Your guarantee from Nissan

Have a guess what the biggest expense of car ownership is.

Most would assume it is the cost of filling it up each week, or servicing or even paying for insurance each year.

Sure, those are factors. But, no matter how many kilometres you drive, how diligent you are with maintenance or how much insurance coverage you have, the greatest expense on any new car is depreciation - the amount of money your car is worth after a certain period of time.

Although there are some exceptions to the rule, when it comes time to sell or trade-in your existing car for something new, its residual value is generally halved within the first three or so years. And, if you think about how much that is in dollar terms that is a significant chunk of change.

While the rapid development in automotive technology will naturally make older vehicles more redundant over time, depreciation is formulated from a number of factors, such as; the original market price and position of the vehicle within its segment and how appealing it is likely to be in the future; the model’s popularity and sales performance in the market; and whether the overall brand has a trusted and dependable reputation.

Individual vehicle values can fluctuate depending on condition and how well the car has been maintained, the amount of kilometres it has travelled, and even colour (think about this carefully when choosing a brand-new car, as fashionable hues often lose favour over time).

Basically, buying a new car is like playing Black Jack - when you’re at the table, it feels like you’re winning, but you often find you’ve got less than expected when it’s time to cash-in.

There is a way to improve the odds, however. Services that guarantee the residual value of your car over set periods of time. Not only do these provide an element of peace of mind but they also offer a simple and more affordable way to ensure whatever is in your driveway is up-to-date.

Nissan’s Future Value scheme is a perfect example. When purchasing your car with Nissan Finance, owners can obtain a finance solution that is tailored to their needs and budget.

The first step is establishing an estimation of how many kilometres you’ll travel per year (either 10,000km, 15,000km, 20,000km or 25,000km) and then choose the term of the loan (either two, three or four-years). From there, owners can reduce the monthly repayments by including a deposit in the purchase - thereby reducing the amount of finance taken.

In any case, Nissan Finance will establish an up-front pre-agreed value for the vehicle and then you’re off, driving away in your new car knowing how much the depreciation cost will be.

There are some conditions that need to be met to ensure the pre-agreed value at the end of the term, such as regular scheduled servicing, vehicle condition requirements and allowed kilometres but they’re all reasonable.

Apart from the peace of mind offered by Nissan’s Future Value scheme during the ownership period, taking advantage of it at the end of the loan term provides a number of convenient options too.

For example, you can upgrade to a brand-new Nissan, using the agreed value to pay-off the remainder of the loan and if the valuation is higher than agreed, then you can use the balance to lower the repayments on the new vehicle.

Alternatively, you can keep the original vehicle by refinancing or paying-out the loan to the agreed value; or you can return the car with no further obligations (provided it meets the kilometre allowance and condition guidelines).

Nissan Future Value: simple; convenient and fuss-free.