Motoring Discussion > New Car Negative Depreciation :-) Buying / Selling
Thread Author: zippy Replies: 12

 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - zippy
At the end of March 21, I purchased a new Tucson MHEV. Not my first choice but I didn't like a lot of the other options around the same price for a Diesel Automatic. It's the old model.

The list price was £29,200 + £665 for paint and £600 for the GAP and paint protection (silly prices for the latter two). So the list total was £30,465.

The price I paid was £20,200. Not a bad deal in my book. Used 2021 models cost more than this on Autotrader though there will always be wriggle room.

Anyhow, a few recent car ads keep making me think or going full electric and a work colleague has just splashed out on a Tesla extended range (no mortgage).

So I had a look at what my loss would be if I sold the car to We Buy Any Car. They quoted £21,500! A profit and negative depreciation, even with 1,000 miles on the clock.

I won't be going electric though. Not yet. The cost to change is a little too high at the moment.

Last edited by: zippy on Tue 8 Jun 21 at 23:39
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - tyrednemotional
...not entirely rare on a "run-out" model if you take advantage of the situation to get the right deal (which it looks like you did).

Sourced my daughter a Peugeot 107 just after production-end when she finally needed a car for a (short) commute, named my price, and WBAC would have paid more for about the first year of ownership.

The new Tuscon MHEV, despite reasonable reviews, seems to be one of the few cars you can pick up new "tomorrow". I was offered a choice of (not duff) specs across the trim range for delivery within the week - dealer had a compound full of pre-specced cars (and there aren't many additional options over and above those that come with a trim-level).

Such a conversation ("we have a good stock, sir"), always invokes the negotiator in me, but, comfortable enough though it was, it didn't really tickle the "possession genes".
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - zippy
>>
>> The new Tuscon MHEV, despite reasonable reviews, seems to be one of the few cars
>> you can pick up new "tomorrow". I was offered a choice of (not duff) specs
>> across the trim range for delivery within the week - dealer had a compound full
>> of pre-specced cars (and there aren't many additional options over and above those that come
>> with a trim-level).
>>

Yes it's a smashing car by all accounts. The extra £5k to £7k depending on if I wanted manual or auto put me off though - I have other uses for the cash at the moment.

With all the creases in the bodywork it looks pre-crashed to me :-)
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - DP
The 'nearly new' car market is crazy at the moment partly down to long lead times caused by Covid and the global semiconductor shortage.

I bought an 8 month old Hyundai i30N Performance in March for £22,750. Having heard these crazy stories about positive depreciation, I went on to WBAC and had a look last week, and they offered me £24,710 for it. As near as makes no difference to £2k "profit" and I've put 3,000 miles on the car as well.

I have no intention of selling, and of course the values of everything else have gone up, so unless you are prepared to sit on the cash and wait, it's fairly meaningless. Never known this before though.
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - zippy
>>i30N Performance

I’m a bit jealous! :-)

What’s it like?
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - smokie
I have a feeling that quite a lot of people are sitting on a lumpy pile of cash they'd have normally spent on holidays and entertainment. Round here there are so many houses having "something done", which is not in itself unusual but a number of these appear to be complete internal refurbs, judging by the skips and builders vans around the estate.

I guess, like Zippy, the cost of a brand new car is a little too much for some but people want the latest spec so are heading for nearly new.
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - zippy
>> I have a feeling that quite a lot of people are sitting on a lumpy
>> pile of cash they'd have normally spent on holidays and entertainment.

Not me anymore - I've just spent it on a new motor ;-)

Miss Z on the other hand has been working for only 4 and a bit years and has about 2 years take home salary saved up as a deposit for her flat. This last year she has been living with me rent free which has helped.


>>
>> I guess, like Zippy, the cost of a brand new car is a little too
>> much for some but people want the latest spec so are heading for nearly new.
>>

I was surprised to find the car I purchased was not a pre-reg and I am the first registered keeper!

The local dealer has a used one on the forecourt (same trim level) for £25k!
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - DP
>> I’m a bit jealous! :-)
>>
>> What’s it like?

In a word, fun. It has bags of character, and is an absolute joy to drive.

The story of how I ended up with one started slightly unusually in that I was lucky enough to secure a place on the Nth Degree Experience event that Hyundai ran at Millbrook in 2018. Essentially, they hired the entire proving ground, brought along a small fleet of i30Ns, and the lucky guests got to spend the best part of a day in the company of instructors and professional drivers, thrashing them around while participating in a series of challenges. There was a timed 0-60 run, lapping the high speed bowl, driving the famous Hill Route while being scored by an instructor, and then a couple of flat out, ragged edge passenger laps of the outer handling circuit with a pro racing driver. They even fed us during the day as well. It was a really enjoyable day.

