Buy a New Car?

Our beloved car is seemingly near the end of its life and it looks like we're going to have to send it to the scrap heap.


So now we're looking at getting a new car, either second hand or brand new. Question is, do the benefits of buying new outweighs the saving of buying second hand? And what are the benefits of buying new?


Any ideas/info would be very, very appreciated.


PS we're not talking top of the line European import here. If we buy brand new our budget is under 200k including first reg.


Thx.

The main benefits of new are the warranty and the shiny feel of a brand new car. However in HK quality used cars with low kms and in good condition are relatively cheap. Also many used car companies offer warranties anyway, for example one month parts and labor plus one year labor.


Try Vin's Motors. They have a large selection of used cars for sale in HK including BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Suzuki, Land Rovers and more

http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/classifieds/

You may also strike it lucky and buy a secondhand call that's still under warranty. Try Vin's!


Given the quality of secondhand cars here, I would never buy brand new!

Hi, I would suggest u to buy a second hand car to save the first registration tax. We bought a mini 12,000km one owmer for HK$160,000 only. They include all the service and labour under warranty. Super shiny car too! Contact Angus 9784-3582. New way Motors. Excellent english speaker! say recommend by Angela :)

If you buy the car in a company name you get 75% off as a tax write off in year one for tax purposes while the asset value depreciates at 20% per year. This rule applies to new and used cars so long as not too old. So a 200000 investment on a car gets 28000 (based on 17% tax aT 150000 HKD) knocked off on yr co tax bill in yr 1.

Old vs New depends on what you are buying. Take VW as a prime example. The main agent got dumped and the manufacturers opened their own office and workshops. (I have nothing to do with them or own any of their cars but new car prices for say a VW Golf dropped from 280000 hkd to 185000 with a 5 yr factory warranty. I did plenty of research on the various models here). At the same time a 1 yr old one is still being sold for 200plus by dealers as they are looking at their original purchase price not the present market price. SO it pays to do some research.


Mileage is not guaranteed in HK. It is not illegal to clock a car here. Typically a car with less owners is clocked. The dealers buy low ownership (on paper) cars, spruce them up and the condition can reflect the mileage they want to show. INSIST on service records if spending about 200K. Sellers may say that its there at the dealers but ask for it from the seller as the dealers will give you ZIP due to the privacy ordinance.


Have a look at the pattern. Most dealer cars about 5 yrs old will have a mileage of about 45000kms and older about 65000kms. You will never see a car touching 90000 kms in HK irrespective of its age unless its a private seller. New electronic speedos mean that the mechanics do not need to remove them from the car. SImply plug a computer with an OBD II socket and choose what mileage you wish to programme.


If buying used simply get a diagnostic done (about HKD 1000) and ask for a printed report from the dealer. It will give you a full history stored in its blackbox.


Ask for the possibility of a car loan even if you do not need it. A car involved in a serious accident CAN NOT get approved for a car loan from a bank. This is a fool proof way of checking if the car has been involved in a major accident. We learnt the hard way so happy to share the info.

as for warranty carried over on a used car , make sure from the dealer its still valid. They cancell the warranty if the prev owner got it serviced from outside or put any aftermarket parts on it.


good luck.

Thanks for the replies.


Buying through a company is not an option ... since we don't have one.


It looks like buying new is a bit of a waste of cash since the First Reg is money down the drain. The only problem with buying second hand is what happens if you get a dud?


Guess that's the risk you gotta take but on the plus side, we're not looking at 200k any more ....


Thanks again.