Depreciation

[nashy]

I know depreciation is quite high on a new car but was shocked to see how much my car has lost over 11 months since buying it new last Sept. I have a titanium x 1 litre powershift with 7700 on the clock. Absolutely immaculate, I has a full body kit with zetec s grills and front spoiler etc all fitted from new at ford and looks the business. I paid under 16k for it from a main dealer and i know someone on here paid 3k more for their almost identical model. I was going to trade it in as i now need something slightly bigger and was shocked that the car is now worth only 10k with one dealer quoting 9.5k. So mine has lost 6k in that short time but the other guy on here is nearly 9k down. It was the first new car i have had for quite a few years so is that normal. Unfortunately due to the extras i wanted it had to be a new build so had no choice of pre reg etc. The thing that gets me is that the dealer has told me that it is a very saleable car as it looks like a zetec s but has all the extras of a titanium X and is a powershift so is quite a rare combination. Don't seem to effect my trade in price though, but i bet the resale figure is higher than it would normally be.

[Gezzs]

It sucks how the price drops. I'm sure I read you can expect to lose 10% the first time you start the engine. Amazing how the trade in price is so low, then the forecourt price is MUCH higher. :)

[Mariner]

Don't forget 20% of the purchase price of a new car is VAT.

[Gezzs]

Thanks Mariner. I'll just go and cry quietly to myself ​ LOL

[SNC]

Yep I bought my Giulietta 3 months old and it had dropped £7000 from what it was going to cost me to get it new at the exact same spec, you can't buy new with any depreciation in mind as it will depress you, within 2 years any car is likely to be worth roughly half you paid for it, Ford's have good depreciation fiesta too compared to some.

[Ticktock]

I used to work in the car industry and most cars lose a lot of money as soon as they are driven off the forecourt. That's why a lot of people buy cars that are only a few months old as they have lost a lot of their original value by then.

Also remember that you probably bought the car very close to retail price and that the trade in price also has to allow the dealer to put his margin on it so he will probably sell it around £12 / £13k.

If you want to get the most money for your car sell it privately.

[DieselPig]

And if you want to buy a new car buy it in November/December /January you get some cracking discounts.

[richard150]

from what I know it does not matter how many extras a cars got on you will only get bottom book price ,and you lose more in the first year than the rest

[SNC]

Buy a car you will be happy to keep for many years and will best serve your purposes to get the most out of your money, wanting to change every year or two is costly and a waste of money, if you want to do that a finance deal would suit you best but then you tend to be locked in to a marque. Only a car you will love till it's eventual death many years later will ever be an investment :P

[dfriel2]

I know depreciation is quite high on a new car but was shocked to see how much my car has lost over 11 months since buying it new last Sept. I have a titanium x 1 litre powershift with 7700 on the clock. Absolutely immaculate, I has a full body kit with zetec s grills and front spoiler etc all fitted from new at ford and looks the business. I paid under 16k for it from a main dealer and i know someone on here paid 3k more for their almost identical model. I was going to trade it in as i now need something slightly bigger and was shocked that the car is now worth only 10k with one dealer quoting 9.5k. So mine has lost 6k in that short time but the other guy on here is nearly 9k down. It was the first new car i have had for quite a few years so is that normal. Unfortunately due to the extras i wanted it had to be a new build so had no choice of pre reg etc. The thing that gets me is that the dealer has told me that it is a very saleable car as it looks like a zetec s but has all the extras of a titanium X and is a powershift so is quite a rare combination. Don't seem to effect my trade in price though, but i bet the resale figure is higher than it would normally be.

Without extras, you can buy that car new from DTD for £13.4k... costly options add nothing to trade in values. I'm not massively surprised by the offers you've been given.

[chrisroberson99]

TBH I'm not surprised with that offer from the stealer, as:

1. Fiestas are extremely popular/common which will drive the price down, people will be more picky.

2. Stealers always try and rip you off and make a few £k profit on trade-ins. For example, my dad was looking at changing his 9 month old Range Rover Sport for a new one, as values were holding well. He would've been able to sell it for around £60k privately, the stealer offered him £55k! This was bearing in mind he'd just bought another car from them too!

They're all crooks, I think you have to take their offers with a pinch of salt.

Yep I bought my Giulietta 3 months old and it had dropped £7000 from what it was going to cost me to get it new at the exact same spec, you can't buy new with any depreciation in mind as it will depress you, within 2 years any car is likely to be worth roughly half you paid for it, Ford's have good depreciation fiesta too compared to some.

Guilietta's have been holding their values pretty well. My mums old 147 cost £16k new in 2004 and we sold it for £2.5k in 2011. (Big mistake selling it)

[SNC]

TBH I'm not surprised with that offer from the stealer, as:

1. Fiestas are extremely popular/common which will drive the price down, people will be more picky.

2. Stealers always try and rip you off and make a few £k profit on trade-ins. For example, my dad was looking at changing his 9 month old Range Rover Sport for a new one, as values were holding well. He would've been able to sell it for around £60k privately, the stealer offered him £55k! This was bearing in mind he'd just bought another car from them too!

They're all crooks, I think you have to take their offers with a pinch of salt.Guilietta's have been holding their values pretty well. My mums old 147 cost £16k new in 2004 and we sold it for £2.5k in 2011. (Big mistake selling it)

Totally agree they are crooks, sadly the less they pay new owners the more second hand buyers can get off them which is great for second hand buyers but new car owners get hit hard.

