Are you `leading or trailing edge` re cars and in general, why?
In other words, do you buy the new models straight off the production line or wait and buy later? What life experiences shaped your stance on this? Both with cars and other technology?
Ever been `burnt` by buying at the leading edge?
For me,
A newly introduced to the UK Fiat 126 taught me a hard lesson decades ago when it was off the road for months waiting for a transaxle bearing from Italy.
I remember being amazed on buying a first Ford after that and them being able to get the most obscure part, like a parcel shelf grommit, the next day.
With the 126, anything like that and you needed a scrapyard to find a part. But, a new model and none there.
Lesson learnt, buy a popular car off the trailing edge of production, lots around, build faults sorted due to a long production run and parts available in scrapyards.
But more than that, beyond cars, attitude affecting life experiences.
I can remember my father buying one of the very first calculators in the ? late 60`s or early 70`s? it cost around £70. Or about 2+ weeks wages, only to see them become almost free during the working life of that model.
Then a rich mate who bought one of the very first clunky digital quartz watches for £300 in the early 70`s only for it to be an expensive museum piece a few months later.
A work colleague only a few years ago, trying to make the best of his slow £3,000 ? (486?) bought in haste at the computer leading edge, only 18 months or so before computers were 10 times faster and 1/6th the price.
So to conclude,
All of these experiences have affected my choice of cars and I`m happiest just forward of the `trailing edge`regarding cars, new models and production runs.
How about you?
regards ;)
Edited by oilrag on 09/12/2007 at 08:50
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I am a mid to trailing edge sort of guy.
I think with cars, the minimum length of time you need is 18 months after a new model introduction to iron out the bugs.
As for technology, I work in the industry, and everything tells me that being an 'early-adopter' might be trendy but it is not financially smart. Look at how TFT Tv's have come down in price in the last 18 months, also look at what people are prepared to pay for I-phones now, I'll bet they are half these prices ion 6 months.
Although with cars, if you are interseted in resale values, buy an end-of life model may be a bad thing in the long run.
Edited by Roly93 on 09/12/2007 at 09:03
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My view, or perhaps superstition, is that I would feel safer, in terms of potential reliability issues, in buying a tried and tested model.
However, my judgement is coloured by the fact that my ability to earn money and my abiliity to be able to reliably travel long distances in all weathers are inextricably linked.
The spectre of increased depreciation by buying an outgoing, or soon to be replaced model is less of a worry to me as I tend to keep vehicles until the end of their useful life. ( often 200k + ) When you are doing "Starship Enterprise" mileage every year, and it's your own money, in my view, if you have a good 'un, just keep it. I always keep a wee spare car in the garage tho' for those days when the gremlins are out to play !
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I suppose in terms of motoring i'd be trailing edge rather than leading.
As for calculators, did building a Sinclair Cambridge put me at the leading edge ? (this was not out of a desire to be at the leading edge, more to do with being carp at mental arithmetic and unable to grasp the concept of the only alternative, which was a slide rule ....)
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Started out trailing edge with a 10 year old Rover 214 in 2001, then came back to mid life cycle with a Citroen Xsara. Ironically the Rover was actually a better car in many ways. It lacked toys but it had a better clutch, nicer gearbox and it went wrong less. Since then I've been I guess what you'd call leading edge, both my recent cars have been bought within 3 months of the model being released to the market and I suspect I'll do the same with the next one too. Neither has gone wrong in a "stopped me driving way" though the first one did have a couple of factory recalls that affected all models based on the platform not just my brand.
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With cars, nowadays it isn't always like the unfortunate 126, as many makers don't immediately produce RHD versions: thus the first models coming to the UK have been already tried and tested in their own country. Obviously this doesn't apply to Japan, but they seem to test theirs before putting them on sale, a commendable idea which could usefully spread to certain parts of Europe....
I too can remember the first calculators from Sinclair, another company which sold work-in-progress for customers to do R & D at their own expense. One of them had an instruction leaflet which said 'you will notice when the battery is failing as you will start getting wrong answers'.
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When you buy a computer, (or most home electronic goods) its out of date and overpriced as soon as you have entered the last digit on your credit card pin number. Fact of life these days, you just have to learnt to live with it.
So for electronics (tho I advise on and build bleeding edge for others) I am very
trailing edge (but carefully tuned and chosen) for myself. ( I have a pentium 4 3.3 EE but has 4 GB meg of memory)
For cars, I never get anything thats not been made for at least a year, It takes that long for the bugs to be ironed out on the production line.
The best value cars are the runout models (cheaper and loaded with toys)
------
< Ulla>
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Tried and tested for me.
I remember, a long, long time ago I had an old MGB that broke second gear. Popped into the local BL garage and they had one in stock, ditto for starter ring gear. Likewise with old Minis, their doors used to drop/droop and for half a crown you could buy, off the shelves, new half spheres to fix them.
