Coupe prices - what's happening?

williamsmix

williamsmix

Member
Messages
581
muttit said:
Buying new cars is an exercise in losing money
Click to expand...
Yes. new cars are, but trying to maintain an ageing "supercar" like a Maserati - particularly at the wrong point in the ageing cycle, whilst it's still depreciating and where many components are degrading due to use and age related deterioration - is also a way of losing money. So, the market tries to estimate what to pay for such a car to offset the risks, costs of repair, declining parts availability, potential for further devaluation and the hassle ... Hence our question: what's happening to coupe prices(?)
 
DLax69

DLax69

Member
Messages
4,339
allandwf said:
How many actual people buy a new car though? Most people I know lease these days if the want something new in the drive.
Click to expand...
Er...me. Thanks to the US tax code, there are benefits. That said, just sold one of the two we had bought new...the truck, ca. March 2022...and actually recouped every penny except the cost of insurance (and operating, i.e. gas and oil/filter from one change) over that time. However, I think that's my last new car purchase...as I don't want to have to pay a subscription fee to run my windshield wipers. But having two 4200s in the drive does make me keenly interested in this topic (see how I tied it back so as not to upset the pedantic?)...
 
Nibby

Nibby

Member
Messages
2,117
Why does someone want to spend a £1000 on a suspension part if the car’s only worth £10000.
£2500 on a new clutch replacement, matters made worse as your limited who can do the work and set it up with the need for a specialist tool.
£1000 on replacement heater core work.
On top of that there’s plenty for sale at any time, the styling is a bit bland, some of the colours they came in are bland. Quite often people think my car is a Jaguar of that era, a 2003 Jaguar would probably be worth about £3000.
One day when the flock has been thinned down and they are rarer then they might appreciate in value, imho
 
DLax69

DLax69

Member
Messages
4,339
Nibby said:
Why does someone want to spend a £1000 on a suspension part if the car’s only worth £10000.
£2500 on a new clutch replacement, matters made worse as your limited who can do the work and set it up with the need for a specialist tool.
£1000 on replacement heater core work.
On top of that there’s plenty for sale at any time, the styling is a bit bland, some of the colours they came in are bland. Quite often people think my car is a Jaguar of that era, a 2003 Jaguar would probably be worth about £3000.
One day when the flock has been thinned down and they are rarer then they might appreciate in value, imho
Click to expand...
Because torque steer is awful, and life's too short to drive boring cars!
 
williamsmix

williamsmix

Member
Messages
581
Nibby said:
Why does someone want to spend a £1000 on a suspension part if the car’s only worth £10000.
£2500 on a new clutch replacement, matters made worse as your limited who can do the work and set it up with the need for a specialist tool.
£1000 on replacement heater core work.
On top of that there’s plenty for sale at any time, the styling is a bit bland, some of the colours they came in are bland. Quite often people think my car is a Jaguar of that era, a 2003 Jaguar would probably be worth about £3000.
One day when the flock has been thinned down and they are rarer then they might appreciate in value, imho
Click to expand...
Yes, the cost of parts and servicing at reputable independents is very high in relation to market values. And owners like to collect that stamp in the service book to demonstrate that the car has been correctly looked after. In 2 years of ownership I’ve spent around 50% of the market value of the car on maintenance, keeping the car up together. If I’d bought say, a Ferrari 360, at around 5 times the market value of the 3200 I would probably have spent a similar amount on maintenance, but that would be to support a much higher market value and therefore - in my mind - a lot more economically viable.
 
philw696

philw696

Member
Messages
25,610
williamsmix said:
Yes, the cost of parts and servicing at reputable independents is very high in relation to market values. And owners like to collect that stamp in the service book to demonstrate that the car has been correctly looked after. In 2 years of ownership I’ve spent around 50% of the market value of the car on maintenance, keeping the car up together. If I’d bought say, a Ferrari 360, at around 5 times the market value of the 3200 I would probably have spent a similar amount on maintenance, but that would be to support a much higher market value and therefore - in my mind - a lot more economically viable.
Click to expand...
Interesting for myself both of the 4200's I had over 8 years I looked after myself.
The Ferrari 456 and the 360 I used the Dealer as both had full genuine history.
I was lucky with the V12 mainly as not long before I bought it for £25,000 it had £13,000 expenditure but I knew I couldn't keep it up and kept it for less than a year and got my money back.
On the 360 I had a £6,000 bill that I could afford at the time but my new wife back then gave me lots of grief and the marriage lasted a year.
I'm still proud of all of my Automotive experiences though.
One thing to note reference Jaguar as I run one now is how cheap many of the parts are and so much availability too.
 
williamsmix

williamsmix

Member
Messages
581
philw696 said:
Interesting for myself both of the 4200's I had over 8 years I looked after myself.
The Ferrari 456 and the 360 I used the Dealer as both had full genuine history.
I was lucky with the V12 mainly as not long before I bought it for £25,000 it had £13,000 expenditure but I knew I couldn't keep it up and kept it for less than a year and got my money back.
On the 360 I had a £6,000 bill that I could afford at the time but my new wife back then gave me lots of grief and the marriage lasted a year.
I'm still proud of all of my Automotive experiences though.
One thing to note reference Jaguar as I run one now is how cheap many of the parts are and so much availability too.
Click to expand...
Yes, Jags have a lot going for them. I really did like my S Type but there were some school boy errors in the engineering; rainwater would find its way into the ignition and cause a misfire. Didn’t spend a lot on it but it did make me feel like a grandad, whereas the Maserati does not! I did consider an XKR before I bought the 3200 but I still think I made the right decision …
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,046
allandwf said:
How many actual people buy a new car though? Most people I know lease these days if the want something new in the drive.
Click to expand...
This is a constant debate, if you require a new car.
I need a car for business usage approx 15k miles a year.
It's a decision between:
EV scheme.
Lease.
Buy nearly new.
Buy new.

EV has its issues, not as cheap when doing higher mileages, charging issues/cost when away from home base.
Lease, you are still committed if your employment changes/getting the annual mileage right.
Buying nearly new, not as much saving as say 5 years ago, reduced warranty cover within the purchase price, because its older. Difficult to get cheap finance.
Buy new, much more expensive than 5 years ago, interesting that suddenly the dealers are offering 0% finance deals again. This must really screw up the used cars they have for sale which they can't offer such rates...its starting to make sense in some cases to buy new.

Because of the above my daily is now nearly 7 years old and over 90k miles. I do really need to change it being for business travel mostly, and BMW extended warranty ends at 100k.
 
Last edited:
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,046
williamsmix said:
Surely 0% finance is just a ploy to prop up inflated RRPs that people can’t entertain at market rates(?) …
Click to expand...
Maybe.
Other issue now is that with the increased values, it's not really possible to finance a new/ nearly new car with a personal bank loan at low interest rates, like I did 6 years ago.
Even if you do go for a 0% pcp deal, even the balance balloon payment is out of reach of finishing it off with a personal loan, prices have raised so much.
With my daily paid off fully a year ago, thanks to my employers car allowance, I don't really want to jump onto the fair ground ride again!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.