are closed, although I've not checked the position since easing of lock down.

dp