Car Buying

U

uncertain

Guest
My 1.4 litre car will be 3 years old in January, and will have c. 24,000 miles on the clock.
Financially, which is better, to trade it in or hold on to it?
If I keep it, for how l;ong should I do so?
 
uncertain,
IMHO, financially you would be better off to old on to your own car for ten years. It will have only approx. 80k miles on the clock then, and should still be going well.
But on the other hand looking at things from a financial point of view is not always the only option. If you can afford it , why not treat yourself to a new car in the new year. You deserve it.
Red
 
I dunno if I agree, I think a new car tends to be a burden, very careful with it, not parking near anyone else for fear of a ding, which will just ruin the new year, when (not if) it happens. Unless you have trouble with it now I would hang onto it, you will get a lot more miles out of it and you (probably) wont have such a big car loan. Once it passes the NCT , you'd be laughing.

Stobear
 
Would you be buying for cash or taking out a loan?
 
stobear,

"a new car tends to be a burden"

An old car is more likely to be a bigger burden,repairs,maintainance etc.

Everything in life is a burden and life is too short not to treat yourself from time to time, if you can afford it.

Red
 
Since you're posting on a Money site I presume you're interested in the financial logic of changing your car.

Bottom line, it almost never makes sense to change your car for financial reasons. The only exception is if you have a car that is causing you trouble, costing a lot in repairs, or becomming unreliable.

If you are paying for a car on credit, you should consider driving it for a few years after it's paid off, and continue saving the money you were paying towards the loan. You should be able to drive the car for another 4 or 5 years and save enough to buy your next car for cash.

Most people seem to buy their next car as soon as, or even before their previous car is paid off. (Chain Borrowers).

I'd say purely from a financial perspective if your current car is running well, then hold on to it. But car buying is never purely financial, if it was there wouldn't be any '03 reg plates on the road.

-Rd
 
daltonr;
"Since you're posting on a Money site I presume you're interested in the financial logic of changing your car"

That was the question.

"Financially, which is better"

Red
 
Simple answer......

"My 1.4 litre car will be 3 years old in January, and will have c. 24,000 miles"

Do you expect it to give trouble. A 3 year car with 24K miles should't cause much trouble, if it is properly looked after. So the question is an easy one to answer. Financially you will probably be better off hanging onto it.
 
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