Hi all,

I have been looking for a new car for some time, and at the moment I am thinking of buying either:

1: Ford Focus TDCi (diesel) price 1,055,000 baht

or:

2: Honda Civic 2,0 (petrol) price 1,026,000 baht

I am thinking of the second-hand price of either car, if I keep it for 3 years / 75,000 km, have all service done by the book and keep it in good condition.

How much would these cars depreciate in 3 years time ?

North

Hi all,

I have been looking for a new car for some time, and at the moment I am thinking of buying either:

1: Ford Focus TDCi (diesel) price 1,055,000 baht

or:

2: Honda Civic 2,0 (petrol) price 1,026,000 baht

I am thinking of the second-hand price of either car, if I keep it for 3 years / 75,000 km, have all service done by the book and keep it in good condition.

How much would these cars depreciate in 3 years time ?

North

Hmm, good question! The diesel is the new kid on the block, so it's hard to tell how much it will depreciate by. However, not many will be made, and if it's not popular then ford might cease production. That won't be good for resale I'd imagine. Id say the civic will hold it's value better, but you might save more fuel with the diesel. In the long run that might even things out a bit. I would say you will lose about 300,000 off the price over 3 years (based on my civic which is now 4 yrs old). The focus will probably depreciate a little more, but the gap shouldn't be huge. It will be interesting to see what the 'real-life fuel consumption of the focus diesel will be like. With the 6 speed it should be fairly quick too, but a pin of a pain in city driving. If I didn't have a car (or a wife who hates manuals), it would be a tough choice to make, but I might lean towards the focus (if the fuel savings are significant). Anyway, it's a nice choice to have to make. I think you'd be happy with both cars in the end.

Hmm, good question! The diesel is the new kid on the block, so it's hard to tell how much it will depreciate by. However, not many will be made, and if it's not popular then ford might cease production. That won't be good for resale I'd imagine. Id say the civic will hold it's value better, but you might save more fuel with the diesel. In the long run that might even things out a bit. I would say you will lose about 300,000 off the price over 3 years (based on my civic which is now 4 yrs old). The focus will probably depreciate a little more, but the gap shouldn't be huge. It will be interesting to see what the 'real-life fuel consumption of the focus diesel will be like. With the 6 speed it should be fairly quick too, but a pin of a pain in city driving. If I didn't have a car (or a wife who hates manuals), it would be a tough choice to make, but I might lean towards the focus (if the fuel savings are significant). Anyway, it's a nice choice to have to make. I think you'd be happy with both cars in the end.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I think like you, but I have read other posts in this forum stating, that Ford will depreciate much more than most other brands here in Thailand.

I also agree, that saving some on fuel with the Focus diesel will even things a bit, how much it is hard to tell, but I have read elsewhere on Internet, that some owners of the TDCi can get mixed fuel consumption around 17 to 17,5 km/l, which is quite good.

On the other hand you can also save a little money with the Civic by using gasohol, since the engine now is rated for use of gasohol E20.

Other comments appreciated.

North

Check out www.one2car.com to compare the prices of 3 year old Civics and Focus (petrol) to get an idea of which one depreciates most.

Thank you for the link, I will have a look.

Still, if any others have an opinion of this, I would like to hear it. Maybe you even have personal experience selling a Focus or a Civic 2,0 ?

North

Thank you for the link, I will have a look.

Still, if any others have an opinion of this, I would like to hear it. Maybe you even have personal experience selling a Focus or a Civic 2,0 ?

North

I did look at that site. comparing the new civic (2.0 2006), and focus (2.0 2006), tyey are tring to sell the civic for 100-150K more than the focus. However they do differ quite a bit in new price, so maybe the actual difference isn't so much (at least for this age of car). The older model (my 2.0 civic) they are trying to sell for 600-650K, so it's quite a bit lowe, probably cos its the older model).

If you are getting 17km/l for a diesel focus in mixed driving, you wil save heaps compared to a civic (mine gets about 10l/km consistently for mixed driving (range is from 8 (dense city) - 12 km/l (only freeway).

