New cars also get sold to the mechanically inexperienced, whose paranoid memories of 1970s cars with one-year warranties and three-year reliable lifespans still shape their decisions. Whereas in practice your average modern car probably goes six or seven years before it drops a proper bill on you. (And if it's oriental it'll generally come with a five or seven year warranty anyway.) So what's the logic of buying new "just to be on the safe side"?
Your average three year old car can be had from a main dealer for half the original forecourt price, although small cars do seem to retain a premium. My 18 month old Toyota estate (higher spec) was also half the showroom price (i.e. a whisker over £10K), because it had accumulated an unfashionable 30K of motorway miles. Did I care about that? Did I heck. By the time I come to sell it at ten years, it'll have 100K on the clock, just like any other ten year old. And in the meantime, I get to play with all the toys.
Just sayin'.
I might try and pick one up second hand in 2 or 3 years. let someone else take the deprecation and tax pain first.
Hallelujah to that. Not to mention the development niggles.
BJ