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Trailing edge, definitely - for me.
Cars - I won't buy in the first two years of an evolution model, won't buy a completely new design.
Household electronics - basically want to wait until price reductions stabilise but they always keep dropping so buy things only when I think they're needed.
Advertising is a waste of money, it doesn't persuade me to buy anything but I still have to bear the cost in products I buy.
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Trailing edge, every time. As stated previously, cars need to be 18 months or 2 years into production so sort out recalls, spares back up and known faults.
Also how many new models especially mainstream Fords, Vauxhalls etc have a facelift after 2 - 3 years. If you owned a preface lift especially one of the makes mentioned previously, then the depreciation is horredous..........
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Quite like the idea of leading edge but only properly functional leading edge, not obese repmobiles weighed down with tinny bells and whistles, but properly engineered cars. Quite hard to find one without the other. But the main barrier to leading edge from a personal angle is that I can't begin to afford it. Fortunately trailing edge has become quite sophisticated though.
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>>not obese repmobiles weighed down with tinny bells and whistles,
My '53 Almera came with climate control (I've never had air-con before).
It's a very 'trailing edge', but the one of the only 'leading edge' I've tried to buy, was a Chevette (in Luton), and they wouldn't drop a penny from list, so I bought a trailing edge, Henry's MK3 rustbucket Cortina instead.
I did try to buy a 'leading edge' Beetle GT' but found with my foot on the clutch I couldn't get it into third (I'm rather tall).
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I tend to buy my secondhand cars when the model is just approaching 'banger' status rather than a type where only the last few well-cared for examples have survived terminal MOT failure!! LOL
So I guess I'm leading edge.
Edited by Sofa Spud on 11/12/2007 at 17:51
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Trailing age - I tend to buy high specification 1 owner cars at 4 years old and over 100k miles. I prefer this to older lower mileage cars as they are almost always in better condition.
But only becuase my limited budget prevents me from buying newer.
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But only becuase my limited budget prevents me from buying newer.
You've hit the nail on the head, MichaelR. Most people, if they are honest, would buy new or nearly new if they could afford it comfortably, just for the peace of mind and the pleasure of having something shiny and new; by afford it I mean not have to go without something else. No doubt there'll be someone on a six-figure salary on here who drives a 1972 Marina he's had from new, or buys a £150 car and throws it away as soon as something goes wrong, but the exception proves the rule ;-)
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You've hit the nail on the head MichaelR. Most people if they are honest would buy new or nearly new if they could afford it comfortably just for the peace of mind and the pleasure of having something shiny and new
Although I did remember just after I posted that that had I had double the budget I'd have bought a BMW M5 instead, probably at about the same age as my 530i. But, if budget allowed, i'd want an 03/03 over an 00/X so I guess you are right.
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Certainly not an early adopter.
Let those who must be first with the new gadget take all the risk and the irritation.
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I think the fact that I assumed this thread would be about brake shoes shows that I am trailing edge!
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The best value cars are the runout models (cheaper and loaded with toys)
I agree totally. I'd also hesitate to buy any new production model regardless of manufacturer until the problems were at least known about and I could make an intelligent judgment.
Our Scenic (from about 9 months into production) was a blip on an otherwise very conservative car history. That said I did own a 1983 Sierra (a very early L with the slotted grille and the "aero" door mirrors which I took from 115k to 210k with only an ignition coil, clutch and fuel sender going wrong. Oh and the annual TCA bush replacement of course! ;-) Mind you it was so basic, there wasn't much else to go wrong although - even the 5 speed transmission was a cost option. It made 235k in total before dying with oil pump failure.
My Mondeo is a runout model from the last year of mkII production and is not only nicely specced up (even as a lowly LX it has everything I'd want except maybe a sunroof), but has the benefit of 4 years worth of customer feedback (7 if you count the mk1 as well) and problem fixes. If buying new, which of course I didn't, you'd probably also find the aftermarket has generally started to stock parts for the car, and indie mechanics have some familiarity with them, which is nice if you don't want to be tied in to the dealer network.
I'm finding that aftermarket parts for the Scenic are not exactly plentiful even now.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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A couple of years down the line for me, for most things. (The less said about "relationships" at this juncture the better...) - that is, if I'm spending my own money.
Company car due for replacement in April. I'm much more inclined to go for new model Focus than slightly long-in-the-tooth Astra. I was a given a run-out model Astra in 2004: loads of goodies but it was always "last year's model" and is now looking very dated.
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I think I've always been trailing edge for the simple reason that I can't afford to buy a new car that I would be pleased with!
The best trailing that I've done yet was a 323Ci BMW Coupe, at the moment I'm trailing a runout MK2 Mondeo and an MGTF, I've no complaints about either car and feel that I get a lot for my money out of both of them, I can't wait for the warm weather to start driving my MG again. :-)
Blue
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