Peoples thought on routine updating cars

[SV666]

As the title states, I would like to know peoples thoughts and opinions and experiences on updating there cars..

My dilemma is that I have a 9.5 commodore sv6 sidi with about 42k on the clock (auto) that I bought brand new so I am the sole owner of this car. I have now just paid off my loan on this car and I am considering upgrading.. either new sv6 or ss (manual) the only reason is that I do not want to loose out too much than I already have on the sv6's trade in which I have been offered 21-23k for and considering it has already done 42k I'm up for new rear tyre's and I have been told the 45k service is a big one.. This is where I should be thinking more maturely and should consider saving up for a deposit for a house? What also is prompting all this is I have access as a direct spouse to my grandfathers gold card from GMH that entitles me to employees discounts. I have been quoted on a ssv with the trade of my car plus the discount on the ssv I'm left with around 18k to pay for a brand new car.. that in itself is appealing enough to a lot of people.. which would require to take another loan out..


So my dilemma is should I do the right thing and keep my current car (be debt free) and save for a deposit for a house that I'm planning to fully commit in 2 years time? or should I go for the upgrade? whether its a sv6 ss or ssv.. either car I will be going back to a manual.. I do travel 40mins one way to work and with the ring road as it is atm.. sometimes takes longer.


I'm after constructive answers and logical and practical ones please no v6 vs v8 thread break out please.


Cheers guys.
Alex.

[vongy10]

Your car will depreciate more when the new VF commodores will come out which is about a year or 2. I reckon you'd be better off selling it privately, you'll get at least 2-3 grand more but then again trading in is a lot easier and you get a discount. If you do trade in go for another sv6 as it'll be a lot cheaper than getting the ssv or even consider getting a cheaper car. Saving up for a house is a pretty big commitment but seeing as you travel 40mins or more thats adding more k's and you're losing more on your trade in.

[rambunctious]

Let's get serious, 42000 ks is not much if you have looked after the car.
So you need new rears and a service at about what cost $ ???? against the outlay of another $18000 plus interest for a new car that is going to drop a minimum of $5000 from the discounted price as soon as it hits the road and be probably $15000 lower in value in 18 months.
Also keep in mind the car you buy now will most likely be last years build so it is already a year old and must be priced accordingly.
It's all about wants and needs.
What is your greatest need, house or newer car than you have now, forget the discount, that's like buying new shoes you don't need just because they are discounted by 10%.
I'm sure the discount will be there in the future.

[Reaper]

What extra discounts does the gold card get you?? Some of those schemes make it work out not too bad.

Reaper

[TinSnips]

Firstly, don't let the 45K service scare you - it's not THAT big. Expect to pay around $300 if you have an independent mechanic - $550-600 through holden dealerships - plus maybe brake fluid if that wasn't done at 30K.

One thing to consider is that IF you do intend to buy a house in 2 years, the VF will (should? maybe?) be out by then - and you may be able to tack it onto your home loan. A lot of people pick up a car that way - so if that is a viable option, I would consider hanging onto the car you have and saving your arse off for a deposit.

Another reason to hang onto it would be that, as Vongy mentioned, the VF will kill trade in prices for VEs. So you look at putting another 40,000 km on the car and a slightly reduced trade in - vs losing on this one AND the next.

However, the V8 will be worth more come trade in, and for the sake of an $18K loan now, may be worth it - though you certainly won't get 18K more for an SS than an SV6.

I personally wouldn't swap like for like, even with the subtle differences between S1 and S2. In the end, the car will feel the same, look basically the same, sound the same and basically be the same. It's one thing if it's a fleet or company car, but forking out twice for the same thing would do my head in. So, in that regard, the SS would be the go (significantly cheaper than the SSV whilst being mechanically identical).

