New Car Factors

[rjs104]

Hi All,

A penny for your thoughts. Those of you who have bought a brand new Outlander PHEV must have reconciled the immediate depreciation factor in your mind.

We're still deciding to jump in or not - I love the idea of the PHEV - but the latest emotional crisis is the old "throwing money down the pan" when buying new new.

I can think of some arguments to buy new new in this instance - the FYA for a company for instance.

But does this really match up to the money "lost"

I've done loads of spreadsheets and confused myself, and so I'd be interested to hear other people's point of views as it might shed some light on my own

Many thanks,

Richard.

 

[Uptodat]

As a private buyer, I will readily take the depreciation hit to get a PHEV as a replacement for a 4 year old diesel Xtrail that does too many short journeys for the good of its DPF. I reckon we will be able to use it as an EV for most of the time and save loads at the pump.
I imagine it is a much easier decision for business users.
Just a thought, but I believe dealers will be selling their demonstrators in a few months. They will probably be few and far between but may be a good value option.
I'm afraid my heart and gut play a bigger part than my head in car purchasing and it's not easy to factor "feel good" into spreadsheets IMHO.

 

[maddogsetc]

Depends on what you're comparing it with. In my case I took the GMFV from the finance quote to give me a depreciation figure. Compared with running an 8 year old Disco, for which I assumed maintenance costs broadly similar to what I'd experienced over the last 3 years, and assuming a 60% fuel cost saving overall, I found the 3 year cost to be virtually identical as long as I didn't pay any interest.

I've already pondered the residual value question myself in another thread - in essence my gut feel is they'll be good in the first year or so, probably not so go 4-5 years down the line. So my strategy is either change it early if there are good deals available or, assuming I'm happy with it, keep it long term (probably buying it out of the business if BIK rates rise).

If you're comparing against a 'conventional' car with BIK rates of 15-20% plus then its probable that the tax saving will more than offset any differential in residuals in the medium term.

Having said all of that, to a large degree this is predicated on the prevailing low BIK rates. If they go up as planned in 2-3 years this may be the first and last hybrid / EV I buy!

Hope this helps with the decision

 

[valdemarsvik]

Whatever you think, you use yoor heart and not so much yor head when you buy a car.
Satisfied with my PHEV Buisness navigator since three months. Used to drive a Lexus RX 300

 

[apyds]

At the end of the day the residual value is what people are prepared to pay for the car when you decide to sell it. I think enough people are going to "big this car up" (hopefully) so that there is a residual demand for it. I am certainly going to be telling everyone how the car works and how much fuel I'm saving. If enough people do that then the residual value may not be as low as everyone fears.

 

[Cityblueboy]

I've done similar calculations and reached this conclusion.

I currently run a 6 year old shogun which I get 20mpg, mostly on short journeys which should be covered by the ev part of the car.

My current diesel and road tax spend is around £440 per month

In the last 12 months I have spent around £600 on maintainance, therefore I am very close to £500 per month total spend with unknown maintainance costs over the next few years.

Changing to a PHEV for me even as a private purchaser is a no brainer but not everyone will have the same 'journey profile'

Depreciation is a fact that cannot be avoided whatever car you buy.

 

[thegurio]

A few reasons that have no monetary value, but are mostly narcissistic... Your name in the book, and knowing that you put every single kilometre on it...

Now for others that can be quantified. I have a 3 year old Mazda cx7 (not sure what it is in your corner of the world) that is a very good car, but now with about 85 k's on it needs new front tyres at least, and rears shortly after, needs a new windscreen as I cracked it about a week after it was delivered (still haven't gotten over that one...), and needs another service right now. Total cost at best for that is about $1000. That's money in my pocket straight away. Not to mention that the service will inevitably show something that will cost something extra? Next up is what it costs me per week - combining payments and an average on fuel, the PHEV should be cheaper all up, than the payments alone on the cx7. The only bit that hurts is that the insurance is insanely priced, even for someone who hasn't had a claim in about 10 years...

We all have different risk profiles, and even closer to home my brother thinks I'm nuts, in which case he's probably right, but as I have a fascination with all things electric at the moment, and SWMBO won't let me buy a Tesla at the moment because she can't see how good they are, this will have to do and will be a good learning curve.

Edit: the cx7 when I drive it averages about 11.8-12.2 per 100k's most tanks, and about 18-19 when towing. I'm hoping - and I don't think unfairly - the PHEV will return about 4.5-5 normally and about 12-13 when towing.

