If sold right now, there wouldn't be enough money to cover the loan. How much did Belgee lose in a year?
Is it worth exchanging an old premium car for a new "budget" car on credit? A girl, a year after buying a Belgee S50, summed up the results: the financial math was merciless. How much did the car lose in a year and what will specialists see on the lift?
A year ago, an Onliner journalist swapped her old and expensive-to-maintain premium car for a new Chinese "budget" car. Without parental help, but with a loan: in Belarusian rubles, with a grace period, and for 10 years. Now she tried to trade in the car to a dealer and shares her experience.
Impressions of the Belgee S50 after 25,000 km
I'll start with general impressions and emotions from the car after a year of its operation. The main problem is that there are no emotions as such: it's a comfortable budget sedan (as much as a "budget" car can be comfortable) for calm commuting from home to work and for errands. By the way, I don't regret that when buying the car from the dealer, I improved the sound insulation, applied protective film, and updated the software (now I have the ability to display the navigator on the tablet, enable YouTube, etc.).
I also thank myself for choosing the maximum trim level: heated steering wheel and seats, the remote engine start function were very pleasing this winter, and in summer I always drive with the sunroof open (I don't really like air conditioners) — another advantage of the Flagship.
Overall, if you treat the car utilitarianly and mostly travel alone or with one other person, then the S50 is unlikely to greatly disappoint you. It's not for nothing that I wrote about the number of people in the cabin: I've often noticed that when the car is full of people, it struggles even on a small incline.
As for the drawbacks, they are all the same: the naturally aspirated engine terribly lacks dynamics, and the gearbox regularly "jerks" and "hesitates" when gaining speed. I'm waiting for the nearest service appointment, where they promised to reflash the transmission and solve the problem.
But otherwise, everything is great: after winter, no "bugs" or chips. Live windshield, live interior. Yes, there are some scratches here and there, but for that, I should thank my furry four-legged passenger, who regularly rides to dog training classes once a week. And by the way, the mileage: the odometer currently shows a little over 25,000 km. For me, this is a small number, but the thing is that there is also a second car, as well as the ability to use a company car, corporate taxi, and regularly take cars for test drives.
By the way, I was very worried about the suspension: I live outside the city, and not a single courier has missed the opportunity to tell me that the roads in my village are the worst in his experience. But no squeaks or other extraneous noises from the wheels are heard yet. When I told the service advisor about my concerns at one of the service appointments and asked him to inspect the chassis more carefully, he rhetorically asked in response: "Why would anything break there?", hinting that the car has a torsion beam in the rear. But at the same time, acquaintances of acquaintances threatened with replacing the front control arms in the first year — claiming that someone even encountered this.
So, do I regret the decision to switch to a new "Chinese" car? No. Would I like to pay off the loan faster and switch to something fun, powerful, and beautiful? Absolutely.
How much did the Belgee S50 lose in price in a year? Valuation and inspection on the lift
But the main drawback of "Chinese" cars, as everyone knows, is how much they lose in price. We are going to the Belgee dealer — to the Atlant-M salon.
Atlant-M specialists carried out a full inspection — just in case the car disappointed after winter. The car is immediately driven onto the lift: a specialist inspects the body, underbody, rotates the wheels, shines a flashlight on the suspension components. No serious corrosion spots were found (not surprising, as everything is well treated with "anti-corrosion"), the chassis is also without complaints. The specialist noted that the brake pads are only half "alive", but, according to his forecasts, they will last until the fourth scheduled maintenance, so it's not critical.
The computer "read" the errors: there are no active ones, only one "historical" one related to the steering.
And now to the main point. How much will a one-year-old car be valued at? Drum roll… $16,000 at the exchange rate, or 45,324.80 rubles. I remind you, the car was purchased at the end of March 2025 for 67,800 rubles. That is, in a year it lost 33.15% of its value, if calculated in rubles. Or a third of the cost.
When the car had a mileage of 5500 km, three different dealers valued it at $16,000 (48,000 rubles in June), $14,500, and $15,000. A spoonful of honey in this barrel of tar: it turns out that the biggest "collapse" in value has already occurred and the car has reached its "plateau."
How much will I have to pay if I want to switch from a Belgee S50 to an X50 right now?
Since we are already at the Belgee salon, what if I want to swap my S50 for an X50 right now? How much will I have to pay extra in my specific situation? I open internet banking: the loan debt is 53,445.40 rubles. And the car was valued, I repeat, at 45,324.80…
That is, if I sell it to the dealer right now, I will still owe the bank 8,120.60 rubles.
Yes, the car lost more in price than I managed to pay for it in a year.
So, to switch from a sedan to a crossover (considering a 25% down payment), I need to have 23,345.60 rubles on hand. After that, I will open a new loan, so to speak, from scratch and for 10 years.
How much does a credit Belgee S50 cost each month?
Finally — a little more math. Let's calculate the real monthly cost of owning a sedan for me.
Fuel. With a mileage of 2080 km per month and a consumption of 8l/100km — approximately 444 rubles.
Maintenance. Based on mileage — about 77 rubles per month.
Car wash. About 110 rubles.
Tire fitting and tires. Approximately 27.5 rubles (including the purchase of a set for 3 seasons).
CASCO insurance. 139 rubles per month.
"Autograzhdanka" (mandatory liability insurance) and technical inspection. About 10.7 rubles per month.
Loan. Monthly payment during the grace period — about 760 rubles.
In total, a new car costs me 1568.2 rubles per month. Is it cheaper to maintain and service a used premium car? The question is rhetorical — and everyone will have their own answer.
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