When I got back in the M140i and drove home, a niggling thought started in my head that not only was the Hyundai a b***** brilliant car to drive, but that I actually preferred pretty every aspect of the way it drove (engine / straight line speed aside) to the BMW. Where the BMW engine completely dominated the experience, and the rest of the car was 'so-so', the i30N was a brilliant package. The whole car seemed to be set up to feel good, and to encourage hard use. The M140i, much as I loved it, was a hot rod engine in a chassis that barely coped. Fun of course, but it could also be frustrating. But none of this really mattered when reality dawned that I was 18 months into a 4 year PCP, so nothing was going to happen for a while.

I got rid of the M140i in November 2019, driven by an upcoming major service, brake pads and tyres, and an offer from the dealer to take it "as was" and clear the finance with no money owing. Then we decided to move house and take on a bigger mortgage, then Covid hit, and here we are,18 months later. Apart from a brief, disastrous dalliance with 15 year old Audi A3 diesel, this is the first car I've owned since. I was forced to buy used, as I'd inadvertently timed my decision to go ahead absolutely smack bang in the middle of a facelift model being launched. The old pre-facelift model was out of production, and the new revised model wasn't yet available. I decided to buy a used one rather than wait, and found a dealer demo with 9,500 miles on it, in the colour I wanted (black) for £22,750.

Here she is:

imgur.com/gallery/8W0aiKm

It's an interesting car. It has a set of very trick electronic dampers which are far more effective than the ones on the M140i, a proper electronically controlled limited slip differential, a strut brace that runs across the boot floor, and virtually every suspension and steering part is bespoke to the N model. Also, there are multiple configuration settings for everything from engine response to the auto rev matching, stability control, differential, dampers, steering weighting and exhaust note and so on. There's a full N mode that dials everything up to max attack which is too extreme for broken British roads, or a Custom mode that allows you to pick and choose each setting, and then save it to a steering wheel button.

General wisdom is to set everything to max apart from the steering weight and dampers which you do to taste and for the local road conditions. This gives a car that sounds outrageous, goes really well, and makes a frankly ridiculous noise. Never mind pops and burbles, there's a full blown rally car anti-lag crack from the exhaust on the overrun and on gearchanges that sounds like a gun being discharged. And the brakes are absolutely tremendous. They coped with flat out laps of Millbrook without even getting whiffy, so there's nothing on the road that troubles them. And an absolute corker of a 6 speed manual 'box with a short, precise throw that's a joy to use. On a good bit of road, it makes me smile in the way the M140i used to off the lights. Absolutely beautifully set up.

And then there's the rest of it. Fully loaded spec-wise with everything as standard. Heated seats and steering wheel, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, navigation, folding mirrors, keyless entry, very supportive and comfortable seats with electric adjustment and 2 preset memory (handy when I'm 6ft 2 and SWMBO is 5ft 5). And a comprehensive 5 year warranty, including non competitive track day cover, and 5 year breakdown cover as well if you keep up the Hyundai service history. To watch these things being abused all day at Millbrook, with nothing breaking or falling off was a massive confidence boost.

If you can look past the badge, they are absolutely cracking things.

Last edited by: DP on Thu 10 Jun 21 at 18:54
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - zippy
Thanks!

I'm just that bit greener now!!!

:-)

I wish you many happy miles in it.
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - DP
>> Thanks!
>>
>> I'm just that bit greener now!!!
>>
>> :-)
>>
>> I wish you many happy miles in it.
>>

Thank you.

I've just realised that I've heaped praise on the thing and didn't mention any of the negatives, so in the interests of balance:

1) It is dreadful on fuel. Ballpark 20% worse than the M140i in any situation.

2) It has the turning circle of the Exxon Valdez. Properly annoying in tight car parks.

3) Laggy infotainment system which lacks the polish and the speed of the BMW iDrive system.

 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - Mr Moo

>> I bought an 8 month old Hyundai i30N Performance in March for £22,750. Having heard
>> these crazy stories about positive depreciation, I went on to WBAC and had a look
>> last week, and they offered me £24,710 for it. As near as makes no difference
>> to £2k "profit" and I've put 3,000 miles on the car as well.
>>
>>

I’m sure it’s very nice and far quicker than any of us need, but don’t you miss the sound of that straight six in the M140i?
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - legacylad
I like the look of the i30N Fastback, and but for the bracing strut behind the rear seats which impedes the ability to carry bulky loads, could have been tempted by one.

I emailed Hyundai to see if there would be an I30N Tourer variant in the pipeline, but received a negative answer.
 New Car Negative Depreciation :-) - DP

>>
>> I’m sure it’s very nice and far quicker than any of us need, but don’t
>> you miss the sound of that straight six in the M140i?
>>

Absolutely. The B58 is a wonderful engine. But the i30N is a better driver's car overall.
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