 

[maby]

Whatever you think, you use yoor heart and not so much yor head when you buy a car.
Satisfied with my PHEV Buisness navigator since three months. Used to drive a Lexus RX 300

Very true! I've just handed over a £500 deposit on a PHEV that will cost over £30,000 - OK, it has low fuel consumption for its size and all sorts of tax advantages, but I could pick up a second hand car for under £10,000 which would provide the same service and there's no way that the reduced running costs of the Outlander are going to outweigh the extra £20,000 before it goes off to the scrap heap!

But it's a fun car to drive! We are currently running an elderly Landcruiser that can just about return 25mpg - provided you drive it very gently. The Outlander ticks most of our boxes and there are no second hand PHEVs around yet - even if there were, they would not attract the same tax breaks as company vehicles. So, we'll grit our teeth and accept the loss as we drive it out of the dealership - looking forward to driving to our London office for the first time without having to pay Congestion Charge...

 

[chindley]

If you are concerned about depreciation why not go for a lease. I'm paying £278 per month inc vat, 3 up front payments on a 4 year lease. The fact that the payments are low indicate a good resale value. I currently spend £200 per month on fuel plus £320 per month on my current lease on a Chevy Captiva and 95% of my driving is within 20 miles, so it's a no brainer for me the Captiva is going and Gx3h coming mid October. :lol:

 

[WattCar]

- looking forward to driving to our London office for the first time without having to pay Congestion Charge...

Not if you haven't registered it first :!: And to do that you have to send a copy of the log book to the "exemption dept" and then wait till they get round to dealing with it and send you a certificate. Thought you should know as I'm waiting for mine....

 

[maby]

- looking forward to driving to our London office for the first time without having to pay Congestion Charge...

Not if you haven't registered it first :!: And to do that you have to send a copy of the log book to the "exemption dept" and then wait till they get round to dealing with it and send you a certificate. Thought you should know as I'm waiting for mine....

Mmmm, I have had two Congestion Charge exempt vehicles before, so I do remember how it worked! One was a Prius, but the other was a 12 seat Long Wheelbase Landrover - just about the most environmentally unfriendly vehicle you could buy - it was legally a bus and hence exempt!

 

[ufo]

I am a private buyer and there is no subsidy by Australian Government at all ( You guys are so lucky I Europe that there is so much subsidy and tax advantages). I was in the market for a mid-size SUV, only Hybrid SUV available id Lexus RX 400h and it is way too expensive, almost bought Hyundai Santa Fe but then PHEV came out, did a test drive and loved it (that love is in general terms, there things that I don't like about it, but hey show me a perfect car especially when you want it to be reasonably priced) and bought it and don’t care about depreciation, will definitely keep it long term unless it develops some major problem and any car depreciates as soon as you drive out of the dealership anyway.

 

[woolaco]

Thanks for that Wattcar ....I had just assumed you could drive into London and they would know from your registration that you were exempt. Not a regular traveller into London ....but you saved me a significant fine!

 

[maby]

Thanks for that Wattcar ....I had just assumed you could drive into London and they would know from your registration that you were exempt. Not a regular traveller into London ....but you saved me a significant fine!

They could do that if they wanted to, but in practice they charge a £10 per annum registration fee for the exemption, so you still need to complete the paperwork before you can just drive in.

 

[WattCar]

Thanks for that Wattcar ....I had just assumed you could drive into London and they would know from your registration that you were exempt. Not a regular traveller into London ....but you saved me a significant fine!

Pleased to be of help. Actually, TfL were pretty quick - they sent the exemption cert back within 5 days of applying. What took a month was DVLA sending the new logbook for a personalised no. plate which I transferred to the new car and you can't apply to TfL until you have the new logbook.

 

[rjs104]

So do you have to apply each year or merely pay the 10 quid each year having applied first time through?

Just curious.

Bit of a bore the 10 quid fee - I've only ever been in the cc zone once when I've had to pay so for me this perk is next to useless.

I'll probably register and then make a point of heading into town at every opportunity just to make a point!!

R

 

[WattCar]

You get an invitation to renew just before the year is up (for another 10 quid) At least no more forms to fill-in.

 

[maby]

So do you have to apply each year or merely pay the 10 quid each year having applied first time through?

Just curious.

Bit of a bore the 10 quid fee - I've only ever been in the cc zone once when I've had to pay so for me this perk is next to useless.

I'll probably register and then make a point of heading into town at every opportunity just to make a point!!

R

It's been several years since I had a car that was eligible for exemption and the rules may have changed, but it used to be the case that you made a formal application the first year and then a simpler renewal on subsequent years. That said, they tighten the requirements every year or two and cars that are exempt this year may well not be next year - don't assume that your Outlander will be exempt two or three years from now.