Used cars versus new cars: it doesn’t really work. It’s a bit like comparing shiny apples and manky pears. I say this because loyal reader Ian began his recent heartfelt email to me with the line: “It’s my fault for buying a new car.”
I don’t think it was: Ian reasonably expected his brand-new motor to not be faulty. It wasn’t end-of-the-world faulty, but not what you expect from a car for which you’ve paid a serious amount of your hard-earned cash.
“They all do that, sir” surely isn’t true in this case. When it rains, the rear lights fill with condensation and take several days to dry. The dealer offered to buy it back for £2000 less than Ian paid after just 250 miles and eventually offered to swap the lenses for the ones on a new car in the showroom. Not great customer care.
Ian said it himself: “I should have bought a used car for a tenth of the money. I could even have bought one for the 10-day depreciation!”
Well, let’s see. A mile-munching large family car that’s comfortable and tidy? A 2009 Mazda 6 2.0 TS for £2000 fits the bill. This is a privately advertised example with just 60,000 miles on the clock. Three previous owners, but it really is the perfect car for hard times, mostly because it shouldn’t break down.
Keeping it real and simple to live with, a Vauxhall Astra should present no problems – especially when you can buy a 2010 1.8 VVT SRi with one of those fancy exterior packs. Mileage is 90,000, there are seven stamps in the book and it’s had just two owners. Not the economical or premium choice, but hard to go wrong.
For a bit of open-air fun, a 2005 Mini Convertible Cooper S with just a shade under 100,000 miles would be a great £2000 buy. It’s a private sale, mind, so you would have to be a little bit careful, especially as the service history isn’t absolutely complete.
Fancy a 4x4? A Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD V6 Overland is a great way to cart your family around, and this one, with 120,000 miles under its belt, has a towbar, so you could tug a caravan or trailer as well.
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I agree
I've never bought a new car primarily because my old man said not to, let the person who it take the hit first, th old adage, once it's of the fore court it's lost thousands, and, now with the Internet you can look nationally for a car, some garages will do a video walk round. I've bought two cars without seeing them, both BMW's, an M3 and a 530i, delivered too, one from Wales, the other from London, both never let me down,so, yes, buy used!
Ditch internal combustion if you really want to save money
EVs are far cheaper to fuel than IC cars and have very few moving parts, so greatly reduced maintenance costs. There are no exhausts, no oil, no oil filter, no air filter, no spark plugs, no clutch, no gearbox, etc. Also because of regenerative braking, the wear on brake pads is minimal, so you even save money on those. They are also free of other costs like road tax.
EV batteries are now projected to outlast the life of the vehicle and become static storage devices after the car is scrapped. Plus used EVs are currently going up in value, not down, due to demand.
If you're watching the pennies, EVs are a no-brainer.
All cars have faults
In my experience all cars have faults if you go looking hard enough. Many are minor defects such as paintwork blemishes, rattles, ill-fitting trim etc. None are perfect. The difference is that it is easier to overlook minor defects with a cheap used car than a brand new one that's cost a fortune.
I tend to buy nearly new where there is often a substantial cost saving, yet little possibility of serious defect.