Tempted by a new car with a shiny 22-reg numberplate? Find out why nearly new might be a better option
It’s the first of March, which means all new UK cars and vans now come with shiny new 22-prefix numberplates. You might’ve been holding out until today to buy a car – but you’d be wise to find out why you might not actually want the latest number on the front and back of your car.
Here are a couple of reasons why buying a nearly new car can make a lot more sense than buying a brand-new 22-plate one.
It’s a lot cheaper
In short, you can save a tonne of money by buying a nearly new car. Not a literal tonne – unless you’re paying in pound coins (which isn’t allowed because of money laundering regulations, sorry.)
Anyway. By buying a brand-new, 22-plate car you’re going to take a huge hit in depreciation the moment you sign the ownership documents and drive away – after all, new cars lose 50-60% of their value in the first three years. That’s a horrific amount of money to throw away.
The good news is that a nearly new car has already done a lot of depreciating in value, so by virtue of having one previous owner, you’re making massive savings over the car’s original price.
And as the following reasons explain, you’re not really losing out by not being the first owner.
They’re still in warranty
Most of Motorpoint’s nearly new cars are still well within the original manufacturer’s warranty. Because they’re usually only a year or two old, you’ll still be covered by warranty if anything goes wrong, which is great for peace of mind.
Motorpoint’s nearly new cars and vans have been thoroughly checked
Every single nearly new car we sell has undergone a rigorous inspection to make sure it’s up to scratch, looking its best and mechanically sound. We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee, and we’ll even collect the car from you if you’re not happy within the first seven days of ownership.
Nearly new cars and vans have low mileages
Because many nearly new cars have come back from owners with mileage-restricted finance agreements, they’ve often covered just a couple of thousand miles. We often sell nearly new cars with 5-15,000 miles on the clock, which isn’t very much in the grander scheme of a car’s lifetime.
They’ve had one previous owner
Unlike higher mileage used cars, the vast majority of Motorpoint’s nearly new cars have only had one owner – meaning that you’ll be the second. This means your car may have greater resale value when the time comes for you to move it on, simply because it hasn’t had a lot of owners.
Nearly new cars are more powerful (sort of)
Modern car engines still require some time to loosen up and give you the best performance and fuel economy. Brand-new engines can feel ‘tight’ and they usually need time to bed in. The same goes for the brakes and other controls on the car. A nearly new car will have been bedded in already, so the engine will be ready to give its best in terms of poke and economy.
Ready to check out nearly new cars?
Head to our car browser page to start browsing all of Motorpoint’s nearly new cars.
