The wife's car is also her first and is approaching ten years now, with its fair share of bumps and scrapes. Just this week Monday, she had a fender bender, of which the other driver was at fault, but it finally made me start thinking that we needed a new car, as uncomfortable that thought might be to me.
Cars don't make financial sense to me. It is just a practical means to get from point A to point B, and has no true asset value (unless you're in a sales job which is significantly boosted by these type of impressions). The depreciation rate of cars mean that as you pay for the monthly installments, and maintenance and repair costs, you'll never really recover a lot of the value.
Compare this to a property and you'll find that the property can be lived in, can have rental income and then a higher resale price later on.
So your car can be a lot of things but 99% of the time, it shouldn't really be considered an asset. The 1% may be if you own antique/classic cars or if you are in the business of souping up cars and selling them off to enthusiasts.
So, my priority is now to have a practical vehicle which provides good mileage, a reasonable degree of comfort, and will provide safety to my wife and child. I think that I need to start consider sufficient space for the pram and baby seat as well because my current car would properly not be able to accommodate this. Finally, and maybe most importantly, it will have to be affordable because I haven't really taken into account supporting both a new child and a new car until this week, which on hindsight, was poor planning on my part.
New or second hand? Honda or Toyota? MPV or sedan? Decisions, decisions.
Any suggestions are welcome.
I would always recommend new car comparatively to a 2nd hand car. No doubt that for a 2nd car you could get a better brand or type of car with lesser cost.
ReplyDeleteBut consider a new car, you won't have to worry about defects, 5 year warranty and interest rates are lower than paying for a 2nd hand. And basically getting a lower interest rate would lower the payment for your car so it all works out.
I find the Perodua Alza is not a bad choice for a family car. Air bags, ABS, 7 seater and etc. I think I can be the sales guy for perodua. hahaha..but of coz there are other options as well, Honda Freed, not really my type of car...ugly.
But in conclusion, I would support the new car more than a 2nd hand car but if you can find someone whom you knew and knew that they are a good caretaker for the car then maybe that could be an option :)
Well, am not going to rush into any decision. May wait until the wife starts working next year if her car can hold out that long.
ReplyDeleteThe Alza sounds like a viable family car with space for the pram and not too expensive. Will explore that option. :)