Just my 0.02

[ryan101]

Save for a house it will be more expensive then you think! Sounds like you have a great car already do just keep it

[SV666]

So far thank you guys for the replies, in answers to some of the asked questions.. I do look after it, yes i give some stick but i do not hoon around in it (thats a 24yo saying that..) the ssv i was quoted to give some insight.. If i remember correctly the ssv retails for around 52k with the discount it would drop to 38,800, the sv6 when i gpt it was retailing at 42k and was dropped to 31k. When u look at it in the respect that tins said going from one sv6 to another wouldnt be much of a difference aside from the iq different interior and front end.. Ss sounds appealing but as others said do a redraw on the house loan and get a vf, dont get me wrong im happy with what i have and consodering tuning it (following in jarps footsteps). The smart option would be to save my arse off and get a deposit ready and have fun with what i have..

[ryan101]

Be smart now, will be better in the long run

[Troy711]

Choosing a car over a house is idiotic.

[TinSnips]

wellllll... you can sleep in a car, but you can't drive a house to work...

[VRCALAISS]

i wouldn't bother.keep the one you have those new ve's with there iq crap seem to be nothing but problems i've heard off many people.they will lose all value when the american built fwd VF renders them obsolete.

[ryan101]

There's alot of hidden cost in houses that people don't realise! So the more money you save the better you'll be

[Big_Simmo]

Amen Troy711

[burleighboy86]

As Tinsnips said, you don't really want to get a car that is basically the same, and a whole lot of dosh more expensive. Even going from an sv6 to new SS. If you're maybe planning to play a little with the current one, it isn't unreasonable to suggest you could hold onto the car a little longer than you'd planned. Look after it well, and km's, up to a certain point, are irrelevant.

I had a similar issue when I was thinking about selling my VT Calais. I had always been a big fan of the VZ range, but really wanted something that held no similarities to my VT. So I started looking at the VE. So, my advice would also be that if you really can't hold onto your current car for an extended period of time, at least wait for the VF to launch.

Above all though, a house should be a priority. A house is an asset that generally gets more valuable with age, whereas a car depreciates at a rate of knots. Financially, it's a no brainer.

[SV666]

Troy i do agree with you, and in any other topic i would back you. The point i wanted to make is should i be looking to trade up before i get into the property market with what i have done with the car or disregard and hang on to what i have and do the right thing. I figured i would ask this question on the merit that with the car as it is would it be worth my while in trading to something better and making that my long term car as opposed to what i have now.

[ink]

You'll probably buy a lot of cars
You wont buy too many houses.

Go the bricks n mortar.

[TinSnips]

I didn't think the question was house OR car - more, just house.. or house AND car?

House OR car is a no-brainer.

House AND car takes more consideration - ie, can you still save for a deposit if making repayments on a car as well (partially why I was thinking SS vs SSV, as it will be significantly less to repay).

Maybe I misread though. Apologies if so.

[rambunctious]

[.. Ss sounds appealing but as others said do a redraw on the house loan and get a vf, dont get me wrong im happy with what i have and consodering tuning it (following in jarps footsteps). The smart option would be to save my arse off and get a deposit ready and have fun with what i have..[/QUOTE]

The smart option is correct, but why would you want to put a loan for a car on a 30 year home loan.
Remember, any draw you take on the home loan goes on the top of the loan so in theory you do not pay the car off until you pay out the loan.

[SV666]

[.. Ss sounds appealing but as others said do a redraw on the house loan and get a vf, dont get me wrong im happy with what i have and consodering tuning it (following in jarps footsteps). The smart option would be to save my arse off and get a deposit ready and have fun with what i have..

