Author Topic: Planning for a new car  (Read 6290 times)

KBecks

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Planning for a new car
« on: March 01, 2014, 02:02:08 PM »
Hi Guys,

So, we have a nice old car that is still running good.  It's a 2001 Acura TL.  It has been a nice car, we bought it new.  We also have a Honda 2007 minivan bought new and it's great.  2 paid for cars are great.

When one of these cars wears out (and I'm thinking the Acura), we will need a different car.  We will buy a new car with cash. But, should we buy a new, new car?  Or a new, used car?  Should we spend as little as possible?  My husband would like a new, new car and he will drive it for its entire lifespan.

Is that an acceptable idea? 

Our mortgage is not paid for yet.  I am going to work on that.  We would have enough in savings/investments to pay for a new car in cash but it would be a ding on our net worth.

How would you decide how much to spend on a new car or a new/used car?   Thanks! 

Hopefully we won't have to make any purchases for another couple years.

MDM

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2014, 02:05:22 PM »
Bought new when I was young and didn't know better.  Ever since: used is the way to go unless you get thousands of dollars of value looking at an odormeter with <10 miles on it.

Gordion

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2014, 02:11:32 PM »
I guess you're from the States? Then my knowledge will not be too much in use for you. Anyway I can tell you how it is in Europe

The first three years cars loss about 40-50 percent of its value. So for nearly half the price of a new new car you get a awesome used new car. Probably a used new car lasts about 15 years or so with some DIY repairs, so buying a new new car is not a wise financial decision.

lb

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2014, 04:58:46 PM »
My husband is pretty sure any car available for purchase used on Craig's list is a scam (for example, a totaled car that was shoddily repaired). For this reason, he would prefer to buy a new car. I just can't accept the extra expense! I purchased a used car from a friend a few years ago which has been great and cheap. Husband says I got extremely lucky and can't expect to get that lucky again. However, I just can't believe it's worth the expense to buy a brand new car just to avoid the chance of getting a bad used car. What do you think?

forward

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2014, 05:54:27 PM »

Unless I am very wealthy, and I'm not, I won't buy a new car.  High insurance, registration, taxes, depreciation make no financial sense to me.  I buy a 5 or more year old used car that has a good reputation.  I decide ahead time what I want and when I am ready I go and find it.  Craigslist is no good in my area, just not enough cars.  I am probably 1 to 2 years away from getting a different car and I have it narrowed to 2-3 cars now.  Interesting thing about it is, as I am planning the purchase I am also slowly lowering what I am willing to spend and putting it off longer, because I don't want to have $$ sitting in a pile out in the driveway.

mm1970

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2014, 05:59:35 PM »
We bought our last 2 cars new because we were desperate (as in, one died, and the other was totaled in an accident).  We plan to drive them a long time (Honda Civic, Toyota Matrix, so 15-20 years).

All our previous cars were used, and I expect all our future cars will also be used.

MDM

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2014, 06:40:34 PM »
My husband is pretty sure any car available for purchase used on Craig's list is a scam (for example, a totaled car that was shoddily repaired). For this reason, he would prefer to buy a new car. I just can't accept the extra expense! I purchased a used car from a friend a few years ago which has been great and cheap. Husband says I got extremely lucky and can't expect to get that lucky again. However, I just can't believe it's worth the expense to buy a brand new car just to avoid the chance of getting a bad used car. What do you think?

Somewhere between "brand new" and "bought as-is from a random individual" would be one of the various "certified pre-owned" (gotta love that term...) vehicles one can get from a dealership.  You will likely pay more than buying from an individual, but definitely less than buying new, and you can get some amount of warranty from the manufacturer/dealership.  Might be a workable compromise...?

