Should I Stay or Should I Go?

[Botus]

My Brilliant Blue S205 C220d premium plus estate July 2015 is coming to the end of PCP the final value is £20000 Its got privacy glass, airmatic suspension and has only covered 11000 miles, its in perfect condition.
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two car aware over paid technical guys at work lease cars personally, both are disappointed at what u get for the cost

one has a 2016 top spec c class. its just a barrel of mistakes and faults….. after local main dealer green oaks slough failed to fix, its at hughes Beaconsfield for the fourth time to resolve rattling driver on the top spec hifi and failed traffic sign recognition (again)….. last visit they charged him £600 for the privilege of doing what I would say is warranty work. Car still not fixed

he’s wondering if to keep or try a new one… but not sure about staying with merc. But becoming addicted to the posh cruise and other toys…. And the high spec loaner they give him.

He moved from BM after it reached a certain age (2009) where all it does is go wrong and breakdown all the time, a misfire needed new cam cover (part of engine breather £1500 and didn’t completely resolve), then electronic water pump, no comms (£900) LED tail light (£400) etc…….

The other guy has a relative at ford, which mean he gets anything he wants at 40% of the cost you can lease it. Has had ford’s with no issues ever for last 20 years, but with one for himself and one for the wife he thinks he’s just being robbed.

I keep saying you could never better that deal. But he’s adamant for his use a £1500 wreck will do, then bin and buy another every 18 months.

This is great except …. safety and convenience of new stuff is light years ahead… toy count improves each year (ESP, BT and streaming is a basic now), and life got so busy is a small breakdown worth the agro? And how much do you value your safety, no legs in a 30 mph shunt would be inconvenient!

You must bear in mind cars are now DTF there is no way to win. Factories pumping out this level of reliability (during warranty period) spec and safety systems can only stay in business if they make them die to time…. As no one noticed this, because lives got so busy managing nothing and engineered worldwide troubles are purely designed to stop you thinking….severe (expensive) faults can start to come in after 2 to 3 years and killing many within 5

I wouldn’t touch any secondhand cars (by premium manufacturers) these days
with nothing to trade in get up to white city, and buy for cash at 12k to 15k an as new high spec 10k mile Mondeo or Insignia and run it for 5 year with no issues then throw it away and start again.

Get over brand prejudice and you will find its probably a much better car than any merc. The cars they have are twice as good as anything everyone else buys (which are mostly rubbish from Blackbush) every foercourt seems littered with tarted up trash they got for 5k

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[Roxy John]

My Four-Penneth:
When I bought my immaculate 22k mile 2.5 year old 2015 E350 Coupe Bluetec in October 2017, I had conducted many comparisons to try to calculate the best use of my pound notes. The new car replaced a 2007 E320 CDI Sport which I worked out had cost me approx £285 per month during my ownership - bought in 2010 at 19500 miles for £19750 and sold in October for a truly miserable £4600 as nobody wanted it. (It was advertised on here and was in very, very good nick, every invoice, detailed regularly, etc).

(The E350 Coupe had lost exactly 50% of its new value in 2.5 years but is in very close to "as-new" condition. I can accept a car in this condition for that kind of saving over new).

Anyhoo, I looked at plenty of private 3 year lease deals for new C220 CDI AMG Line, BMW 330D MSport, etc and the (exc servicing) cost per month varied from £316.00 - £448.00 inc VAT. I also looked at obtaining a personal loan (which I ultimately did) with M&S for £12.5k @ 2.8% APR over 3 years, which meant a total interest payable of £539.56 over the term. I traded in the E320 and gave the balance in cash. (The interest payable is less than an ISA would generate on £12.5k over the same period so made sense to spend someone else's money in my view).

Assuming that my 7k per year mileage and being hopeful that it would still look similar after 3 years in my hands, I would hope that it would be worth IRO £14k when it comes to swap. The total cost over 3 years including tax, MOT, loan interest and depreciation comes to £293.46/month.

If I then bought another 3 year old car for c.£22k, P/Ex mine, pay the balance in cash, and assume it would be worth £14k after 3 years, this equates to £237.64/month inc tax & MOT. Therefore, over the 6 years, I would get 2no 3 year-old cars for a (comparible to lease) cost of £265.55/month. I can tolerate that expenditure for cars of this type and is the way I plan to go at the moment!

There are many ways to skin a cat and in my opinion, it all depends on what you regard as acceptable expenditure for the type of car you wish to use.

 

[sonic]

If you want to keep costs down then long ownership is the answer. I keep my cars until then have done 115-120K miles, fortunately all have been reliable.
I am retired now so millage has dropped, I did more miles on my motorbike last year.
I have a E350CDI 2011 with 47K miles, & no intention of selling it. my wife has a SLK 200K 2010 with 43K miles, again no intention of selling it.
Some have to have a new car, not me. Its a very expensive route.