High maintenance costs taught lecturer David McHardy a lesson - it's better to finance a new car through Newgate
"The Almera proved very expensive to maintain," he recalled. "I was spending around L1,000 a year on servicing and things like new tyres."
A fan of Nissans, he has found them reliable and described his 1.4 litre, five-door Note as spacious and nippy with fuel consumption averaging 45 miles per gallon.
He drives more than 1,000 miles a month, mainly around his group of rural parishes: St Matthew and St George at Oldmeldrum, St Crostan at Insch, All Saints at Woodhead of Fyvie and All Saints at Whiterashes.
"I liked the idea of financing so that I avoided big maintenance costs." he commented. "If you buy your own car you're left with a depreciating asset but now I can choose to keep the vehicle or hand it back. The car is also under warranty for most if not all of the time. Getting three years free Road Tax and RAC cover was a bonus."
Dr McHardy, who moved to Aberdeenshire from Linlithgow nine years ago, said he had found Newgate "very efficient and the personal service has been excellent."
He went on: "The amount I pay is is very reasonable. It compares very favourably with the cost of buying a car outright, paying for all the maintenance myself and watching it depreciate. At the end of the term I'm not saddled with a vehicle that has high mileage on the clock but can simply return it to Newgate with no questions asked."
"The Almera proved very expensive to maintain," he recalled. "I was spending around L1,000 a year on servicing and things like new tyres."
A fan of Nissans, he has found them reliable and described his 1.4 litre, five-door Note as spacious and nippy with fuel consumption averaging 45 miles per gallon.
He drives more than 1,000 miles a month, mainly around his group of rural parishes: St Matthew and St George at Oldmeldrum, St Crostan at Insch, All Saints at Woodhead of Fyvie and All Saints at Whiterashes.
"I liked the idea of financing so that I avoided big maintenance costs." he commented. "If you buy your own car you're left with a depreciating asset but now I can choose to keep the vehicle or hand it back. The car is also under warranty for most if not all of the time. Getting three years free Road Tax and RAC cover was a bonus."
Dr McHardy, who moved to Aberdeenshire from Linlithgow nine years ago, said he had found Newgate "very efficient and the personal service has been excellent."
He went on: "The amount I pay is is very reasonable. It compares very favourably with the cost of buying a car outright, paying for all the maintenance myself and watching it depreciate. At the end of the term I'm not saddled with a vehicle that has high mileage on the clock but can simply return it to Newgate with no questions asked."
