Out of interest, anyone here ever driven one of the new Sanderos, particularly the 90 horsepower model? By the facts and figures it should be far better than a ten year old Yaris, but is it actually better in practice?
Looking at reviews, all the professional reviewers claim that it's slow, or that the suspension and steering aren't fun, or that 55mpg (combined) isn't particularly impressive. But I don't get what they're comparing it against.
I may be in a position to get a new car next year, I'm dismayed about the state of the new car market at the moment. My choice seems to be something like £2-3K on a used car, or a Dacia Sandero on finance with a £3K deposit.
Which leads me onto my rant. Recently, every car manufacturer seems to be trying to compete with the likes of Audi and Mercedes on looks and performance. Ten years ago Ford Kas and Fiestas were driven by old men and middle aged housewives. They had crappy plastic interiors, no air conditioning, plain upholstery, yet there were more Fords on the roads than any other car. I've just took a look through the brochures now, even the bloody fiesta comes with a choice of 12 different interiors with chrome-lined everything, and just about every extra they can cram in. I've started seeing more new Mercedes on the way to work now, than new Fords.
It just seems to me that all of the mainstream manufacturers are trying so hard to mirror the top end of the market in all of their models, that many people are looking at the price tags and choosing the real thing instead for just a few pound extra a month.
>My choice seems to be something like £2-3K on a used car, or a Dacia Sandero on finance with a £3K deposit.
I'm struggling to understand why you'd take the latter.
Is there some compelling reason to buy a new car and suffer the vicious depreciation yourself, while making ongoing payments?
Dacias are basically brand new old Renaults. The Sandero is based on the old Clio, with some cosmetic changes, a bit of cost-cutting on the trim and a few tweaks to the engine and exhaust system to meet new emissions regs.
Newer cars are just nicer places to be. They are quieter and ride more smoothly, they're better upholstered with nicer interior trim, they have more modern entertainment equipment and better safety features.
A lot of dealers offer good finance terms on second-hand cars. A nearly-new Fiesta or Clio is IMO much better value for money than a brand new Sandero.
I don't give a shit how much value my car loses, because I don't plan on selling it until the thing is about to fall apart, and I bought one new with the intention of keeping it well maintained in mind, which will save me money in the long run.
I can't bear how we are starting to treat cars in a similar way we treat mobile phones and computers- They are vehicles, precisely engineered machinery, not disposable consumer tat.
Buying 10 year old cars worth £1000 is false economy because it's far too easy to go through 5 cars in 10 years, and spend another 5 grand between repairs and fuel which you could have avoided by going for something better in the first place.
As >>3076 said, new cars are just nicer. Plus between tax and petrol, over a few years there's a thousand quid or so to be saved.
I do a lot of motorway driving so I'd prefer going up to something a little bit faster than 0-60 in 15s, but in older cars it's hard to balance that with efficiency. In modern-ish 3 cylinder turbos it's easy to get a car with quite noticeable extra power but still getting close to 70mpg on the motorway.
Problem is that these cars just don't seem to have filtered down to sub £4 grand prices yet.
>A lot of dealers offer good finance terms on second-hand cars.
I just don't see any point in finance on second-hand cars. Interest is money down the drain, but on a new car the benefits such as no MOT for 3 years, servicing packages and warranties more than make up for it. I would be happy with a nearly-new car, but if that's the best option for me, then I'd rather go for on old car which is an incremental improvement over my current situation then start saving again.
>Dacias are basically brand new old Renaults. The Sandero is based on the old Clio, with some cosmetic changes, a bit of cost-cutting on the trim and a few tweaks to the engine and exhaust system to meet new emissions regs.
I look at it the other way round. New Clios are basically just Dacias with a nicer trim which looks nice but makes no difference to the drive, and a newer version of the engine with more things to go wrong.
Depreciation on the Dacias is a bit of a worry though, mainly just because they're new to the market and there's no telling what a second hand Dacia will be worth. As >>3077 eloquently stated, I don't care much about how much value a new car loses, unless the demand for second-hand Dacias becomes so low that they're worth no more than scrap.
>I can't bear how we are starting to treat cars in a similar way we treat mobile phones and computers- They are vehicles, precisely engineered machinery, not disposable consumer tat.
I agree with this.
Thanks for your opinions though everyone. Even if you think I'm talking like I've already made up my mind, it's useful to see other peoples opinions because whatever I decide it could easily be one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" moments.
>>3079 It's common for people who need a car once a week. If you need a car every day it would cost silly money compared to buying a new car on finance.
Yes leasing is an option but it depends on the car and the circumstances. Charges vary depending on mileage, it can work out cheaper or more expensive than finance in the long-term, dealers can charge extortionate prices at the end of the lease for the slightest cosmetic damage, etc.