The focus will definately be worth considering (and I'm a honda buff!) if you don't mind a slick 6 speed:), just for the fuel savings alone. Don;t really know about resale in the long run as it's a new model.

Thank you for the link, I will have a look.

Still, if any others have an opinion of this, I would like to hear it. Maybe you even have personal experience selling a Focus or a Civic 2,0 ?

North

I did look at that site. comparing the new civic (2.0 2006), and focus (2.0 2006), tyey are tring to sell the civic for 100-150K more than the focus. However they do differ quite a bit in new price, so maybe the actual difference isn't so much (at least for this age of car). The older model (my 2.0 civic) they are trying to sell for 600-650K, so it's quite a bit lowe, probably cos its the older model).

If you are getting 17km/l for a diesel focus in mixed driving, you wil save heaps compared to a civic (mine gets about 10l/km consistently for mixed driving (range is from 8 (dense city) - 12 km/l (only freeway).

The focus will definately be worth considering (and I'm a honda buff!) if you don't mind a slick 6 speed:), just for the fuel savings alone. Don;t really know about resale in the long run as it's a new model.

Thanks for making me feel better about my Focus 1.8 liter gasoline engine fuel economy. I drove 650 kilometers one way to Jomtien on 95 octane gasoline and got 12.6 KPL. Coming back I got 12.6 KPL on 95 octane Gasohol. I drove about 110 - 120 KPH where traffic permitted.

Whilst I appreciate that the second hand value is somewhat important, isn't it more important that you buy the car you want and which does the best job for you ? Also, in 3 years, you won't get anywhere near what the car is worth unless you have a mate who knows the car so don't go comparing how much garages are charging for a 3 year old car now, worry about how little they are going to give you for your car in 3 years and you'll realise you'll be keeping it forever if you are now worrying about small differences in fuel economy etc.

Whilst I appreciate that the second hand value is somewhat important, isn't it more important that you buy the car you want and which does the best job for you ? Also, in 3 years, you won't get anywhere near what the car is worth unless you have a mate who knows the car so don't go comparing how much garages are charging for a 3 year old car now, worry about how little they are going to give you for your car in 3 years and you'll realise you'll be keeping it forever if you are now worrying about small differences in fuel economy etc.

Yes, I think you have a point there, I guess I will have to get used to the local market rather than thinking the way I would do in Europe.

North

Thanks for making me feel better about my Focus 1.8 liter gasoline engine fuel economy. I drove 650 kilometers one way to Jomtien on 95 octane gasoline and got 12.6 KPL. Coming back I got 12.6 KPL on 95 octane Gasohol. I drove about 110 - 120 KPH where traffic permitted.

12.6 km/l ?

That is not much on a trip like that. Did you have a heavy foot on that trip ?

I supposed that you might get some 14 -15 km/l on a long trip like that ?

North

Thanks for making me feel better about my Focus 1.8 liter gasoline engine fuel economy. I drove 650 kilometers one way to Jomtien on 95 octane gasoline and got 12.6 KPL. Coming back I got 12.6 KPL on 95 octane Gasohol. I drove about 110 - 120 KPH where traffic permitted.

12.6 km/l ?

That is not much on a trip like that. Did you have a heavy foot on that trip ?

I supposed that you might get some 14 -15 km/l on a long trip like that ?

North

I'll be the first to tell you that I am disappointed in my fuel economy. My old Nissan diesel pickup gets 15 KPL. That said, I wasn't trying to get good economy, I was driving as fast as the traffic would allow. I use a GPS and my average speed recorded was 88 KPH over the entire trip. Maximum speed recorded was 152 KPH although I don't recall going that fast. I would consider a LPG conversion except I don't drive enough to justify it. The car seldom gets driven when we are home. If you are looking for maximum fuel economy, I'd suggest a diesel.

Well, I think buying a new car and then selling it after a mere three years is flushing money down the toilet no matter what you buy.

But looking at this as a theoretical exercise: The Civic will hold value FAR better.