Keeping a car in Japan for 20+ years

[Ness]

I am driving a 17yr old Toyota Sienta which I bought new and currently has 70Kkm on it. I am toying with the idea of buying an EV within the next couple of yrs. I test drove a Nissan Leaf and was quite blown away with the instant torque and ease of the one pedal driving. The leaf has lots of safety features like automatic breaking with pedestrian detection etc so I was thinking that my insurance should be cheaper. But when I enquired, I was quoted double my current 35000 yen/yr. I was told that my current insurance is cheap because my 17 yr old car is only valued at 30 man yen (leaf would be valued at 10X this...) So one advantage of driving an old car is cheap insurance I guess...

[Popochi]

sorry for highjacking this post but I would like to get some advice. I’m saving money to buy a car and it’s my first time buying here but it seems that the car being sold at car sensor (kei cars) with 50km odomoter reading are being sold at 900k-1.2m but the brand new cars price is at 1.4-1.5m yen. Is it worth it?

thank you

[Tkydon]

sorry for highjacking this post but I would like to get some advice. I’m saving money to buy a car and it’s my first time buying here but it seems that the car being sold at car sensor (kei cars) with 50km odomoter reading are being sold at 900k-1.2m but the brand new cars price is at 1.4-1.5m yen. Is it worth it?

thank you

If it's only got 50 km on the clock, it's equivalent to brand new

[northSaver]

If it's only got 50 km on the clock, it's equivalent to brand new

I think age is more important than mileage. Our 5-year old car had a similar mileage but cost about half of what a brand new one did.

[Tkydon]

If it's only got 50 km on the clock, it's equivalent to brand new

I think age is more important than mileage. Our 5-year old car had a similar mileage but cost about half of what a brand new one did.

From an Accounting Rules perspective, Passenger Automobiles (for business) are depreciated over a Useful Life of 3 to 6 Years, depending on purpose.

https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/japan/corporate/deductions

According to

https://blog.japanesecartrade.com/964-car-depreciation/

"Mileage: The average mileage of used car is around 10,000 per year. If it is more in miles it directly less your car worth."

(or converesly, low mileage car would maintain a higher value, as it will not need maintenance and parts replacement)

and

"The rule of thumb is that a new car generally loses 10 percent of its value the moment it leaves the lot. That means, if you drove your $25,000 new car to the end of the block and decided you didn’t like it anymore. The most you could hope to get back from the dealership would be $22,500 even if you never removed the plastic from the floor mats.

In general, new cars lose 15 to 35 percent of their value each year for the first five years you own it. However, the rate of depreciation can be even worse for cars that have lower brand-name appeal and fewer options."


You didn't say how old the vehicle is. Just that it only had 50 km on the clock...

[captainspoke]

These days, when a buyer has to wait months, or more likely a year, before a new car can be delivered (and at it's sticker price, with no discounts), it's no wonder that all the 'traditional' rules of thumb about decline in value and what a used car may go for are pretty much out the window.

To misquote the grinch, merry xmas?

[Popochi]

If it's only got 50 km on the clock, it's equivalent to brand new

Oh. So that’s why. Thank you.

It was a 2017 model.

[Deep Blue]

These days, when a buyer has to wait months, or more likely a year, before a new car can be delivered (and at it's sticker price, with no discounts), it's no wonder that all the 'traditional' rules of thumb about decline in value and what a used car may go for are pretty much out the window.

To misquote the grinch, merry xmas?

The shortage of new cars will be very short lived.

[captainspoke]

... The shortage of new cars will be very short lived.

I read in the last week or few that new sales were down ~5% or so, and that could relieve pressure from one angle. But what I read didn't indicate whether it was customers that had backed away, or if supply chain problems (e.g. chips/parts) were simply reducing the number of vehicles available for sale.

A friend just took delivery on a Note that they'd ordered last summer. The Suzuki Jimny was a year-long wait at one point--I haven't heard anything about that model lately.

My car is due for its yearly checkup in March, I may have the front brake pads done then.

[concerned]

I wonder how reliable are the safety features older cars.. Will the airbags deploy in a 15 year old car...