Should I or shouldn't I - buying a slightly new car

Rouxenator

Rouxenator

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Checking through autotrader I spotted something that got me thinking... Yes, it is an Opel, it is 7 years old, white and an Astra. Sounds familier? Well it is sort of, because I have a 14 year old white Astra.

I am in two minds now as to whether I should buy the newer car since the old one I have is not giving me any problems. Then again it is inevitable that it will start going wrong and I will have to replace it. On the other hand I have seen some that did over 300,000km without any major issue and mine is only on 235,000km.

So it is a tricky choice. On the plus side the newer car has lower mileage, a lot of creature comforts, and it is automatic. On the down side it will depreciate in value and I will have to spend R2.5k a month on finance repayments.
 
Rouxenator said:
Checking through autotrader I spotted something that got me thinking... Yes, it is an Opel, it is 7 years old, white and an Astra. Sounds familier? Well it is sort of, because I have a 14 year old white Astra.

I am in two minds now as to whether I should buy the newer car since the old one I have is not giving me any problems. Then again it is inevitable that it will start going wrong and I will have to replace it. On the other hand I have seen some that did over 300,000km without any major issue and mine is only on 235,000km.

So it is a tricky choice. On the plus side the newer car has lower mileage, a lot of creature comforts, and it is automatic. On the down side it will depreciate in value and I will have to spend R2.5k a month on finance repayments.
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If you can,rather don't finance anything,save up the cash and buy the car cash.

The main advantage of buying a newer car IMO is safety features...oh and better efficiency means spending less on fuel.
 
falcon786 said:
If you can,rather don't finance anything,save up the cash and buy the car cash.

The main advantage of buying a newer car IMO is safety features...oh and better efficiency means spending less on fuel.
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+1. Deal looks good though :)
 
The safety is a lot better than in the current car which has no ABS, no airbags and is mostly used by my wife with our toddler. She is not at all keen on an automatic but I think that is just because she has never driven on. I emailed the dealer to see what deal they can do for me. I doubt I will get more than R30k for my old car as trade in.
 
Rouxenator said:
Checking through autotrader I spotted something that got me thinking... Yes, it is an Opel, it is 7 years old, white and an Astra. Sounds familier? Well it is sort of, because I have a 14 year old white Astra.

I am in two minds now as to whether I should buy the newer car since the old one I have is not giving me any problems. Then again it is inevitable that it will start going wrong and I will have to replace it. On the other hand I have seen some that did over 300,000km without any major issue and mine is only on 235,000km.

So it is a tricky choice. On the plus side the newer car has lower mileage, a lot of creature comforts, and it is automatic. On the down side it will depreciate in value and I will have to spend R2.5k a month on finance repayments.
Click to expand...

Keep your current car, but but the amount you would have spent on new car into savings account.

then when your current car breaks you have a nice deposit for another car.
 
Rouxenator said:
The safety is a lot better than in the current car which has no ABS, no airbags and is mostly used by my wife with our toddler. She is not at all keen on an automatic but I think that is just because she has never driven on. I emailed the dealer to see what deal they can do for me. I doubt I will get more than R30k for my old car as trade in.
Click to expand...

Yep safety is very important especially in that situation with kids,my wife has been nagging me for a small car for a while now but I feel more comfortable letting her use my 3 series to run around,much safer than those small tin cans.

In fact I'm thinking of buying another one of the same for those odd days when I need an extra car,have saved up the cash to get it but that rarely happens where we need another car so haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

I financed my first car out of necessity...but after you work out what that car really costs you through finance you will quickly teach yourself to be patient and save up instead next round!For the money you spend through finance you can move up a level in the car world if you save and buy cash.
 
The current model astra makes that one look abit fugly imo...maybe save a bit more and get a newer,better astra and keep it for longer
 
Rouxenator said:
The safety is a lot better than in the current car which has no ABS, no airbags and is mostly used by my wife with our toddler. She is not at all keen on an automatic but I think that is just because she has never driven on. I emailed the dealer to see what deal they can do for me. I doubt I will get more than R30k for my old car as trade in.
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For a change I'm not going to rag on Opels, but rather offer my 2c of proper advice:

For the safety features sake I would say upgrade. The wife and toddler should be in the safest car possible (within budget), and I'm sure the car you linked is far safer than what they're currently in.

I would potentially broaden my horizons beyond Opel though to see what else is available. Honda's are reliable, safe and within budget. So are Volvos (well not as reliable, but easily as safe if not safer), and even though they depreciate hectically since you're buying second hand it doesn't matter nearly as much. Plus you seem to keep cars for long periods of time, which will lessen the resale sting quite a bit.

If you must stick with Opel (and I can't blame you) I'm sure you'll do proper research regarding common faults with the various models, fuel consumption, insurance et al.

/Advice over, expect more Opel ragging in the future :twisted:
 
I looked at Corollas and Accents, was keen on getting a Corolla but they are a bit pricey for what you get. Only searched for Opel to see what I could get for my current old Astra when I spotted that one. I guess that is the one nice thing about them depreciating in value faster than the rest.

I agree the Astra H is not a pretty car, for me even the G looks better, and that one in particular is pretty boring. There is a good chance I will get some extra cash early next year so perhaps it is better to hold on until then and see what comes up. Doubt this car will be around then and we are planning to do some travelling during December so it is really hard to decide if I should do it or rather not.
 
Looks like a nice car Roux and Opel so you seem keen on it ;)

Agreed with what others have said; safety first and foremost especially as your toddler will be in the car as well.

Just for interests' sake, what did you think of the Accent Hatch?
 
wabbit16 said:
:p Roux is going to vloek you :p

I'd buy that in a heartbeat if I had the cash lying around, just for sh*ts and giggles (and grins)
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Oh? Can't imagine why :confused: I mean it's got a nice big vroom vroom engine and big wheels and goes zoom zoom on the roads. Not like it's a Daewoo Matiz or anything :D
 
If it was only up to me it would be a S320/A8/7series that I drive on weekends and my wife gets my Corsa. However it seems somehow she is not keen on that at all. The Corolla I liked after doing a long trip in one last year on some pretty bad roads and the Accent sedan looks really nice, not too keen on the hatch. A used Lexus is also something I would go for if the price and mileage is right. I think TehStranger found a real steal of a deal on one recently.

So it is not a case of Opel or bust, but as with the first one I bought (and am now wanting to replace) they often come around at good prices and low mileage <- crucial when buying one used.
 
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Maybe for an extra R100 or a bottle of brannas or something the dealer can remove those sacrilegious four rings and put a lekker horizontal lightning bolt in its place ;)

/runs :p
 
All the safety features in the world mean nothing when you put the cheapest and ****tiest tyres on
 
Surprisingly little vloeking in reply to my joke post. On that bombshell, just let the wife take one for a spin, I'm sure the difference in car machismo will do it. If not, seeing you lift it up with one hand LIKE A BOET, BOET will surely get her engine revving my chana.

On a more serious note, how about Volvo? Quite a few S40 models under 120k, some from 2009.
 
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