Thats a shame the 147 is a nice little car still, Yeah I think the Giulietta more the exclusivity that's keeping the value up you still don't see many on the road so it's not easy to get hold of, I took my car in for it's 3rd year service and the dealers still wanted to give me £12k even though I only paid 16k almost 3 years ago which was a pleasant suprise. I think the first 2 years cars have to loose alot of value then depending on the car it can slow down alot or not.

[chrisroberson99]

Yeah we loved the 147, really miss it. :( In some ways it's a shame that Guiliettas aren't worth peanuts, otherwise we would have one. Out of mums price range unfortunately. :(

[steve67]

I know depreciation is quite high on a new car but was shocked to see how much my car has lost over 11 months since buying it new last Sept. I have a titanium x 1 litre powershift with 7700 on the clock. Absolutely immaculate, I has a full body kit with zetec s grills and front spoiler etc all fitted from new at ford and looks the business. I paid under 16k for it from a main dealer and i know someone on here paid 3k more for their almost identical model. I was going to trade it in as i now need something slightly bigger and was shocked that the car is now worth only 10k with one dealer quoting 9.5k. So mine has lost 6k in that short time but the other guy on here is nearly 9k down. It was the first new car i have had for quite a few years so is that normal. Unfortunately due to the extras i wanted it had to be a new build so had no choice of pre reg etc. The thing that gets me is that the dealer has told me that it is a very saleable car as it looks like a zetec s but has all the extras of a titanium X and is a powershift so is quite a rare combination. Don't seem to effect my trade in price though, but i bet the resale figure is higher than it would normally be.

Thats why i prefer a pcp, just a monthly payment ,with a little deposit, no money locked up in a car sat on the drive ..

[Ticktock]

From my time working in the leasing industry there are very few extras that are worth anything when it comes to selling the car, you could easily spend £3k plus on extras that are effectively worthless when it comes to selling the car.

[SNC]

Yeah we loved the 147, really miss it. :( In some ways it's a shame that Guiliettas aren't worth peanuts, otherwise we would have one. Out of mums price range unfortunately. :(

I know this is the FOC but Alfas really do feel special and make you feel special to drive and leave a big impression on you :) Well if I do ever decide move on from the Alfa and hopefully get a Jag XF I'll keep you in mind and maybe you can, but don't expect it too be soon as I absolutely love both my Alfa and Ford at the moment :P

[steve67]

i had a focus 2006 ex demo with sat nav touch screen , full leather all the toys heated seat etc etc,

when i came to swap, it all added up to nothing, to buy the extras it would of been over £3000.... :/

[SNC]

The thing is when you buy second hand usually you have a budget but you still want specific extras and its the extras that can sway the buy, so selling privately with extras will likely get you more money in the sale. Selling to a dealership they won't give you anything for the extras but will then sell it more because of the additions.

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

I've only purchased 3 brand new cars since 1979, all the rest were 6 - 9 months old with FFSH & 1 owner - all were '' as new '' & substantially cheaper than new, hence the 1st owner took the major depreciation hit

It used to be said that the average new car lost approximately 25% of it's value the moment it was driven off the stealers forecourt

[NathJ]

It is true of course that you do lose money as soon as you drive it off the forecourt, but saying 25% is a bit steep!

I'm looking to get a new Fiesta ST and seeing what the GFV/optional payment is, I can't believe my eyes. The dealers seem to be supplying me them for 37% of the cash price of the car. This would be 6k miles over 24 months, which is driving the monthly payment up as well.

Struggling to find a deal in which I thought the monthly payment would be around due to this, so maybe taking it over a longer period would be a better option, but also increased APR.

[Gezzs]

As someone mentioned...you pay VAT on a new car so 25% is believable.

[NathJ]

Ah right, that's true as that is also quite a considerable large value of it.

I've just had a look at maybe taking the finance over 36 months instead of 24 and the APR is the same at 4.3%. Are there any particular drawbacks to taking it over 36 months rather than 24? Also anyone know if it is possible to take it over 36 months with a privilege voucher?

[Meep]

Of course there have been some shocking depreciation figures over the last 20 years or so, so I try not to think about it too much. Getting a good deal when you buy the car is a good first step.

I may be a bit fuzzy on figures but I believe Top Gear highlighted (with some delight, because Jeremy hated the car) that after 3 years a Vauxhall Vectra was worth less than £3,000, at one point you could pick up a six month old model with pretty much delivery mileage for half the list price! Glass/Parkers were quoting something like 15% of the initial value best case after three years, which really is shocking if you had laid out £18k on an estate.

So whenever anyone says anything about depreciation, at least you didn't have a Vectra (sorry if anyone here did!).

One tip to avoid depreciation for private customers is try to avoid cars that are bought in large volume for fleet/company use, as that means a lot of second hand vehicles after 3 years pushing everyones price down. Granted this is less of an issue than it was in the 80's/90's, thanks to overtaxing and general removal of generous company benefits.

[nashy]

If anyone wants my Fiesta they can have it for £11.000 and that includes the first year service that it is booked in for on the 3rd Sept and fully valeted

If your interested or want more info please message or ring me on 07813 374482 or email me on racered64@gmail.com