Brand New or Second Hand?

[kwon33]

With the godly price of COE and 6 digit devilishly figure of the car prices now, really need to save up to get a car.

My car will be visiting the scrapyard in 2016 and thinking now whether to save up more for a brand new car or just a second hand car which is cheaper. Second hand provably a 3-5yr old car..

Brand new feels shiok, possibly last longer, less chance of breaking down, and got warranty. But all these comes with a price.

Second hand assuming in good condition, probably parts replacement needed in few yrs time, but will be cheaper and better on my cash flow. May even be more likely to zing a bit to make my drive feel better without worrying abt warranty keke...

In dilemma.... or is it too early to make a decision now? Need to start saving...

 

[ralliart_ray]

Buying BMW after my car visit the scrapyard in 2016...

Spoiler

Bus Mrt Walk

 

[Jarlaxle]

With the godly price of COE and 6 digit devilishly figure of the car prices now, really need to save up to get a car.

My car will be visiting the scrapyard in 2016 and thinking now whether to save up more for a brand new car or just a second hand car which is cheaper. Second hand provably a 3-5yr old car..

Brand new feels shiok, possibly last longer, less chance of breaking down, and got warranty. But all these comes with a price.

Second hand assuming in good condition, probably parts replacement needed in few yrs time, but will be cheaper and better on my cash flow. May even be more likely to zing a bit to make my drive feel better without worrying abt warranty keke...

In dilemma.... or is it too early to make a decision now? Need to start saving...

i kinda did a similar analysis.

pls correct me if im wrong.
used cars hv higher loan interest rate than new car?
i did some computation of owning 1 new car vs 5yrs old car
with 50% downpayment.
the higher interest rate and other admin cost seem to eat up the cost of ownership for a used car.
in the end, my monthly repayment is about the same.
which i still feel that it doesnt make sense since depreciation should hv taken much of the 5 yrs old car's value.

thus i tink new car is better.
most come with 5 yrs warranty now.
dun hv to worry about the potential faulty cost that comes with a 5 yrs old car.
just trade-in after 5 yrs.

 

[straweffigy]

My car just passed 4 year mark, as it is a VW, I am worried about possible gearbox issues after the 5 year warranty mark which means I have to pay out of my own pocket already. They increased the gearbox warranty (not entire car) from 3 to 5 years. So most probably I will be selling this before the 5 year warranty ends and get another ride.

Buy used is slightly cheaper, can get a bigger/more luxury/sporty car due to depreciation already absorbed by earlier owner, but you will have maintenance worries.

I prefer to be worry free and hassle free as much as possible so chances are, I'll probably be looking at a new one

 

[Beepok]

if want to buy vw, get those above 170hp one then is free from gearbox problem

 

[wacko]

i kinda did a similar analysis.

pls correct me if im wrong.
used cars hv higher loan interest rate than new car?
i did some computation of owning 1 new car vs 5yrs old car
with 50% downpayment.
the higher interest rate and other admin cost seem to eat up the cost of ownership for a used car.
in the end, my monthly repayment is about the same.
which i still feel that it doesnt make sense since depreciation should hv taken much of the 5 yrs old car's value.

thus i tink new car is better.
most come with 5 yrs warranty now.
dun hv to worry about the potential faulty cost that comes with a 5 yrs old car.
just trade-in after 5 yrs.

how did you arrive at the calculation of similar month repayments for a new car v.s. a 5-year old car? assuming you are comparing similar cars (i.e. with similar OMV/PARF).

 

[PrOfAtSiR]

Always calculate the depreciation.

New is always better.IF you got the $ to burn and provided no changing of car for the next 10 years.

Brand new car covered warrenty(now 5yrs)
Dun have to worry so much.

 

[ishoppersmarketing]

depend on your budget

 

[Genesisz]

if want to buy vw, get those above 170hp one then is free from gearbox problem

Agreed.

Get the 2.0 litre version.

 

[victorlht88]

come to think of it, its actually the same. u buy a brand new car, feel the pain of the initial depreciation with the warranty and servicing priced in.

buy a 2nd hand car at a slightly lower depreciation but you pay for your own servicing. and usually when u get a brand new car, the major costs will be engine overhaul or replacing of major components all those which more or less wouldn't happen during the warranty period so you pay a higher cost but not fully utilizing the warranty.

if you money to burn, then get brand new otherwise can always get a 1 year old car. let the first owner take the first cut.

 

[Jarlaxle]

how did you arrive at the calculation of similar month repayments for a new car v.s. a 5-year old car? assuming you are comparing similar cars (i.e. with similar OMV/PARF).

eg, i checked the new altis price with BMS. it is 119k. only got 1 grade nia.

then i went to sgcarmart n find altis that were registered between oct to nov 2009.
the prices r ard 63k to 66k.

assuming i put 40% downpayment for both cars...
new altis, i need to pay 1.3k
old altis, id need about 700 a month.

so either adjust the new altis to 5 yrs or adjust the old altis to 10 yrs.

altho theres one consideration, for the old altis, u dun hv to pay for the "6th to 10th yrs" until u buy the next car. essentially, u saved money on the loan where if u buy the new altis, u r already starting to pay loan on the "6th to 10th yr"

from the price, i already quite tulan.
why new altis 119k but old ones need to pay 63k ?!
the depreciation is simply not steep enough!
if theres money to spare, i think the new one is better. coz dun hv to fork out money for additional servicing.

