UK's 'insatiable' appetite for new cars drives up sales in May

[The _Don]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...tite-for-new-cars-drives-up-sales-in-May.html

 

[developer]

It looks like Nissan have a winner in the crossover Nissan Qashqai.

 

[grober]

It looks like Nissan have a winner in the crossover Nissan Qashqai.

A good illustration how being bold can reap a manufacturer large rewards. People forget what a leap of faith the Qashqai was when it first came out. Made in the UK, decent build quality for the money, good safety design/NCAP a comfortable ride/ground clearance for Britain's deteriorating -speed bump -littered roads on sensible tyres, a 4 WD option, a bright well targeted advertising campaign-- British families bought em in droves- Mercedes should take note- maybe the new GLA can deliver market share ? --- it's only about 7 years too late.

 

[rhud]

With interest rates at an all time low - and many tracker-related mortgage costs likewise - people are spending the cash on cars.

 

[Rory]

With interest rates at an all time low - and many tracker-related mortgage costs likewise - people are spending the cash on cars.

It seems pretty binary to me - families where the couple are still working full time are doing well. But a lot of people are really struggling - a Which report the other day reckons 5 million families are using savings or borrowing every month to buy food.

 

[peter49]

I don't intend buying "new" again, the depreciation costs are silly.
With so many purchases via PCP's these days, there are plenty of 3 year old vehicles on sale with less than 30k miles offering huge savings on the original price. From MB dealers there are 12 month warranties and sometimes a couple of free services thrown in.

 

[Mr E]

And the car is viewed by many as a status symbol.

This has been brought to my attention since my MB went back on Wednesday - lots of comments of how they couldn't drive an 07 plate Fiat after having a new Benz, etc, etc.

At then end of the day a car (for most) is a tool. I need to buy something that'll run to and from Frejus happily, but in the meantime I'm quite happy to toodle around in Mrs E.

 

[kth286]

I don't intend buying "new" again, the depreciation costs are silly.
With so many purchases via PCP's these days, there are plenty of 3 year old vehicles on sale with less than 30k miles offering huge savings on the original price. From MB dealers there are 12 month warranties and sometimes a couple of free services thrown in.

It's going to get significantly worse because of the new MOT regs.

After 3 years a few simple dash warning lights that will not extinguish being
an MOT fail, is starting to be a lot of frustration for owners in this situation.

Many owners are not technically car savvy and will have to spend money on diagnostics to determine cause of lights. The resultant spend fixing a few expensive ECU's & modules etc will start making the car uneconomic after just3 years, and along with the associated aggro. the vendor just wants to get rid of the unreliability of it (at a massive loss of course).

They then see they can get a superb new car for 'only' £299 per month and of they go.

I am personally thinking that something like my petrol 1995 124 with it's modern road manners and performance with very little in the way of 'fault' lights, is the way to go.

This generation of car can only get more popular for those persons that can afford the increasing purchase cost of good condition models.

 

[MOCAŠ]

It looks like Nissan have a winner in the crossover Nissan Qashqai.

I know the Qashqai was something of an instant (and surprise) hit for Nissan when first introduced, but I have to say it feels rather long in the tooth now and can't be far off replacement. I suspect that current sales are being buoyed by silly finance offers from Nissan - multi-thousand pound discounts and interest-free PCP deals with low monthly repayments.

Having dismissed the idea of buying an Evoque, I narrowed my choice down to two models: Qashqai and Yeti. Once I'd driven each it was no contest - the Yeti just feels like a much more complete, well developed car by comparison. And it seems that Parker's Car Price Guide agrees, for what it's worth: Special edition face-off: Skoda Yeti vs Nissan Qashqai | Parkers

 

[grober]

Funnily enough I was thinking the same thing about the Qashqai. It did have a minor facelift and a bit of a "stretch" with the +2 version. This stretch version will not be continued in the new 2014 MODEL New Nissan Qashqai 2014 release date, specs and price | Auto Express
Here's autocars impression of the forthcoming model

 

[moff]

I don't intend buying "new" again, the depreciation costs are silly.
With so many purchases via PCP's these days, there are plenty of 3 year old vehicles on sale with less than 30k miles offering huge savings on the original price. From MB dealers there are 12 month warranties and sometimes a couple of free services thrown in.

I never intend to buy 'used' again, the depreciation costs are negligible with contract leasing ;-)

Finance on used cars usually means much higher APR than new too.

 

[m1br]

Mercedes should take note- maybe the new GLA can deliver market share ? --- it's only about 7 years too late.

Do you think the UK is a major market for this?
Given the size of the planet, I doubt it is of concern to Mercedes.

 

[Rory]

It's going to get significantly worse because of the new MOT regs.

After 3 years a few simple dash warning lights that will not extinguish being
an MOT fail, is starting to be a lot of frustration for owners in this situation.

Many owners are not technically car savvy and will have to spend money on diagnostics to determine cause of lights. The resultant spend fixing a few expensive ECU's & modules etc will start making the car uneconomic after just3 years, and along with the associated aggro. the vendor just wants to get rid of the unreliability of it (at a massive loss of course).

That's definitely in my mind as I increasingly think I really ought to change my car. Cars that are newish now have the potential be an absolute nightmare. Even things like electric parking brakes are going to be expensive fixes on older cars.

I wonder what people elsewhere in Europe will do, as they generally keep cas for much longer than we do.

 

[grober]

The UK still represents a big market for MB----- in Europe at least. I predict the CLA is going to bomb in the USA-- simply too small in the cabin for many Americans. Potentially I could see the GLA being a better seller in its intended markets than the A class and CLA in theirs.

 

[m1br]

The cabin isn't too bad on A/CLA.
It's the lack of a useful boot.

My S2000 boot looked bigger

 

[John]

but in the meantime I'm quite happy to toodle around in Mrs E.

Pardon?

 

[Dieselman]

..........

 

[peter49]

I never intend to buy 'used' again, the depreciation costs are negligible with contract leasing ;-)

Finance on used cars usually means much higher APR than new too.

I have never used finance for new or used. Cash is king as far as I am concerned. It also makes me think more seriously before handing it over to a dealer.
Unless I have mis-understood PCP's, don't you end up with zero equity if you choose to hand the car back and not to pay the final payment?
If the alternative is to stay on the treadmill and sign another agreement then it isn't for me.

 

[MOCAŠ]

Unless I have mis-understood PCP's, don't you end up with zero equity if you choose to hand the car back and not to pay the final payment?
If the alternative is to stay on the treadmill and sign another agreement then it isn't for me.

If you buy a car under a PCP agreement, your equity, such as it is, is equivalent to the minimum guaranteed future value, so you will always retain equity in the car at the end of the agreement term (provided you keep it in an acceptable condition). Better still, you'll have held onto that sum at the beginning of the term, leaving you free to invest it elsewhere or spend it on something else. With a PCP you know exactly where you stand financially at the outset.

 

[big boss]

I never intend to buy 'used' again, the depreciation costs are negligible with contract leasing ;-)

Finance on used cars usually means much higher APR than new too.

Agreed, hence the reason for me to go for a new E class. You're more likely to get significant discounts on a brand new car, especially when shopping end of the month. In my case, a used Jag XF was turning out to be more expensive than a brand new E class by about 15% considering the monthly outlay.

A new car also means minimum repair bills and no MOT for 3 years.