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Rental arithmetic

We have been offered a year old Ford Focus Titanium, imported to the UK from Jersey, and on your advice I have also looked at drivethedeal.com which has quoted £13,458 for the same car but new. However I am having trouble getting that past my financial controller (wife), who has it in her mind that we should never buy new because of the value loss as soon as it is purchased.

Asked on 7 November 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
The value loss is always greater on an overspecified trim level, like a
Titanium with the smallest petrol engine (Drivethedeal quotes £12,350 for the 1.6 Zetec). But because new prices are now rising due to sterling's weakness, and have at least another 10% to go, cars bought at discount new do not immediately drop anything like as much as they used to. Used prices actually rose instead of falling for the first 8 months of this year. (Channel Island rental cars are often over age, having sat unsold for as much as a year before they go to the Channel Islands, so true build date is always worth checking.)

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

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