Stick or twist? To replace the car or keep it?
It’s a dilemma with which many car owners are familiar. One solution is to obey that old motor trade saying: ‘Buy at two years, sell at four.’ The argument goes that by its second birthday a car has suffered its steepest depreciation.
It’s now much cheaper than it was new but still feels fresh and has at least 12 months of its factory warranty to run. It’s a smart buy. Two years later it still looks current and is probably showing no more than 40,000 miles but has depreciated more slowly. It’s a smart sell.
The trouble is, regularly changing a car like this condemns the owner to a biennial round of test drives and fresh finance deals. Not only that, but cars have also become more expensive to buy and to maintain.
Add wider concerns about the economy, and sticking with something familiar and affordable looks like an attractive option.
Four years ago, in April 2022, my wife bought a three-year-old Mini Cooper Sport automatic from a Mini dealer. It was registered in 2019, had done 7500 miles and cost her £21,895.
Finished in black and fitted with a JCW kit, panoramic roof and heated seats, it was her dream car. Today, with 39,000 miles on the clock, it’s worth around £12,500; also today, the same model at three years old and with 7000 miles still costs around £22,000.
My wife struggles to accept her Mini has lost £9500, but while it will carry on depreciating, she hasn’t the stomach to hand it to a dealer, along with £9500, to replace it. In any case, she’s maintained its Mini service history and, well, she’s rather fond of it (another motor trade aphorism: ‘Never let your heart rule your head’).
The Mini is beginning to show its age, though. In bright light it’s obvious where I’ve tried to polish out light scratches. Algae is growing around the badges and the boot hinges. Sap deposits pepper the roof. The plastic wheel-arch trims are greying.
For Autocar, a few years ago I spent a morning watching leading valeter and detailer Richard Tipper of Perfection Valet at work. He would be the right chap to sort it out, but as I scrolled alternatives on my computer, I spied a company called New Again, based in Chelmsford, Essex.
“Restoring your car is the cheapest way to get a new one,” stated the blurb. “We can breathe new life into your vehicle, making it look and feel like new again, without the hefty price tag that comes with buying a replacement.” I called them.
By
