A new car purchase

Lots of us can "afford" a new car. Some of us realize that you can save $10K buy a two year old off lease car and get everything but the new car smell and a big loss in our "investment" over the next two years. Put that $10K into a real investment, it's $150K when you retire. Go ahead, you decide. If your money, and if you can as you say "afford to buy a new car" I'm sure you already have $2m in the bank for retirement anyway.

People who lease cars turn them in in 2 or 3 years. The don't turn them in because they're broken, they turn them in because the lease is up and they want another new car. In fact, most of these folks are very careful with their cars because they don't want to pay extra money to the leasing company at turn in. If you now something about cars, you start by looking at reliable makes, then you look for a car that's cosmetically perfect (it's been cared for) then you look at the mechanics and buy one that has no problems or abnormal wear. It's not hard.

Now, we could discuss the people who lease and turn in their car every three years. Not only do they need a "new" car, but they've been suckered in by the leasing people into believing that leasing a car is even better because you get an even pricier car for the same money per month. Salesmen have been "selling the monthly payment" for years and suckers buy in. Somehow I think most of the folks leasing could use a course in "managing your finances" too.

A car is a *depreciating* asset. The first two years incur *major* depreciation. It doesn't make sense to buy a highly depreciating asset at high cost when a lower depreciating asset at lower cost will do the same job.

YMMV, some people just gotta fill up that ego bank with a new car.

Bob

Reply to
'nuther Bob
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Good strategy. Likewise, it would pay to finance a two or three year old car instead of taking the big depreciation hit in the first two years of a new car. A car is a *depreciating* asset and a new car is about the _worst_ investment you can make.

Then buy a Nissan, where you don't find artificially high prices created by smart marketing and soccer Moms who droll over Camry's and Accords.

Indeed.

Reply to
'nuther Bob

You have pointed out one more problem with Japanese sedans. They are smaller than most of the domestics with which they compete, even though they cost 25 to 30 percent more to drive home. ;)

mike hunt

Kai P>

Reply to
BigJohnson

Go with automatic, easy to use and Hondas are better than Nissan My Accord 91 has passed through 4 owners and I am the 5th ,.. still the car's history has no major repair...but everybody has maintained it so well that I still have the maintainance records of the first owner.

Reply to
Buddy

We hear that 'better resale' stuff in the NG's all the time, but actually the resale rates on Japanese cars is NOT AS GOOD as domestics, if you figure the resale value as a percentage of what they cost to drive home. New domestic have a much better return on investment. For instance the Taurus you sited is indeed worth $4,000 less than an Accord but the Accord cost at least $7,000 more to drive home two years ago, even more today when the financing is factored in. Domestic finance rates are much better, ZERO interest up to five years on many model. That can easily save one another %5,000 if you must finance your purchase.

mike hunt

Liam Devl>

Reply to
BigJohnson

That is why I said people that can AFFORD a new car, buys a new car. If one must make a choice between a new car and the other things in life, than he can't afford a new car. Contrary to what you may believe, you can never know for sure what type of use or abuse a sued car was subjected to or what service it did or did not receive, no matter how 'good' it appears the day you buy it. When one chooses that two year old car they are choosing one with

30K miles on the clock readily for its first big service, set of tires and nearly out of warranty. On the other hand the previous owner only needed to do a half dozen oil changes. Any problems would have been covered by a warranty. Ever notice when somebody comes "into money" from a lottery or inheritance the first thing they buy is a new car. LOL

mike hunt

'nuther Bob wrote:

Reply to
BigJohnson

When I was at university, I bought a 3 yo car that was a return from lease. I couldn't afford a new one at that time. The car looked great and everything seemed fine for couple of months until some weird noises that a 3 yo Mazda is not supposed to do started... Got rid of it and bought a new Honda.

Reply to
Paul Bielec

Most vehicles if maintained properly will last for a long time. I am the

3rd owner of my 1989 Nissan 240SX and other than 2 injectors leaking, the car has been trouble free. Very dependable, just regular maintinence stuff. Body is still in near mint condition with minimal rust on underbody of vehicle, not bad for 14 years. Only reason I'm selling it is I wanted something newer. My mother has an 89 Nissan Sentra and it has never had any mechanical problems either, again she just wants something newer now after buying as a repo with 1800 miles on it in 1989. Both cars have 127,000 miles or so on them and still go strong. Again if you take care of the car it takes care of you. Just my 2 cents. I would never choose a Honda over my Nissan.

