New car Vs 2nd Hand car (1 Viewer)

[v sia]

If there has been a thread on this already then i apologise . Im not really into cars but i recently read this Excel book and there was a section on wheter buying brand new or 2nd hand .

Well for me , since im a cheepo ill probably buy a 2nd hand car ,it'd take me winning the lotto to ever buy brand new .

But like i said i dunno much about cars . Discuss

 

[SipSip]

To be honest with you...second hand cars are more worth it since that you don't have to give as much tax

This is coming from a person who's had two new cars...and honestly...buying a new car is normally just on impulse...so i would recommend buying second hand...

 

[golfstick]

the instant you drive a new car out of the showroom it loses a few grand of value

used is the way to go when, at our age, you're after value for money and not the prestige (of being a new car owner in general)

 

[redslert]

depends on what kind of car you are buying, if you are going to purchase something like an excel which is a disposable car, then should stay away from 2nd hand because
1. they are cheap new anyways
2. most likely will be falling apart

then again, if you are going to pay the value of a 'new' excel, then you are better off buying a 2nd hand car of equal value which would be better. Just try to find ones which are reliable, like toyota, honda etc

cars will always loose value, no one buys are car to make money, it's just a matter of whether it is worth the amount you are willing to pay

 

[SlipStream]

Used cars are normally better value than new cars, because they have already depreciated in value. I.e. you can get a 99 WRX for about $20k, but a new one is twice as much.

But the reason people buy new cars is because they don't break down as much when they're new (breaking down is an inconveinience to most). I can assure you that the $20k WRX would have twice as many problems as the brand new one. Some people - and I'm in this boat - hate all the little problems that used cars seem to reveal once you buy them. New cars don't have these little problems.

But I'm always going to be buying used. A late 2004 MkII XR6T may cost about $39k, where a 'new' one is $45k. The used one is new enough for me (not even a year) and I've saved myself like $6k. It's because, as redslert pointed out, the second you start the car for the first time thousands of dollars of value just melt away.

Used is the way to go (I agree though that there's nothing quite like the feel of a new car).

 

[Mr Will]

it would kinda depend on what youre after as well....like if you want a performance car (and im assuming you dont have a supremely massive budget) then youd be pretty much forced to buy a second hand car, of which there are plenty of decent ones about...mr2, 180sx, r32/33 gts-t's etc. however if all you care about is getting from one place to another youd be much better off buying a new car, because youre far less likely, as many othe people have said, to have problems with it. plus youre more likely to get a longer warranty etc. remember too that if you dont know much about cars ie what to look for in second hand cars, its pretty easy to get done over and buy something thats worth a fraction of what you paid for it. why not do your research...check out www.carsales.com.au, www.carpoint.com.au etc and see what you can get for the money you have

 

[SlipStream]

Way to go Mr DigUpPrehistoricThread...

 

[pretty pink]

i would never ever buy a breand new car as they are to expensive to fix-the parts are very expensive

 

[S13WPN]

I wouldn't ever buy brand new. Modified cars are the way to go if you want 'bang for your buck' imo.

If you spend $15k on a new car, you'd probably be getting low performance, a crap stereo & plain interior and a generally fugly mofo of a bubble. You could get something shmick, eg s13, for the same price with 150kw+, good sound system, a few aftermarket goodies inside, nice wheels and a tidy suspension set up.

Plus I enjoy changing things on cars and you couldn't really do much to a new car because of warranty...

 

[SlipStream]

Used cars generally carry the stigma of being unreliable.

I hate it when cars break down - ultimate annoyance. But I wouldn't buy a new car just because they're reliable - I also like the fact that you're the only person to ever drive it, so you know where it's been, and how it's been treated. Used cars: you don't know where they've been or what they've done before...

 

[S13WPN]

Used cars generally carry the stigma of being unreliable.

I hate it when cars break down - ultimate annoyance. But I wouldn't buy a new car just because they're reliable - I also like the fact that you're the only person to ever drive it, so you know where it's been, and how it's been treated. Used cars: you don't know where they've been or what they've done before...

Yeh that's true but with any performance car you'd have to expect that it's been thrashed at some stage. But that's fine with me because I wouldn't want a new car that you have to pamper all the time...

What are some causes for cars to 'break down'?? I haven't had any trouble with the Toyota and it's had at least three other owners before I got it... I've flattened the battery a couple of times but I'm guessing this doesn't count?

 

[SlipStream]

What are some causes for cars to 'break down'?? I haven't had any trouble with the Toyota and it's had at least three other owners before I got it... I've flattened the battery a couple of times but I'm guessing this doesn't count?

It's the same principle with cars that it is with aircraft. All the components in an aircraft have an expected safe working life, normally expressed in flight hours. Say, in a helicopter, the bearings of the turbofan might have an expected safe working life of 55 flight hours. After they've met this time, they HAVE to be replaced otherwise the chopper won't fly - sure, the risk of the part breaking mid-flight is low, but when you're flying you don't want ANY risk at all. A little bolt breaks and you're dead - otherwise you'd better be taking skydiving lessons...

With cars, if something goes kaboom, you're stuck on the side of the road - at a set of traffic lights or out in the sticks at worst - but your life isn't on the line. Car parts have working lives as well, and as they get older the risk of them failing increases until one day, they just fail. Some things have longer working lives than others - a light bulb, for example, has a heaps shorter working life than, say, a conrod. To compensate for this reduced focus on componentry working life, manufacturers often over-engineer the parts in the cars to last as long as possible (perhaps not as much nowadays as price seems more important than quality, but certainly back in the old days. You won't see as many 2000-model cars in 2015 as you see 1985 cars in 2000).

 

[S13WPN]

Alright thanks, I guess it's only a matter of time then. I think the accelerator cable might snap one day soon... a couple of the wires have already began to break but meh she'll be right

 

[SlipStream]

Haha well at least they're easy to change!

My dad had an old AR Telstar and it went through 3 cables - ingenius engineering: the throttle cable ran right over the exhaust manifold. Heat + plastic = black microwaved cheese and a sick cable. Was an expensive little gremlin - genuine parts every time at $45 for a cable...

It's especially fun trying to get the old cable out of the firewall - I suggest a hammer and a chisel (ya gonna chuck it anyway). And then equally fun is hooking the new cable up to the accelerator pedal. My back was sore for weeks!

Good luck with that... lol

 

[loquasagacious]

Unfortunatley engineering constraints pretty much direct the cable over the manifold, you can't exactly make tight turns with the cable or you increase it'c chance of failure and because most cars (in this sort of segment eg Telstar) we get here are originally right hand drive the cable has to come in from the left.

So the cable comes out on the right and most go in from the left whilst not making any tight turns. Over the manifold/head is pretty much the only choice.

 

[SlipStream]

Unfortunatley engineering constraints pretty much direct the cable over the manifold, you can't exactly make tight turns with the cable or you increase it'c chance of failure and because most cars (in this sort of segment eg Telstar) we get here are originally right hand drive the cable has to come in from the left.

So the cable comes out on the right and most go in from the left whilst not making any tight turns. Over the manifold/head is pretty much the only choice.

Thanks for that very useful piece of information. I'm sure to impress the boys with that one...