Paul der Krake

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #7 on: March 01, 2014, 06:49:21 PM »
My husband is pretty sure any car available for purchase used on Craig's list is a scam (for example, a totaled car that was shoddily repaired). For this reason, he would prefer to buy a new car. I just can't accept the extra expense! I purchased a used car from a friend a few years ago which has been great and cheap. Husband says I got extremely lucky and can't expect to get that lucky again. However, I just can't believe it's worth the expense to buy a brand new car just to avoid the chance of getting a bad used car. What do you think?
Craigslist isn't the only place to buy a used car. Letting your social circle know that you are in the market for a used car is a great way, you'll be hearing from potential sellers that have a friend in common with you. A lot of great deals never even make it to Craigslist. Once you find a car you are seriously considering buying, bring it to a mechanic and pay $100 to have a thorough pre-purchase inspection, for peace of mind.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2014, 07:07:15 PM »
Lots of folks like CarMax as a reputable chain of dealers. To be honest, in my area there's tons of small dealers that have quality cars well below KBB private party value. Buying from a random is more hassle than it's usually worth because of coordinating schedules, hassle of registration, etc. YMMV.

You're probably a few years or more away from needing to replace the cars, especially if you're DIY capable for serious repairs that would otherwise exceed the value of the car.

Buying a new car is just silly, IMO. Buying something 2-3 years old off of lease saves a lot. Buying in the $7-$10K range is usually the real sweet spot, which means ~5-7 years old depending on the vehicle.

Exflyboy

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2014, 07:22:07 PM »
We just bought a 2012 Chevvy Cruze from Hertz.. yes an ex rental car.

Very well looked after and they have no haggle pricing and a wide range of cars.

Frank

loki

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2014, 08:09:46 PM »
We've gotten our last two from Craigslist but would also be open to a dealer. We're open to buying new for my wife's next car, and I'm hoping not to go shopping for my next one until the house is paid off, and then it'll be for some safety upgrades.

horsepoor

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #11 on: March 01, 2014, 10:11:51 PM »
By being able to pay cash, you are in a good position to purchase a late-model vehicle from an individual seller.  There are plenty of people out there who are looking to get out of their 2-year old vehicle for whatever reason and hoping to sell it for a better price than they could get for trade in.  Definitely use CarFax, and have it looked over by a knowledgeable person if it makes you feel better.  Amount you spend depends on you.  I've never driven anything fancier than a base model Accord, so I wouldn't pay more than $15K for a used car, but if you're trading from an Acura, not sure how economical you want to go.

 

lexie2000

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2014, 11:02:54 PM »
The last time we bought (in 2002) we went certified, pre-owned from a dealer.  As someone else mentioned, it was a good compromise.  The car seemed brand new, but had 23K on the odometer.

We have never bought from Hertz or any other car rental agency, but that is certainly something to think about.

We have only bought new one time in our life.  The problem with buying new is that there may be no record on reliability, especially if they've made changes to the make/model you are considering.

That car we bought certified, pre-owned is a 2000, so it is now 14 years old.  It still has life, but we are now researching the reliability of current models we might consider so in two or three years when it is time to purchase, we'll already have a pretty good idea of what to consider and what to cross off the list.

Fuzz

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #13 on: March 02, 2014, 09:50:04 AM »
I think it's more likely to get ripped off by a used car dealer buying some sort of certified pre-owned product than by an individual on Craiglist. Used car dealers, particularly in small towns, which is what I'm familiar with, have horrible prices for old cars. Think $7K for a 12-year old Chevy Tahoe with 100,000 miles.

I would brave the world of Craigslist. At least for a month or two. If save $2K buying that way and it takes 10 hours, that's $200/hour. If you save $2K AND buy a car for $5-$10K less than you would by buying new, that's significant savings for your current nest egg.
 

Weedy Acres

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Re: Planning for a new car
« Reply #14 on: March 02, 2014, 10:09:06 AM »
We have also had good luck buying used vehicles from autotrader.com and ebay.   You can run any carfax for free through a back door thing on ebay.  Ebay gives sellers a free carfax with their listing, so you can create a listing with the VIN of the car you are looking to buy, and it will link with the posting.  Just delete the post before someone clicks "buy". :-)

 

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