Buying Your First Car

BUYING YOUR FIRST CAR OLD OR NEW? Buylng your flrst car can be stressful, and everyone you know has a strongly- held oplnlon on what you should do. Ultimately, It's your decislon, so do a blt of research before making a blg financlal commltment. This Infographic Is an Impartlal look at the pros and cons of new cars versus old cars. ADVANTAGES OF A ADVANTAGES OF AN NEW CAR OLD CAR Зyr) PEACE OF MIND HELPS PREVENT Most manufacturers offer at least a three- DEPRECIATION year warranty. But be careful of small print As soon as a car drives out of the showroom as the last year of warranty Is sometimes It depreclates In value a lot – not to mentlon less comprehensive and reaching an upper the VAT and new car registration tax. mlleage llmit can result In loss of cover. A 3-5 year-old car will depreclate much less In value. Some cars may even have almost no rate of depreclation. CHEAPER TO RUN As everything Is brand new, you will not have to make several trips a year to a garage to replace/fix parts In order to keep your car moving. Also, newer engines tend to have better fuel economy, which wll CHEAPER TO BUY save you money on petrol. You are less IIkely to get an older car from an expensive showroom. Common places are local garages and online used car companles. GET WHAT YOU WANT Whether It Is your car's colour, engine specificatlons or even the latest electrical gadgetry, buylng new lets you specify exactly what you want. CHEAPER TO REPAIR Many older cars have much simpler engines and electronic components, so they are easler and cheaper to flx, and there is the optlon of using salvaged or scrap parts as opposed However, Improvements In online search engines and blg car retallers can provide a large, varled range of used cars to choose from. to expensive new parts. A GREENER ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENTALLY Emisslons from new cars produce FRIENDLY? less pollutants, such as Co?. The fuel From a different perspective, driving an economy of newer engines also means old car Is a fantastic way to recycle. The that they use less fossll fuel, which amount of energy and resources requlred HMRC rewards by lowering road tax. to make a new car can be avolded. DISADVANTAGES OF A DISADVANTAGES OF AN NEW CAR OLD CAR VAST INITIAL EXPENSE POOR FUEL ECONOMY With the cheaper new cars coming In at Older cars tend to guzzle more fuel. This Is around £13,000 (petrol) to £16,000 (dlesel), the starting price tag Is very Intimidating for due to older engine design and the wear and tear over the years. most first car buyers. BIGGER CARBON ASSET FOOTPRINT DEPRECIATION The Co? emlsslons from older car A new car's value depreclates vastly - engines are higher - thus Increasing especlally In the first year. your carbon footprint. GETTING FINANCE YOU DON'T GET If you are a new driver, It can be tricky to WHAT YOU WANT obtaln a good flnance deal. Also, some of the best flnance deals offered require The selection and specificatlons avallable for new cars Just aren't avallable for old you to have been driving for three to flve cars. It's true that large old car sellers years In order to qualify. offer a great selection, but never as good as the perks and privilleges of new cars. PARADOXICALLY UN-ENVIRONMENTALLY MAINTENANCE COSTS FRIENDLY As entire engine parts degrade or break, It takes a huge amount of energy you need to replace them. The older a car and resources to make a new car. So gets, the more frequently Its parts need buyıng a new car Is contributing, quite to be replaced. This Is never cheap and substantlally, to your carbon footprint. mlght hit you when you least expect It. TIPS ON SHOPPING FOR DLDER CARS CLOCKING The Illegal practise of winding back the odometer to Increase the asking price. Digital odometers can stll be tampered with. HOW TO TELL A CAR'S AGE AND MILEAGE An old car with new Look for wear on pedals, steering upholstery, gearstick wheels, seats and seat or pedals might be a ruse to hide the true belts, as a lot of wear is more likely on a car age of the car. with a lot of miles on it. Check the vehicle Chips made by stones documents, service on the front of the records and MOT bonnet and grille can certificates to confirm tell the tale of a lot of the mileage or contact motorway journeys. the garages concerned. CLONING CUT - AND - SHUT Basically Identity theft for vehlcles. This Is when the remalns of two This Is when a car Is glven the plates or more wrecked cars are welded from an almost Identical car (The same together, then glven the Identity of model and colour). If you buy a cloned one of the orlginal wrecked cars. car you'll lose the car and the money you pald for It as cloning Is usually done to hlde the true Identity of a stolen vehlcle. Make sure the car comes with a V5 registration document. Walk away if it does not. These can be falsified, however, so don't take anything for granted. The cosmetic work can be outstanding, and very difficult to spot. So the best defence is to only purchase a used car from an established, trusted VIHOH used car vender. UK PLOTE The best defence against cloning is to only buy from a registered, established vender and make sure you get a proper receipt, detailing the vehicle, price and the seller's details. GENERAL ADVICE Always take It for a test drive. If a car is over three years old, make sure that all of the MOT certificates are accounted for. If you know a Don't view a car when visibility car's registration and the document is bad: 1.e. rain, poor light or at registration on the V5C, you can check night time. a vehicle's MOT status and history. TIPS ON SAVING FUEL Turn off air con at lower speeds. Fuel efficlency Improved by Don't fill your Keep your tyres Inflated. Fuel efficlency Declutter Take your fuel tank up. Fuel efficlency Improved by roof rack off. your car. Fuel efficlency Fuel efficlency Improved by up to 2%. Improved by Improved by up to 2%. up to 8%. up to 3%. up to 1%. 8. 009 TIPS FOR YOUR DRIVING Slow naturally - Accelerate Always drive In the highest sultable gear for the speed you STYLE rather than gradually brake, let your car's momentum without over-rewing. gradually reduce. are golng. TIPS FOR NEW CARS If you have decided to get a new car, then the problems are malnly financlal. You wll probably be applylng for finance, so It Is worth talking to a credit company – who can advise you on how to Improve your credit score. Some basic actions to improve Close any unused accounts your score include: you may have. Register to vote at your Space out your credit applications. current address. This is important: if you fail in an application for finance, do not U Pay bills and any other immediately request another, as this repayments on time. can damage your credit score. VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS When looking to buy a new car, make sure you choose the newest reglstration, as this will affect the value of the car further down the line. In September 2014, the third and fourth digits of a new registration plate will be 64, In March 2015 they will be 15, and In September 2015 they wll be 65. The first two letters of the reglstration plate represent the locatlon where the vehlcle was reglstered. GB64 RKM GB Region of Age Random registration identifier letters SO WHAT'S THE DAMAGE? So you've saved up enough money or acqulred finance for a new car, now here's the blg questlon: should you go for petrol or dlesel? If price Is stll a blg factor for you, let's look at the average standing and running costs for both. PETROL CARS DIESEL CARS Standard price for cheapest model Standard price for cheapest model £13,000 £16,000 VED (Road Tax) VED (Road Tax) £30 £110 Insurance Insurance £360 £424 Cost of capital £203 Cost of capital £245 Depreciation Depreciation £1,109 £1,705 Breakdown cover Breakdown cover £50 £50 Overall standlng charges Overall standlng charges £1,832 £2,454 RUNNING COST PER MILE RUNNING COST PER MILE Petrol Diesel 10.84p 9.28p Tyres Tyres 1.37p 1.15p Service labour costs Service labour costs 2.10p 2.10p Replacement parts Replacement parts 1.37p 2.73p Parking and tolls Parking and tolls 2.00p 2.00p Total running cost per mile Total running cost per mile 17.68p 17.26p (average annual mlleage for each (average annual mileage for each vehlcle of around 7,900 mles) vehlcle of around 7,900 mlles) Running costs for whole year Running costs for whole year 139,672p / £1,396.72 136,354p / £1,363.54 Overall cost for first year with new petrol car Overall cost for first year with new dlesel car £3,228.72 £3,817.54 SOURCES http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheaper-fuel https://www.theaa.com/resources/Documents/pdf/motoring-advice/running-costs/petrol2014.pdf https://www.theaa.com/resources/Documents/pdf/motoring-advice/running-costs/diesel2014.pdf http://www.which.co.uk/cars/survey/which-car-survey-2011Vwhich-car-survey-2013/ Surveyed 47,514 http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/credit-education/improve-credit-rating.html