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Post by alf on Aug 7, 2024 11:31:27 GMT
I had an idle look at new QF pricing recently, sponsored by: 1) The amount I have spent/am considering spending on the QF, and Brian-lilke concerns about its mileage (45k). 2) No longer paying child maintenance now (though much of the savings now go directly to said child!) 3) I always thought I'd likely have this one 3 years then try and get one of the latest ones if I liked it. And heaven knows, with AMG "C63's" becoming 4 pots, and M3/4 sounding crap, I'm unlikely to be tempted by much else... So why not shortcut that and get straight to the 23/24 model now? Plus I've never done the speccing a new car thing for myself except with the Academy Caterham (the GTA I bought new but it was unregistered in stock). B**ger me, does it cost! With the combination of rocketing car prices in recent years, joined now by interest rates, deals are miles off where they once were. See pic below. Basically I'd pay £10,600 a year for 5 years for the finance. After that, £32k buys me the car (slightly below what it would likely be worth). Looked at another way, this amount would within 3-3.5 years be the whole cost of buying a 5 year old one as I did. Then you have tax at £600 a year (mine is now 190). Plus another £2k for the first year (!). It's a shocking amount of money, and for what? The 23 onwards model is slightly nicer inside, with a digital dash, a tiny amount of extra power, and a physical LSD not the clutch pack e-thing mine has. Up to that model year there is barely any difference, indeed the desirability drops over time as they became quieter, lower spec (no carbon roof as standard for example), heavier, and slightly less focused to drive. It also looks to me like what seemed like amazing retained values in COVID times have now been offset a lot, by hugely inflated new prices. All in all it makes me feel a lot better about spending on mine, and sticking to plan A.... And also helps justify the Boxster as a second car, which is funded tonnes of times over by not having a newer main car!  |
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Post by Martin on Aug 7, 2024 11:51:04 GMT
And that’s with a fairly decent finance rate. You could get a better discount, there are unregistered cars starting with a 7, but still a lot of money.
It’s the new reality I’m afraid. Are you sure the M3 doesn’t sound better than the latest QF? I watched a review of the Stelvio recently, that has an Akropovic exhaust and sounded very quiet.
You only live once though ALF and if you buy used and are prepared to keep a car until it’s 7-8-9 years old, then you could buy new and look at the cost over a longer period.
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Post by Roadrunner on Aug 7, 2024 12:14:30 GMT
... also any new ones would have the annoying speed limiter nonsense installed.
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Post by PetrolEd on Aug 7, 2024 13:44:18 GMT
Are they still doing the affinity scheme discounts? They used to be very beneficial.
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Post by alf on Aug 7, 2024 15:12:26 GMT
I've not seen a comparison of Quad vs the latest or the last M3 that was on the side of the latter for engine sound... I'm not in love with the Quad's noise, its very modern turbo flappy with the whipcracks on fast upshifts, but it is a nice sound (especially inside) and there is none of the backfire nonsense that drives me nuts with some Audis and others. It's too quiet in standard mode (though notably not 4 cylinder) and quite bastard loud with the flaps open, I wince sometimes when the windows are fully down  I think the Giulia is basically dying around the time the latest regs like the speed limiter are being introduced, they seem relatively unobtrusive - I have seen very few complaints about it whereas the systems on our 2020 BMW annoy the hell out of me already. I'd also be amazed if tuners didn't offer to get rid of it easily, they can change the drive modes, exhaust flaps and so on - and Great Britain is not signed up the legisation anyway..... The affinity scheme thing seemed to be a blag from around COVID times and that loophole was closed a long time ago. For a time anyone who worked in a load of industries, or thought they might once had know someone that might have, got a big discount on new Alfas. It seemed very weird. |
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Post by ChrisM on Aug 7, 2024 20:45:01 GMT
I've just had a thought about the speed limiter thing and using the camera to read road sign speed limits...... if you take a UK car to Europe, is the system clever enought o realise that the signs are now in kph or when you come to, for example, a "110" sign, will the car then let you travel at 110mph rather than 110kph?
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Post by Martin on Aug 7, 2024 20:48:43 GMT
I've just had a thought about the speed limiter thing and using the camera to read road sign speed limits...... if you take a UK car to Europe, is the system clever enought o realise that the signs are now in kph or when you come to, for example, a "110" sign, will the car then let you travel at 110mph rather than 110kph? Yes. As long as you change the units from MPH to KPH. Or you could leave it and have a lot of leeway! |
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Post by Alex on Aug 8, 2024 9:03:01 GMT
Except as most system use GPS it probably works out that you are in Europe not the UK and so will apply the limit in kph.
Back to OP, that does look like a lot of money to sink into a depreciating asset especially when you add on the 10k worth of interest you pay on the loan. No wonder new cars are selling much slower than before the COL crisis. I would be surprised if the Giulia QF survives as a new model for much longer through and I doubt there will be another that is anything like it so maybe in a years time, a 24MY car with a years worth of depreciation bought just before the model stops being made could be a much better financial bet as the depreciation curve may level out a bit when the market realises what a special car it's now missing.
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Post by PetrolEd on Aug 8, 2024 10:54:01 GMT
The Alfa Speed recognition system is particularly poor. You can set the cruise control for the posted speed limit but for some reason it thinks everywhere is 40mph. Even when I drove past a copper with a speed gun outside Charterhouse School which is clearly marked as 30mph, the car still had 40mph symbol light up on the dashboard. Explain that one when full autonomy comes in.
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Post by johnc on Aug 8, 2024 11:17:10 GMT
Both my car and my wife's i4 quite often pick up the speed limit of side roads. There is one on my way home that is still trying to tell me it is a 20mph limit when I am in NSL territory. The 20mph limit sign has been twisted slightly towards the main road and the NSL signs are largely obscured by overgrown trees/bushes so I presume the camera picks up all the wrong information.
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Post by Roadrunner on Aug 8, 2024 12:04:43 GMT
Both my car and my wife's i4 quite often pick up the speed limit of side roads. There is one on my way home that is still trying to tell me it is a 20mph limit when I am in NSL territory. The 20mph limit sign has been twisted slightly towards the main road and the NSL signs are largely obscured by overgrown trees/bushes so I presume the camera picks up all the wrong information. There is a place I pass frequently which is an old farm courtyard, converted to offices. They have a 10 MPH sign at their entrance and the Benz picks it up every time. |
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Post by PG on Aug 8, 2024 13:53:52 GMT
The whole speed nanny / safety thing gone mad: the trouble with being driven about in chauffeur cars, or living in a big city, or being dropped off at the VIP rail or airport terminal, is that as a law-maker - be it in UK, Europe or anywhere - you make some really crap laws when it comes to travel and especially car travel.
On the OP, new car prices do just seem bonkers.
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Post by alf on Aug 8, 2024 14:17:08 GMT
Try driving in Europe; there are speed signs all over the place. Signs for nightime, truck, wet and dry weather limits, gantries, basically numbers all over the place that the BMW is happy to ingest at will  I'd love to know how this was decreed the most effective way to increase safety. Especially the vibrating steering wheel nonsense......... |
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