Temptation to Buy a new car !!

[sachins]

With so many new car launches and people falling to temptation to buy a new one, i thought to put this up and have your views on it.

Below are some excerpts to consider:

There seems to be nothing like the smell of a new car. The car has a crisp and fresh smell to it that some people find hard to resist. Car manufacturers are offering some incredible deals on new cars and there is a great deal of temptation to make a new car purchase.

It’s insanity that, in general, people continually pay for things they can’t afford and don’t actually need, with complete disregard for managing their personal finances. Wouldn’t it be better to have a nice, early retirement with an enormous amount of wealth than to satisfy an immediate, impulsive desire?

Cars are a significant purchase. Often people forget that cars are only second to buying a home.

Why not take that desire for material possessions a catalyst for change? The undeniable feeling to want something for personal satisfaction can create a driving, unstoppable force – whether that be positive or negative.

If you postpone impulse buying and the need for instant gratification, many things will happen. For one, you may later realize you are not as interested in that thing you thought you wanted so badly. Sleep on it, and if you continue to feel that this purchase is something that would really make you happy, put it on your wish list as a reward for reaching a major goal. This will push you to work harder to reach your goals, and you will have more appreciation for the reward. It is no longer an impulse buy but a representation of something you worked hard for and deserve.

Millionaire Money Habit: Keeping up with the Jones’ is a dangerous thing that can drive you into debt and impede your overall wealth accumulation strategy. Before making any major decisions, whether it is a purchasing decision, an investment decision or any other personal decision, sleep on it and remove yourself from an environment that can impact your ability to think clearly.

Set spending boundaries, create rewards to propel you to accomplish more, and resist the temptation for perpetual instant gratification. As a result you will get more out of life and find more success in your wealth accumulation strategy.

Resisting the temptation to purchase a new car can be difficult. However, resisting the desire leads to less debt and fewer financial headaches. Simply resisting the desire to purchase a new car allows for clarity of thinking and a better overall decision.

[rssh]

I was in the same situation in 2009 but that time my old car (zen lx) was falling apart it had some chassie damage but the rattling and some constant failure meant that we were despirate to buy a new car fast . In summer that year we test drove all cars from 5 lakhs to 10 lakhs and we like all the cars (the zen was too basic) . I was tempted to go for the Fiesta S (sport) with there brilliant advertizment of drifting the car and opening the door (it gives me goose bump thinking about it) . But then dad was like we can spend 2 lakhs more and buy the city which I was reluctant . We constantly fought over which car and then rainy season came upon and that saw launch of Jazz and Punto . The overpriced hatch (i20) now looked a great bargain for 6.5 lakhs on road ASTA petrol it was VFM considering the Jazz cost was 8.2 on without any kit .

I then tried to get myself busy in studies to lure away from car deaming mess . One day in August my dad called me up (I was in college) and said that the viper steel rod broke down and that was it . I told him that I will come home in 2 weeks and told him to keep 1 lakhs cash in his hand for a new car and told him to trust me on which car to buy.

I was literary sleepless every night afterwards and everyday kept on finalizing a different car . But one day I radically thought that we cannot afford a 8 lakhs + sedan (fiesta S was 5/7 on road) and parking in Mumbai is really a pain . The Swift was my dream car but after the TD of i20 I was sold on the interior quality but not on the engine I was willing to compromise on underpowered Kappa engine but then came the news of 1.4 CRDi and thinking about the verna 1.5D it was made clear .

I reached home told dad to take a holiday on friday and went to test drive the 2 short listed cars . The Punto was test driven because me and my dad love its looks but me being 6 ft and dad 5'9'' the clutch travel was too much and my sister can never drive with such a long pedal so it was out . Next we reached HMP and told them that we wanted the CRDi and it was promptly arranged and we took the same route were we test drove the kappa engine and when I shifted into second gear the deal was done it was an awesome kick in the back and it said take me home .

Now I look at my purchase I am glad we got the CRDi also now the asta CRDi cost 1.2lakhs more than what we payed at that time .

I was lured in to the Fiesta but radical thinking and questioning oneself over the varient and vehicle helps one choose the write car .

Nowadays I am thinking about the XUV5OO and the ARIA but I sleep over it and next thing come to the mind it that though you can arrange the finance the car is not meant for me (to big for city).

[sachins]

@rssh, i agree with you.

One only needs a car that can meet his/her requirements.

