Advice on buying a car: New vs Used (less than 4 years old)

Can anyone share their thoughts on this? We are looking at buying a car due to baby no2 coming soon. Hubby wants a european car because of safety. I have looked at buying new and second hand. Everyone tells me that the 2nd hand car market is so good here, but I cannot see it! A used european car (eg merc, audi, bmw or volvo) isn't too much less than a new one. For example, a new Audi stationwagon is $341K and a 2004 model is $278K from one of those automalls. Are these automalls overpricing so you have space to negotiate - and what is the general rule of thumb with negotiation - how much less do you go down from the advertised price? Does being an expat who can't speak cantonese disadvantage you? Is it worth buying new, and then selling within next 5 years?

2nd hand market is good if you buy Japanese Cars, then European cars.... but it depends on the brand name, and also the year (how old it is).


I personally think it's much better to buy a used car in Hk than a brand new one. The moment you buy a brand new one, in 2 years time if you sell, you lose at least almost 50% when you trade in. If you sell privately, you might lost about 40 %.


Depends where you are looking at these used cars too. If you go to Kowloon Bay, or Cheung Sha Wan, or Whampoa.... those ones if you finance, you get a cheaper price, but the % interest is usually not the cheapest rate. If you pay cash, the price can be about $ 10 000-15 000 cheaper off the ticket printed price for cash price. It's about the MAXIMUM, you can negotiate hard for them to throw in perks like DVD player, DVD screen, parking cameras, alarm, rainguard...


If you are dealing with the chinese dealers ... yes, I think definitely you are a little disadvantage... b/c you might not negotiate like the Chinese buyers, and they think you must be rich b/c you are a foreigner.

I went to DCH after looking at those overpriced Automalls and they were fab. Got myself an immaculat Mini for 14000 off the asking price which we thought was excellent considering the age and condition. PLUS the after sale service has been fab too (vert rare in HK).

We started with a Eurpopean car (two actually), and now LOVE our Honda CRV - it is much cheaper to run and to repair. And although it is 10 years old now, it looks and runs great!


The Toyota Lexus Harrier is also a brilliant family car, and there are some going second hand. Don't just look at the more expensive automalls - check out other ones in Fanling, HiTec in Kowloon Bay and other locations too.


Also, check AsiaXPat classifieds, the noticeboards at Parkview PArknShop, Repulse Bay Welcome, etc...


Whatever you buy, insist on an AA check before agreeing to final purchase. You can also call the dealer with the VIN number & license plate and ask about service history.


The issue with European cars, is the parts can be very expensive when they need to be replaced. After two we have converted to Japanese and will stick with it.


Try:

http://www.auto22.com (easy to search in English)

www.fanlingcarshow.com.hk

http://www.cazbuyer.com/ - Chinese, very good site and easy to 'figure out'

http://www.motorimage.net/HK/ - second hand cars of all types

http://www.dch-usedcar.com/english/abt_our.php - DCH, expensive, but good service

www.crown-motors.com/used_car/index.html


Good Luck!

turquoiseblue, we came to the same conclusion as you. Sure, cars more than 4 years old are much cheaper than new ones, but isn't that the same everywhere? (It certainly is in the UK). We found that one or two year old cars were only slightly cheaper than new ones.


Having always driven European cars before we moved here, we finally settled on a new Lexus (because there were no European hybrids). We are actually really happy with our purchase. Although it's no Mercedes, it costs less too, we find it way superior to a BMW. This is true both from a driving and a safety perspective; the car is less 'solid' than a Merc but more robust than a BMW and much more so than cheaper European brands like Renault and Fiat. We'll be buying Japanese until the Europeans start producing some more environmentally friendly cars.