The fact is that vehicle manufacturers have been very clever in manoeuvring us into the position where it appears to us that we do need to keep updating our car. This has not always been the case; there was a time when manufacturers, particularly British manufacturers, would produce a car and then allow the model to run for years, appearing to feel that model changes and updates were an unnecessary expense. Perhaps taking the view that if the car was still selling, why bother.
An example of that was the Range Rover that was launched in 1970. It was designed during 1966 and became a prototype in 1967 the year that British Leyland bought Rover. It went on sale for £1998. It would have been possible to buy a Range Rover in 1970, continue to run it on a personal number plate and to the untrained eye appear to be driving a new car some 25 years later. The new Range Rover was launched in 1994 but production of the old model continued for some time after. There were a few cosmetic changes over the years like the addition of a petrol filler cap and an updated grill but some owners took the view that rather than buying a new car, they would get a body shop to carry out these fairly minor modifications.
Nowadays Manufacturers don't usually make changes that are that easy to duplicate. Not only are models changed much more frequently but also they introduce what is know as a facelift model, whilst the basic model doesn't change this can have the effect of suddenly making your car look a bit outdated. This is when people start to feel under pressure to change their car. It would of course be better if we could all resist this pressure and not care but the truth is most of us do.
There is something else that has changed significantly since the days of the original Range Rover and that is that cars have become very much more complicated both mechanically and electronically and this probably needs to be taken into account if you are considering buying and keeping a car over the long term. Whilst a vehicle is under warranty this is not too much of a problem but once outside the warranty it can be a concern. If your mileage is not too high you could consider extending the warranty many manufacturers allow you to do this up to 100,000 miles.
In conclusion if you can resist the pressures of model changes and facelifts and you extend your warranty, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't keep your car for a number of years. There is not much benefit in doing this if the vehicle is on Contract Hire or Personal Contract Hire because there is often not a great deal of difference between a two year and a four year monthly rental payment, but worth considering if you purchase your car outright or on Hire Purchase. Whatever you decide you can be sure that the days of a manufacturer producing a model and running it for over two decades is a thing of the past.
Should you have any queries or questions with regard to Fleet Management, Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Lease Purchase or vehicle Hire Purchase, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536. www.bowaterprice.com.
