A year to wait

Often the problem with demo models is that they have various extras already fitted and hence the cost is increased. It was cheaper for me to buy mine new than a demo model because of the already fitted extras on the demo ones, none of which I needed or wanted.

Hubby bought his demo model and it had so many extras that he would not have had fitted but it fitted the one must have he had. It only had 1500k on the clock and was $10k less than new price of the basic model. It was just after that things went crazy. Added to that about 12 months later Ford sent him a letter saying they were refunding $2500 because they had misled people about one of the specifications. They were trying to avoid a class action regarding this matter. Sometimes you have a win.

Farmor15 We don't seem to get the imported second hand cars from Japan not sure why.

They didn’t have any demos or secondhand ones except one which was $2000 more than a new one and 2 years old. Salesman said just hoped there wouldn’t be a world war in the meantime. Ahhhhgggh

I ordered a new electric car in May, and was told to expect delivery in November.
Whether or not this will happen, I have no idea, and am not really concerned, because I think I was too hasty in going electric, wish I’d stuck with petrol, the problem was, there seems to be much less choice now if you want a petrol/diesel car.

I looked into changing my car recently (second hand) but was horrified by the prices. So I've had my car repaired, including a new clutch, and decided to keep it .

Maybee70 A lot of them will be company or lease cars.

There is also a massive skills shortage in the motor trade which doesn't help with repair times, just to add into the mix!

crazyH

I believe a brand new car loses 10% of its value, the moment you drive it off the forecourt. My present car is a 2018 low mileage car, Kia, bought in 2020

DH’s car was written off when a delivery van ploughed into it. He replaced it with a 3 year old car that is low mileage, low tax and does 50 + miles to the gallon. I really don’t understand why people trade in their cars every three years.

I bought a new Golf. Delivered 8 months after I purchased it due to unavailability of the chips needed in the car. I was gong to have a Polo but the deal was so good at the time ( last August) that it was cheaper to buy the Golf than the previous price for a Polo. Cars have gone mad

I believe a brand new car loses 10% of its value, the moment you drive it off the forecourt. My present car is a 2018 low mileage car, Kia, bought in 2020

I got my little electric Smart ex demo in a week. Probably only suitable as a little town runaround ( which is what I wanted). My DD wants an electric car but was told a 6 month wait.

There’s a huge hidden problem with repairs as well. I took my car to the garage recently, and was told of the huge backlog of cars waiting for parts that aren’t available for ages. They had a Daihatsu there which had a broken windscreen, and had been waiting for one to be shipped for over 6 months!

If chips are coming from China, there could be a delay there because of more Covid lockdowns than we’ve generally had in Europe.

We had a 9 month wait for our new car and could've got more for the trade in if we hadn't signed a contract. The price of 2nd hand cars is high because of the wait for new cars. We have bought ex demos before but these are not available at present.
I think that a metal/mineral that's in the computer chips comes from Eastern Europe, so the war in Ukraine will affect supplies wherever the car is manufactured.

We've been waiting since February for our new car! There's definitely supply problems in Japan. I can't see what the war has to do with it really. ?

The problem is caused, first y the fact that new cars are becoming more complex by the day and need more and more chips per car, and then the car manufacturers made a bad guess when COVID happened they assumed car sales would fall and they cancelled lots of their chip contract. But sales didn't fall, or not much.

DD bought a recent, but second hand, car in January this year. She had been monitoring the market for about 6 months. She reckoned she paid a third more for it than she would have paid in January 2021.

My car was written off by an idiot in February this year. I was gobsmacked by the valuation that my insurance company placwed on my 20 year old Toyota Yaris, about three times what I expected.

The chip shortage is affecting secondhand car prices, right down to the bottom of the market. However, I also paid more than I ideally wanted to for its replacement.

Spice101 that’s amazing, I’d heard this was# the case. How fortunate are you all.

We recently changed DHs car, but like OP found the wait for a brand new one could be a year or longer! The dealership sourced a nearly new one and had it delivered.
They gave us a really good deal on the exchanged old one, a Landrover in high demand, despite 140k on the clock.
Might be worth trying to strike a deal.

A few months ago I had a few text message from the place I bought my car from saying they would give me quite a bit more than I paid for it two years ago!! A shortage of chips means new cars are, as you have said, very slow to come on to the market and people are desperate for a car so are paying over the odds for used ones.
I'll hang on to mine as it has low mileage and in a good state of repair. And buying another one will be the same price as I was offered.

Do they not sell 2nd hand Japanese imports in Australia? They drive on left there. For some reason, used cars from Japan have been imported to Ireland for years and people find them pretty good. We had one previously.

The cost of second hand cars went through the roof recently. Maybe it’s because of these new companies that deliver second hand cars to your door?

Luckygirl3

Get a demonstrator - they are usually about a year old with little mileage on the clock. I have done this several times.

So have I - my 21 year old was a one year old demo!

Ex demo cars are incredibly hard to get now as the car showrooms are hanging on to them because they cannot get new models either! My brother in law was quoted a 12 month wait for his new car but it’s now been increased to 18 months or accept one with a lower spec!

Get a demonstrator - they are usually about a year old with little mileage on the clock. I have done this several times.

We had to wait between 3 and 4 months for ours which seems to be the standard wait these days for a new car. My daughter was the same. I have a Honda and she had an MG but I know some cars have been taken off the Motability list as the wait is too long.

We have recently been offered more than we paid for dh's car.