The smart option is correct, but why would you want to put a loan for a car on a 30 year home loan.
Remember, any draw you take on the home loan goes on the top of the loan so in theory you do not pay the car off until you pay out the loan.[/QUOTE]

See I didn't know that the redraw will be the last thing to be paid off if u do that I thought it would be incorporated like if u were to re finance... Oh I still have a bit to learn

[SSGAMER]

Mate you have rocks in your head if your considering buying a new car... Buy a house... Buying a new car is not a good idea....buy a house, get yourself in the market, later on down the track tack the car onto your next house or investment loan, make sire the new loan has an offset and pay it off ASAP... Way better option. Home loan is a much better rate than a car loan.... Please mate, do not buy a csr... It's just a car... Buy a house and you'll never regret it.... I'd rather drive a piece of shit and own my home than driving an SS to a house I rent.... Imagine having to pay off your car and pay rent... Your working for nothing basically

[RiCeY]

45k isnt much. Oil and filter, air filter and remote battery. Brake fluid should be done every 2 years so probably due if not done already.

Shop around for the best service price.

Id keep the car if it isnt giving you any issues. It's nice not having a car loan over your head. Its still a nice modern car with low kms and the money will be much better spent on a house.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Why do you want a new car? Just because you can say you have a new car?

Keep the car you have as it is fine, save for the house, once you are in the house for a few months and have an idea on your expenses for it, then trade up if you want to and can afford it. Don't buy a new car just because you can now if you don't need to AND it may impact your ability and borrowing limit when you do go for your house loan if you still owe money on it.

[Voodoo_SV6]

If a car looses say 20% per year of ownership, your car has already done a lot of loss $$$ wise. By the end of year 3, it has lost approx 50% of it's value. That's $20,000 loss on a $40,000 car.

The next three years, you will only lose $10,000 of the value that it had at the end of year three.

That $10,000 takes a long while to knock off a mortgage and MAY even save you having to purchase mortgage insurance, so even more savings.

If the car is in good shape, keep it, unless you are able to claim a huge write off on your personal tax. If it's purely private use, then it's a keeper. I run mine into the ground kms wise, they are worth nothing by the time I sell, but they haven't cost me as much (in loss) either

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Just to further expand on what I posted above, if affordability wasn't a factor and you are comfortable with repayments, then update all you want.

One way to do it is to go through a lease company, get the car you want with the repayments you can afford and at the end of the lease term (usually 3 years) there will be a balloon payment. Add that to the new car lease term and you have a new car every three years with similar payments.

[Banicks]

If it were me personally, I would begin focusing on a house.

The differences between the VE's are minor, there is nothing wrong with your current car other than your concerns for the cost of servicing. Unfortunately servicing is a part of owning a car which you cannot avoid. Presumably you are out of warranty with Holden, so the positive here is you can shop around for a good mechanic who can service your car for practically half or less of what Holden used to charge you for. Should you feel experienced and confident enough you can service your own VE with information available on the forums or around websites.

I can only do a basic service of my VE, anything advanced usually goes in for a mechanic and a general look over with a skip on the basic service. At the end of the day saves you some cash.

Buying a new car will just rinse and repeat and put you out of pocket IMO. For a car to pay itself off I believe it should be kept for 10 years. 10 years is mortgage territory - so you may find that purchasing a house whilst your car pays itself off to you now is your best bet. At the end of finishing paying off your house, you'll look at a debt free existence with a house and 10 year old car and perhaps then you can reassess whether the vehicles on the current market are worthwhile replacing the old girl with.

I know a lot of people do the whole new car every 2 years thing. I don't see how they come out on top unless they're doing a business claim thing.

The decision rests with you, but in Australia cars will always depreciate, houses thus far show no indication of depreciating short of a GFC hitting us. Which the market is certainly starting to show signs of - high unemployment and stonewalling employers wanting highly qualified highly experienced employees for low pay when no one is giving that experience, and also fire sales of defaulted houses by banks - but thus far I've been unable to find out what suburbs these reside in - presumably mining towns. When/if the government abandoned their float on the real estate bubble it will crash - but it's highly unlikely they will do so when their taxing the entire system and gaining so much revenue at the cost of living and affordability. It won't be long before it becomes impossible for a single income individual to afford a home.