Jump to content

Buying a Vauxhall Zafira - some advice please


Kitty
 Share

Recommended Posts

The thing to think about is that actually depreciation on cars is less in France than the UK therefore they are more expensive for any given year but depreciation does not speed up after you have bought it.

Let me explain. I have a Peugeot 307SW and I have had it 4 years and in that time it has depreciated 28%. Had I bought the same car in the UK then over 4 years it would have depreciated a staggering 72%. So what I am saying is that your second hand French car will not depreciate anywhere near the rate of an English one therefore it will be worth more when you come to sell it. In fact it will probably be worth decent money when a UK car is worth nothing. So things are all relative at the end of the day, its not the cost of the car its the rate of depreciation you should be looking at.

The other issue of course is how do you sell a RHD in France, not many takers as I discovered when I tried to sell my Disco here and any interest expected a really cheap price, much cheaper than the value of it in the UK. So to sell it you have to take it back to the UK, put it back on UK plates, its just hassle.

I totally agree that LHD cars being much safer to drive in France than RHD ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi

If you are french resident best to buy lhd for a variety of reasons.  Trouble is they are expensive in france.  Have a look on ebay.co.uk there are many lhd cars, including many from spain, presumably from expats retreating back to the uk.  Hang on a bit till the recession bits and look for the bargains.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We brought two cars over form the UK when we moved here, our RHD Vauxhall Astra and our LHD Corvette.  I had no problems with the Vette being LHD in the UK and have none now with the Astra being RHD drive here.   The only safety issue is generally the nut holding the steering wheel….. you just make allowances. 

 

That said, when it comes to a replacement for the Astra it’ll be a new car, bought in France.  As has been said, used cars in France hold their values very well, making a new car a better deal.   It also, just may make buying spares “down the line” a little harder if you have a UK version…. Don’t ask how I know that!

 

No guesses that I run all GM….  (if you drive the “flagship” Corvette, of any year, you have to really!), but was a longer term BMC and ran a Suzuki for 20 years in the UK as well and still rate them highly.  But I’d have no hesitation in buying a Zafira if I needed a car of that ilk.  You can find individual horror stories for every make, the “overall story” is what you need to base your buying on, and Zafira seems to have a good “rep”…..
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...