I'd noticed this too. I never spend big money on cars, but we may need to replace our old X3. We paid £7k for it 3 years ago (when you might assume that depreciation may already have done its damage - it was 9 years old at the time), and it's worth less than £2k now. By the time you've factored in insurance, tax, service etc it will have cost us about £230-£250 a month. And it is no exactly the epitome of driving excellence either - it was an old car that gives a very bumpy ride. The cost would have been far, far higher if we'd spent more at the outset on a newer car.

Anyway - I've been having a look and while £7k would seem to go further now than it did when we bought it, but I can get a new Qashsqai on my work's car scheme for less than £300 a month, and that includes insurance for whomever I want (£25 excess), service, MOT etc. It's a no-brainer really.