 

[wacko]

eg, i checked the new altis price with BMS. it is 119k. only got 1 grade nia.

then i went to sgcarmart n find altis that were registered between oct to nov 2009.
the prices r ard 63k to 66k.

assuming i put 40% downpayment for both cars...
new altis, i need to pay 1.3k
old altis, id need about 700 a month.

so either adjust the new altis to 5 yrs or adjust the old altis to 10 yrs.

altho theres one consideration, for the old altis, u dun hv to pay for the "6th to 10th yrs" until u buy the next car. essentially, u saved money on the loan where if u buy the new altis, u r already starting to pay loan on the "6th to 10th yr"

from the price, i already quite tulan.
why new altis 119k but old ones need to pay 63k ?!
the depreciation is simply not steep enough!
if theres money to spare, i think the new one is better. coz dun hv to fork out money for additional servicing.

I think the more appropriate term to use is depreciation. you should not be averaging out the monthly repayments, when in reality you can't pay half your monthly installments for a new car.

in that case, then yes, it is a very odd phenomenon that the depreciation of a brand new Altis is almost similar to that of a 5 year old Altis. Possibly this only happens in Singapore, due to our strict car supply control, the market is still willing to pay for certain 2nd hand cars at a similar depreciation rate as a brand new car of same make and model.

 

[Panzerf]

2016 alot of coes wait till then to whack another car better.

 

[kevin301]

2015 COE quota expected to be increased significantly, so prices theoretically should fall. Maybe revisit your evaluation next year once you have a better idea.


I look at car 'ownership' as an annual cost (depreciation + maintenance + road tax + insurance + accidentals)
and I found that with this simplistic calculation, used cars aren't that much cheaper in terms of annualized costs.

The only additional pain of buying new, is that initial 'hit' of having to fork out a huge lump sum when you make the purchase. Provided you keep the car for a long period, you can minimize the number of 'hits'.
To me, this is preferred to buying a 2nd hand car and repeating the whole exercise every few years.

When you buy a new car, the dealer earns a profit. When the car is sold to a 2nd hand dealer and resold, there is an additional profit margin being added on. The 2nd buyer end up paying more than fair value for the car.

 

[Genesisz]

Ideally should be brand new.

However, given the current prices and payment structure, and taking into account of the COE's limited time frame of car ownership and depreciation, I would seriously consider 2nd hand.

 

[straweffigy]

If a lot of COE gonna be given out, chances are prices will fall a bit. If you have a used car to let go, then the logic sell high buy high, sell low buy low comes into play.

It will probably benefit more for people who doesn't have a car at all.

 

[joshua182]

U can consider almost new cars.

BMW, mini, Audi, vw etc all got.

Don't buy those that are priced higher than even new by dreamy dealers. Buy those reasonable ones or from direct seller.

Got my ride which was 10 months old. Sent to do check at AA, found batt dying, had it replaced. The important thing is to have the car checked by something like AA (damn detailed). Vicom and STA are trash. Simply trash.

Car so far so good. Still got 4yrs 2 months warranty too.

 

[AL5509]

U can consider almost new cars.

BMW, mini, Audi, vw etc all got.

Don't buy those that are priced higher than even new by dreamy dealers. Buy those reasonable ones or from direct seller.

Got my ride which was 10 months old. Sent to do check at AA, found batt dying, had it replaced. The important thing is to have the car checked by something like AA (damn detailed). Vicom and STA are trash. Simply trash.

Car so far so good. Still got 4yrs 2 months warranty too.

Care to mention;roughly how much 'saving' you obtained from getting it as a pre-owned(10 months old).
And lastly, any clue why the previous owner sold at??
Which usually makes many wonder ba...

 

[kebinu]

Is this a good time to buy a car? New or second hand?

Price is still considered high. Depreciation mostly over 8k for small and older car

 

[Laneige]

U can consider almost new cars.

BMW, mini, Audi, vw etc all got.

Don't buy those that are priced higher than even new by dreamy dealers. Buy those reasonable ones or from direct seller.

Got my ride which was 10 months old. Sent to do check at AA, found batt dying, had it replaced. The important thing is to have the car checked by something like AA (damn detailed). Vicom and STA are trash. Simply trash.

Car so far so good. Still got 4yrs 2 months warranty too.

if car is new n with the distributor service record, STA report is still ok
but 10mths old ride.... u mean the car less than 1yr old n battery dying? wow

can consider new or almost new car
if $ not an issue, is new car but nowadays some jap cars no longer made in jap (even though these few mths Yen dropped a lot)