Bought a new Merc?

[artyman]

I'd bought cars about three years old until managing a 1year old one, which was followed by a new car, I then went back to 1 year old after that. Maybe deals these days may make that approach worth looking at. The things is, birds seem to cr@p on them regardless of age!

 

[Mercy1]

I used to buy used.....
I now find that the excitement and love affair that you get with a brand new car is so much stronger than when buying used. Makes the depreciation hit worth it
I believe this is something you need to experience to understand. Possibly why new car buyers tend to carry on buying new?!?!?!?

A condescending generalisation that I for one will confound. When money was no object (ie generous car allowance) I had a succession of new BMWs and Mercedes. Now I only ever buy nearly-new - because I am of the opinion that the extra £8-10,000 or so I can save is better in my bank than the car dealer's.
A new car is really only "new" for a couple of months, just another used commodity. For the rest of its life with you - by far the greater part of the ownership - it's as used as the next one. If you doubt that, go get yourself a trade-in valuation! !

 

[NISFAN]

A condescending generalisation that I for one will confound. When money was no object (ie generous car allowance) I had a succession of new BMWs and Mercedes. Now I only ever buy nearly-new - because I am of the opinion that the extra £8-10,000 or so I can save is better in my bank than the car dealer's.
A new car is really only "new" for a couple of months, just another used commodity. For the rest of its life with you - by far the greater part of the ownership - it's as used as the next one. If you doubt that, go get yourself a trade-in valuation! !

Take your point....I guess it is horses for courses though.

My experience with used cars is that even buying a nearly new (i.e. year old or less) you end up paying close to a hard bargained new, which leaves you with very similar depreciation, if not worse.

To avoid you really have to set your sights on perhaps 2+ year old vehicles. But then you are buying something short on warranty about to fall into MOT testing, etc. and it still depreciates.

Keeping a car for ten years makes sense financially, but unfortunately for me at 30K miles a year it would be dead long before 7 years old.

 

[HumberMart]

Take your point....I guess it is horses for courses though.

My experience with used cars is that even buying a nearly new (i.e. year old or less) you end up paying close to a hard bargained new, which leaves you with very similar depreciation, if not worse.

To avoid you really have to set your sights on perhaps 2+ year old vehicles. But then you are buying something short on warranty about to fall into MOT testing, etc. and it still depreciates.

Keeping a car for ten years makes sense financially, but unfortunately for me at 30K miles a year it would be dead long before 7 years old.

I agree. Do some peeps realise that you can get a new S350 blutec on PCP with a 12.5K discount. Try and buy a 6 month old one and the payments will be higher due to non subsidised apr and lower guaranteed value. Buying nearly new only makes sense if paying cash.

 

[asinrutee]

Yes and Yes, but not new, ex demo or pre registered, bought my C Class Coupe as ex demo with only 3k miles and a saving of 9k

 

[Paul/]

Another benefit of the new price premium is that you needn't worry about mods made by previous owners. Even recent reg vehicles aren't immune to performance mods which have now been backed out without a trace, or which are still there but hard to detect. And even well implemented mods will have probably resulted in abnormal stress and wear on other key components.

Having said that, I've had 2 used cars that I suspected of being chipped, and at the time I was more chuffed about their unexpected performance than concerned about the implications.

 

[Kingy68]

Another benefit of the new price premium is that you needn't worry about mods made by previous owners.

Fair point that.
I had some work done recently and collected from the company in my C220. The owner likeed the car and asked how long I'd had it, what it was like to drive etc. I've know the guy years and he is a petrol head. He asked if I'd had it chipped and I said no. He offered me the contact details of a garage to chip it who would also roll the mileage back. I was nievely a bit stunned and he said its now common on new vehicles particularly on lease / PCP to keep them well below their agreed mileage.

 

[steve333]

In my view, you would be mad (or financially carefree) to buy any new Merc from any dealer. Showroom tax, highest depreciation, quality issues, blind buying, long waiting times, etc, etc. Why put up with it?
Huge choice of good cars less than a year old and less than 10,000 miles and FAR less money, sitting on forecourts. Let someone else run your car in for you, I say !!

I'm with mercy1 on this,have previously bought a brand new mb but year old cars offer the best value imho.

 

[Mercy1]

Mark, why don't you change your link to your blog to "Read about how Listers solved the quality problem with my 2012 C320"

Would give them some credit

...the silence is deafening...

 

[MrVix]

As the old boy in the film 'Christine' said 'nothing beats the smell of a new car except perhaps p*ssy!!' Thats good enough for me

 

[Paul/]

^

There's no need to compromise...

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Thanks for all your responses . A mixed bag , pretty much as i expected. Whilst i have had many new company cars , the only brand new one i ever purchased was a 1981 Ford Mustang when living in the U.S.A. ( and a new Fiat for my wife in 2002.). As the purchase was company sponsored i was told i had to buy new. Personally i would rather have bought a better spec./model and still assume that if i could afford a new car today i would still buy used. I suppose it may depend on how much i could afford , but i even told my boss to get me an ex-demo when he replaced my company car last year. He refused ,and insisted on buying new.
Possibly an age thing , and i am sure Freud would have had an explanation, but i actually prefer cars from the 50s to 70s over current models .
If i win the lottery i may be tempted by an SLS.

 

[Jamesmerc]

S 350 bluetec L amg spec

Not for private use but just purchased a couple of month old with 3500 on the clock.

Paid £50000 but I can claim the vat back.

I live in kent. But bought from mercedes in Swindon "very nice people to do business with"

 

[blue gnome123]

Used here for me. E350 six months old, with 4k on the clock and we'll over a third off the list price plus options. It still feels like a new car to me!