-BD

Reply to
BD

Well, I guess I could have AFFORDED to buy a new GS-R in 1997 when instead I bought a three-year-old one. I paid cash and the extra $6-7K has just been sitting in my bank account (along with enough to buy a second, new GS-R) ever since. Haven't needed it but it is worth pointing out that it is there if I do.

True, but if you can AFFORD a new car, what's the big deal about losing a little money on a used car deal?

After six years I am still driving my GS-R. I have spent some money on clutch, brakes and tires - have to expect that in a hard-driven performance car. But the big deal for me: I still catch myself grinning on my daily commute. If I stop smiling, it's gone.

So why should I have spent another $6-7K?

Worn out tires were a bonus for me. It meant that I could install the tires I wanted, not the inferior ones that came with the car. I can AFFORD to spend extra money on tires that wear out quickly, and I always do. I do most of the servicing myself and regular maintenance is not that expensive.

That's because most lottery tickets are sold to people who spend frivolously.

I am not opposed to ever buying new cars. I bought my '92 Volvo Wagon new. Significantly less reliable than the used GS-R, but it is otherwise perfectly suited to my needs.

My real money saving tip is that, whatever you buy, drive it a long time. The Corollary is to buy a car you really like.

Reply to
Gordon McGrew

Tires with some wear can tell some stories about a used car. If they match and have even wear with no wear patterns, that is a better sign than mismatched tires with uneven or strange wear patterns. And brand new cheapest-possible tires could be hiding something that the old tires would have revealed (as well as the seller expecting a premium for tires that you probably would not have bought).

Reply to
Timothy J. Lee

Not true.

I buy lightly used to keep from paying the high mark up of a "new" car. One can save themselves thousands of dollars by picking up the car they want, with just a few thousand miles on it.

Look it up Ben.

And BTW...I can afford virtually *ANY* new production car offered in the US.

Stop spewing your ignorance Ben...it makes you look (more) stupid.

Reply to
NetSock

I'll make a rash statement then: 99.999999% of usenet posters are not independently wealthy and would be better off putting the $6-10K in their retirement plan - if they could separate the purpose of the car from their ego.

I'm not advocating buying the least expensive car you can get. Buy what you like. But, buy smart.

True. But you're paying thousands and thousands of dollars for that "warranty" you get with a new car.

Could be, depends on the car. Some two year old cars only have 20K on the clock. The price is almost as low as the 30K cars since time is more a factor in book depreciation than miles. You can also but cars that come with 4/50 warranties. Or, if you don't like to gamble, buy an extended warranty - most cars cost less than $1K for a few years.

For me, the excuse of buying tires is great. I get to purchase a real set of tires instead of the factory nonsense. Give me an excuse to buy shocks/struts too, I love it.

And he paid $10K for the privilege.

I have noticed that. I've also seen a lot of people who can barely afford to pay the mortgage, or can't afford a vacation, or good furniture, go out and buy a new car with long paybacks and/or disadvantageous leases. They'd be better off with a used car for thousands less, even if they need to sink a couple of bucks into it.

Auto manufacturers are great at marketing and selling, auto salesmen are great at selling the monthly payment, and peoples egos keep the whole thing going.

Bob

Reply to
'nuther Bob

Testdrive should answer your question.

Reply to
noway

True every car needs a maintainance and will run longer if maintained properly. But Honda engines have proven to last longer than Nissan. Honda has a life of 250K miles or longer if maintained properly, which I don't think is the case with Nissan.

Well my 2 cents Hondas and Toyotas are most reliable, Nissan come second.

Reply to
Buddy

Everyone is entitled to an opinion and can spend their money as the please. I guess I need to post this one more time. If one must make a CHOICE between a new car and the other things in life, than he can't afford a new car without effecting his other options in life. If one must choose between a new car and investing or putting money into an IRA, they have no choice but to buy used. One must also factor in the replacement price of the used car they now own, the same as does the new car buyer.. I've kept many of the cars I bough new, as collector cars. Personally I'm glad people are willing to buy the cars I no longer want. If not for them placing a VALUE on my used cars I could not as easily afford to buy new every two years. I sold my last two cars for only a few thousand dollars less than I paid to buy them new. Now if I can only find people willing to buy used clothing and furniture I could save some BIG money on all the things my wife buys. LOL

mike hunt

Reply to
MelvinGibson

when u quote the number 99.999999%, u mean to say that there r atleast a million members who have ever posted a message here.

Reply to
Nissan4me

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