And considering that all new cars are pretty well built and should last a reasonable amount of time (if taken care of properly), still people go ahead with a new car purchase (even if not required) within 2-3 yrs (and this timeline is ever decreasing now).

I still remember how mobile market has evolved over last decade and think that cars are going the same way.

Earlier people used to buy a basic mobile handset and used to keep it for long term - and it did solve the purpose. But what we see now is people changing mobile almost every month and falling to temptation of the newer models.

[drvvn]

Hi dear members

I read above post.I think every one is looking with different perspective to a given vehicle.Priorities change in our life with time ,as our driving speed.I hope every one will agree on this. In the market ,car or for that matter any object come with certain target customer in view.As my demands change,as my priorities change then I need a different car to fulfil that.For that matter you should have options available.For the same , market is always launching new things,some will work and will become time tested ,others will not.

So new is always welcom..only constant thing is ...change

Human psychology is behind that.Will talk on that sometime later.

GOOD NIGHT

[Sstar]

I agree with Rssh, we have been using M800 for almost 5 years which is still with us and has only rolled 21K KM till today but due to family needs, we decided to go for car shopping in dec 2011 and finalised the deal on Ritz Ldi on Feb 2012 with delivery on March 2012.

The need for new car was for carrying all 5 members of our family in which everyone is above 5.6 including my father who is 5.11. Rtiz gave us that satisfaction.

[gurrala74]

This is very good topic to distinguish the desire and a need. Desires may be endless, but finally we have to accept to the need and go ahead.

If I look back to 20 years, every body knows very well that buying a scooter it self was a great achievement when it was a bicycle era. One of our neighbor booked a Bajaj chetak and wait for nearly 2 years to get the scooter to his hands and when the scooter arrived in our street it was big celebration that some body in our "mohalla" purchased a scooter, why we all should be happy ? yes we can see a new scooter in the street and listen to its sound and occasionally if we get a chance we will touch it !! This was the scenario then where one model used to continue for years together.

Similarly when a LML scooter when people were just driving Priya, Bajaj Cub, Bajaj Chetak, it was a surprise to any body and when Hero honda introduced CD 100 it was really a great pleasure to see them on the road, because one Honda bike in entire town and one TVS Suzuki, One Yamaha RX 100. Those days were really need based and utmost satisfaction with older gems like Yezdi, Rajdoot , Bullet. There was a real value for money in every product, BUT

Today it is entirely different, 20 models are released every month, too many option, too much of buying capacity according to the desires and not needs. Today most of the people buy a vehicle for status, desire, and lot of times just because a new model got introduced in the market. I feel this absolutely wrong !!

I tell briefly about my story. We were using Bajaj chetak, CD 100, An Ambassador, A fiat, A 118NE all were second hand vehicles and were really for need based. For the first time I felt like buying a new car in 2003 and it took 3 more years to get ready financially but the product was already selected M 800 which was merely a need for commuting and for small family purpose. In 2006 I bought my first new car M 800 AC MPFI and really enjoyed it for 5 years without any troubles and clocked 60000km with a good big trip Hyderabad-Kanyakumari 5 people on board. Touch wood it never gave me any kind of troubles and was a wonderful car.

The thinking for a change of car started in 2010 due to the reasons like too much of city and highway travelling increased, fuel bills were going up, due to hectic travel everyday the uncomfort in seating position( I am 5' 10") came up and it took 1 year to get ready for my second car and browsed almost all cars in hatch back segment, but I was very clear that what is my need exactly and yes desires were endless, because of the tempting cars available in the market.

After lot of research personally, taking TDs of many cars and this time it was very useful on the web reading lot of reviews of the cars, I have finalised to go with Ritz LDI in 2011.

Today I am happy because my selection was exactly matching my need and after one year I really enjoy with my selection. Of course there was a desire to buy, Skoda Fabia, and at times Skoda Yeti, but they are far away from my need based and cost effective thinking.

So even today I think of my desire for new cars, but I just talk about them and take a TD and keep quiet. I will buy them when desire converts to a need !! Hope I have not bored you guys

My final say is that there is thin line between a desire and a need and we have to really find that line and go according to the needs !!

[banadictaustin]

As technology evolves at a faster rate, and most of the brand car manufactured introduced new car in the market with additional new features in it. Now a days most of car companies are offering some incredible deals buying a new car and there is a great deal of temptation to make a new car purchase.