There are two "true costs".

• The total cost of running a car including depreciation, and fixed costs such as road fund licence and insurance, as well as fuel, servicing etc and:
• The marginal cost of running extra miles which only includes variables such as fuel costs and servicing i.e. the extra cost of running additional miles if you have the car anyway.

The two are frequently confused, particularly with regard to mileage allowances etc.

Let the argument begin .....

I think he was trying to have a subtle go at the engine and couldn't deal with your response!

FTF

Edited by fredthefifth on 26/06/2010 at 08:04

He mumbled “You must be a rich man” again and strolled off.

I've had this from my family. They listen to the roar of my V6 C5 and shake their heads and say stuff like "diesel is so much better...". Pah!

When I try to point out that the equivilent diesel option was £3,000 dearer (I only paid £5k for my car as it was) and only returned 10mpg or so more (official figures), it all falls on deaf ears. "V6s, very pricey". I've only managed 7,000 miles in the last year so fuel costs are not a worry. Depreciation has been less than £1,000 in a year and my last road tax (due to be affixed Thursday) cost me only £245. I feel very happy with my V6! In fact, my average fuel economy is usually within 3-4mpg of the family workhorse - the 2.2 petrol Zafira.

I put the attitude down to jealousy myself... ;)

Every time I open the throttle, I'm reminded of why I chose it, and there's no DPF nonsense fitted either!

Edited by TheOilBurner on 28/06/2010 at 12:53

I got my new car when prices reached their lowest point in 2009. It looks like prices have gone up by around £2000. I just got my car valued on a website, and it was slightly more than I paid for it. When I last went to a dealer they were advertising cars like mine for more than £1000 more than I paid for it when it was new.

So my depriciation for the first year of a new car is approx £0. If you get the price down on a new car then they could be very good value. I wouldn't want to buy a car now though because they cost so much more than they did last year. The difference in price between a nearly new and new car seems to be quite small, although it probably makes sense to buy nearly new car rather than new if you plan to replace it within a year or two.

I agree - everyone is different, people just look at what they can afford a month, get a new car on finance and be happy with it.

imo i think someone who buys new, something like a scirocco is pretty crazy, especially borrowing against a highly depreciating asset.

Anyway, my purchases aren't exactly solid. I just bought an 07 335d coupe. Great spec low miles etc for not much more than 20k so excellent price which will minimize depreciation. I just happened to find a guy that needed to release cash and desperatly needed to pay off the finance on his car as it was up the following day of the sale.

I paid his finance, which left him with about £300 difference. He lost half the value of it. Insane.

Now i expect to loose quite a bit myself over the 3 years on this car but based on my earnings i know i cover this depreciation in x amount of time plus a healthy lump in the savings pot over 3 years.