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Outside of an enthusiast want of a new car, the most logical reason to buy new is the boon of safety tech in the last few years. Modern cars are more safe then they have ever been. Lane departure, blind spot monitoring, crash avoidance braking, heads-up-displays etc., just off of the top of my head.
Maybe Im wrong headed about the whole thing but this is a topic I hear about all the time, mostly regarding trucks. Is it really useful or realistic to think of a vehicle as an investment, an attitude I very commonly encounter. I think its more an expense of living. I presume you could walk and carry your sh!t everywhere for 100k+ miles. Wives and kids would love the exercise!
Its like a tool for travelling. Ive never heard someone buy a nice new table saw and mention the great resale value. Use it take care of it for max benefit and be ready to buy another of your liking when its time comes.
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My next vehicle will likely be my last land vehicle purchase, so Im going with new. If we both make it 12 years Ill be happy.
I personally doubt I will ever buy a new vehicle again. Vehicles being manufactured today just seem to be to disposable to be considered long term investments, plus the pricing on cars today is becoming borderline ridiculous.
From a wealth perspective, if you have low net worth and want to grow it, don’t buy new. Buy what your most trusted mechanic in town recommends. That’s who you will be with you in the long run.
If you have some net worth, Don’t finance a depreciating item. Standard financial planner advice. If you can get 0% financing on a good final price, that’s a great way to go.
Most banks balk at financing over $10k.
yupQuote:
Originally Posted by bp7178
sadly making worse drivers out of these people who rely on them for everything
our issue is lack of driver education about distances and reaction times and of course distracted driving idiocy now and so on
As someone who lives in MI, I have a hard time investing much in vehicles. We put so much salt on the roads that I see vehicles that are around 4 yrs old rusting out.
I am also a mechanic, so I buy used and drive them Into the ground.
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Since I'm not a "motor head" and don't work on cars the idea of breaking down on the way to work or on a 700-mile road-trip for vacation isn't appealing. Generally speaking, new vehicles don't do that.
Suzy Orman always says no....but if you keep cars for a long time it’s not as bad. My last new car was purchased for $100 under invoice. I desperately needed a car and specifically wanted that model. They had to order it for me. Kept it for 7 years until it started to shit the bed.
I never bought a used car for myself until two weeks ago. Got a 2019 Escalade with 10300 miles on it for $18000 under the MSRP and probably $13000 less than I could have got it new. Went looking for a Yukon but this was a better deal than what I could find. I have 3 1/2 of 4 years and 40k of 50k of the warranty left. It was an GM executive car just turned in. It still smells new and doesn’t have a scratch on it.
I've generally had good luck with used cars with high(er) mileage.
Not counting my highschool car and my mom's passed down car I never had any serious issues and I used to drive everywhere.
94 Camaro bought in 1999 with 115k. Sold in 2003 with 167k. One rubber radiator hose burst while driving.
1998 Ram 1500 bought in 2004 with 167k sold with 190k. Headlight switch and water pump went bad on my way home from work. Towed to work the next day and had it fixed.
2001 Toyota Solara 4cyl bought in 2007 with 81k sold in 2014 with 300k. Car had previous front end damage. Did a lot of preventive maintenance but never stranded. Took it to Canada and back to PA several times. Every 100k timing belt and water pump. Several sets of spark plugs. One radiator at 250k. Two struts and two thermostats. That's it. Even the starter, alternator and rotors we're original.
In 2014 bought a 4 year old car that's been in the family since new.
Had a few other used cars but not long enough to really matter. 88 Bronco II for one winter season. A 99 Camaro V8 but crashed within 6 months