When to change car ??

[Paddington]

Just what do you people in the UK do to cars? Outbacks and Legacys here and in Aussie will do 400,000km no problem at all.

We buy Land Rovers.

 

[marcusthehat]

Just what do you people in the UK do to cars? Outbacks and Legacys here and in Aussie will do 400,000km no problem at all.

(i) Salt is a proper killer
(ii) Greater density of traffic, traffic jams and fender benders also take a toll
(iii) Narrow roads, sunken lanes, cow shite, stone walls, thorn hedges and big trees also thin the herd
(iv) Since their are fewer ways for nature to kill one in the UK, perhaps drivers (esp. townies) are just more careless about vehicle maintenance.
(v) UK car maint costs, are also, as I understand, among the highest in the world, makes it more cost effective to write off as BER and simply replace.

 

[Princess Pooper]

Short journeys also car killers and I imagine a rural Oz vehicle probably averages longer runs. Years ago Oz friends over here couldn't believe how uncomfortable they felt in our feeble 'summer' and it was due to the humidity they were used to dry heat. Humidity rots metal. Anyway I've had a couple of vehicles that went to about 350,000 km and that is two out of my 4 vehicles.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

We buy Land Rovers.

And you can keep them too, I know where there are some Discovery 1+2's, Series 3 LWB double cab and a pile of Freelanders you can have back too!!!

 

[FonterraFarmer]

Short journeys also car killers and I imagine a rural Oz vehicle probably averages longer runs. Years ago Oz friends over here couldn't believe how uncomfortable they felt in our feeble 'summer' and it was due to the humidity they were used to dry heat. Humidity rots metal. Anyway I've had a couple of vehicles that went to about 350,000 km and that is two out of my 4 vehicles.

If you don't like humidty, don't come here or any of the other smaller Pacific islands!

 

[holywell farmer]

What's the general opinion on the most cost effective way to run a car .? How longs a piece of string ?
If you buy new £££££ in depreciation straight away .
Buy year old ,biggest depreciation hit avoided , then keep til it's dead suffering any repair bills , or change after 3 or 4 years so still has some value for trade in . !
Or lease ?
It's all swings and roundabouts . Repairs are pot luck as is the reliability of new or old .
Cost the earth to buy but worth nowt when you want to sell .

When it in and out of the dealers workshop

 

[Bertram]

I always had old cars when I was young but now I am in my sixties I now have a one year old car on some sort of deal (i dont really know who owns the car and dont care).I then swap it for another before the three year guarantee runs out.I have a modern car that is nice to drive and economical,The monthly payments over the term are not much different from depreciaton on a new one,not a large amount of capital laid out and no nasty surprises in repair bills.

This is the best summary of lease/hire/hp/finance I've ever seen. Forage trader take note

 

[DrWazzock]

The motor trade thrives on change. The moment you shake on a deal your car usually drops at least a couple of £k, more if it's a new one.

Its boring, but keeping a car until it is economically unviable to repair is the cheapest option. That's if you are a cash buyer as I am.

I don't know anything about leasing or finance. Usually it's just another way to extract something.

 

[Princess Pooper]

If you don't like humidty, don't come here or any of the other smaller Pacific islands!

been there done that!

 

[multi power]

I would say cheap motoring is in the bargain basement sub £500 dept. Run it till it drops or fails it's mot then scrap and replace.

A lot of perfectly good cars are part exed every day because there owner wants a better one.

You are confusing better and nicer

 

[Drillman]

You are confusing better and nicer

Maybe i should have said " A lot of perfectly good cars are part exed every day because people feel important signing there name on the finance agreement

 

[multi power]

Just what do you people in the UK do to cars? Outbacks and Legacys here and in Aussie will do 400,000km no problem at all.

Half of all cars going for scrap are not even run in yet , I laugh at people panicking when cars get to 100,000 miles, personally i would not even dream of buying at less than 100,000 miles

 

[multi power]

Maybe i should have said " A lot of perfectly good cars are part exed every day because people feel important signing there name on the finance agreement

I would be too embarrassed to get finance on a car, it was bad enough getting a small amount of finance on my new trailer, when it comes to buying a car I just make 2 trips to the ATM

 

[GTB]

I don't mind how old or battered a car is as long as it's reliable. I'm not much of a mechanic so anything requiring constant attention is living on borrowed time here. I do like to buy a fairly tidy car though as a treat for keeping the old one for as long as practical (not as long as possible). The last car I bought was 18 months old and it had lost almost 50% of its value from new.

 

[Cowabunga]

You only live once and it is a short time. If you can afford it, go buy what the hell you like and sod the jealous crowd. Its as simple as that. Only in the UK and possibly Ireland do you find failure and poverty glorified and celebrated and success and wealth derided like some contagious disease.
Lots of people like 'nice things', not for show, but for their own sake. Lots of other people are paid to make and sell those nice things. A lot of tax is raised from those nice things. Thus the success and the trade in nice things spreads the wealth and success down through society, dragging everyone up so they too can purchase nice things, be they cars or a steak or even a lamb dinner , or more.

In rural areas the farmer is the one, when he has money, that spends it locally. No matter whether its a new tractor or a new car, the result is the same, his money, or a proportion of it goes in tax and in keeping local people in employment so that they too can buy that farmer's produce and spend their wages locally, or wherever and on whatever they desire, such as a local house maybe. Its their choice.

No money or poverty pay and people spending as little as possible, means misery for many.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

been there done that!

25-30c with a wee bit of humidity.....

 

[renewablejohn]

Terrible cars lucky to get 5k miles without breaking down. When they do break down bills are massive.

If anyone wants to take a punt at the 08 plate outback on Autotrader for £1650 I could fix them up with another engine. No connection with the ad but it does seem a bargain even to me. Unfortunately would end in divorce if I got another one.

 

[renewablejohn]

Just what do you people in the UK do to cars? Outbacks and Legacys here and in Aussie will do 400,000km no problem at all.

Must have got to many zero's after that 4

 

[kiwi pom]

So other than Clive who is contract hiring (and may not include a range rover), where are all these farmers driving round in brand new range rovers that we always hear so much about. I know they exist, I have seen them, but are they keeping a low profile , or are they too busy shooting/skiing at present?

No idea but when I was back in England last summer, all be it briefly, I was amazed at the number of new vehicles on the road and the low second hand price of older models. Higher end stuff too, Audi, Bmw, Range rovers etc.
Obviously not all farmers, mostly those pesky townies, but the country lanes seemed full of new pickups and Landrovers.
Is it just the salt that kills cars there these days? Sounds like leasing and contract hire is more popular there now.
I read somewhere the average age of the UK car fleet is around 7.5 years.
May be wrong but I think the average here is 14 years.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

Must have got to many zero's after that 4

Ummmm, no , "Super Gramps" was reincarnated at 400,000km with a Tribeca 3.6 and boost
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