As long as you can afford it, do you prefer to buy new when you buy a car?

[Tobin S.]

I have a 2010 Honda Civic that I bought new. It is paid for, only has about 54,000 miles, and still runs like it did when it was new. I have had to do very little to it outside of normal maintenance. It's been a very good car for me, and I plan on keeping it as long as I can.

However, I think the next car I buy will be used. The Honda cost me about $300 a month until it was paid off. I haven't had a car payment for a while now and that is so nice. What got me thinking about this is that I know a guy who recently bought a very nice used Cadillac. The car is 15 years old, but it's in good shape and has low mileage for its age. I didn't ask him how much he paid for the car, but I was nosy enough to look it up on Kelly Blue Book. A car like that in average condition goes for about $3000. Like me, he lives just a few miles from work so he doesn't need something that can take a bunch of miles every day. It's not the most economical when it comes to the fuel pump, but he has no car payment and I'm sure his insurance is very low. I still need full coverage on mine and it costs me about $60 a month.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. We've been buying new for a while now.

Even though the car starts depreciating the minute you drive off the lot!

I like new cars.

[Tobin S.]

2. It's definitely cool to have a new car.

Personally, I'm thinking about my retirement account here. I kind of fell behind on that in recent years.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I think you have your priorities straight.

There are many very good used cars out there.

[Chan790]

7. Do what my parents do, then.

Buy semi-new.

There's a local retailer to us...I think these kinds of places exist everywhere though. Their entire business is leasing cars to corporations that are used as company cars for executives. We're not talking about high-mileage fleet cars, I'd be wary of those.

Generally their clients, and the executives of those clients, like having the newest and best for status symbol reasons...so they constantly have luxury (and mid-market) cars they need to unload that are 18-24 months old and have only a few 1,000 miles on them. Of course, depreciation has cut the price by 1/3 to 1/2 from time they bought it.

You're getting a car that isn't new but has been well-maintained...that's part of their value proposition to their lease clients, that they handle all the maintenance and warranty issues, and has been professionally-cleaned and serviced before it was put up for sale (doing so maximizes the value for them...and selling you a lemon would hurt their credibility in their main LoB so they want to avoid it like the plague)...but is new to you and is recent enough that you could still find the same make and model on the local new car lot for 1.5-2x the price.

The catch is that they don't advertise or do anything else...if you want to know what they have for sale, you need to go pick up their sale-car list on premises. They don't have salespeople...you want to see a car on the lot, you call them and say "I want to see this car" and they tell you when to show up, they let you into the locked lot, and they go back to their desk. They're not haggling or negotiating...you want the car, you pay what they're asking which is usually the best blue-book value they can find for them. You have questions beyond things like accident and maintenance reports...you need to find those answers yourself. They're not providing much of a sales experience; it's not the right buying environment for most people but if you're savvy and vehicle-knowledgable (which you are) it can be extremely worthwhile.

[NewJeffCT]

22. I've heard good things about doing this

I think sometimes they even include an extended warranty in there as well.

I would just need to find one of these places locally, as I have no idea where they are located and how they would differ from a regular used car dealer.

[Chan790]

25. Still live in Central CT?

MotorLease.
1506 New Britain Ave, Farmington, CT 06032
[phone]

That's the one my parents went to.

[NewJeffCT]

32. Thanks

I'll look them up. My wife & I both need new cars.

[Kali]

4. used at a dealership

with some warranty left is a pretty safe way to go, but there are new things happening out there. my sister got a great little, very, very low milage car from beepi.

https://www.beepi.com/buy/

(I say this while also owning a number of vehicles that were basically just found in the desert )

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. Since I can't fix cars, I buy new

then drive them until the wheels fall off. I have a 10 year old Scion (Toyota) with only 85K miles that I haven't had to do anything but scheduled maintenance on.

My brother does know how to do a lot of car work, so he buys used cars.

Car rental places can be a good source for used cars also. They are very well maintained and clean.

[underahedgerow]

6. Used. Only Ever. And here's why;

Unless you get a 0% loan or pay in full in cash, it's a really, really bad investment.

Say the car costs 25,000K. Factor in that 3.25% interest rate for 36 months (if you've got a great credit score), and you'll pay another 1200 bucks just to own that car. Yet, after 36 months, that car is worth probably half of what you've paid for it, maybe less. And on top of that, if you've only put down 500 bucks, your monthly payment is over 700 bucks. Imagine, 700 bucks to drive a car for 3 years, not to mention insurance. So by the time you've finished paying for it, you've got a piece of equipment that hopefully will last another 2 years at least, during which time it continues to dramatically decrease in value.

Would you buy a house for 100K and sell it later for 50K and think you've done well? Of course not.

For 10,000 bucks cash, you can buy (someone else's car that they paid 26K for) a 3 year old car, and if you drive it for just 2 years, you'll have paid an average of 400 bucks a month, not to mention much lower insurance. Drive it and care for it for 4 years, and you're down to just 200 bucks a month to own that car, etc.

A car is a tool. Marketing however, has lead us to believe it's an image statement, that a car defines who we are, that it's sexy, or sporty, or denotes affluence, that it's all about our personality.

Take away all that, and buy a car that is comfortable, suits the purpose, is easy to drive, easy to get in and out of and has air conditioning, a decent radio, a navigation system and will perform economically in the types of conditions that you live in, and you can buy a nice car for under 10K. Think practical instead of 'image'. Function over form. It's just a car. It's just a tool.

My favorite car ever was the Toyota Scion. I bought the dealer demo for 11K cash off the lot, at a 3K discount. I drove it, loved it and sold it a year later for 11K. Cash. Now that's a deal.

I did the same with my Mazda Miata. Bought it for 8K and sold it about 1.5 years later for 9,500. That one increased in value, because it was in such great condition.

Buy low, sell high, right?

[Major Nikon]

14. Cars almost always decrease in value regardless of whether you finance them or not

Homes almost always increase in value regardless of whether you finance them or not. So I personally wouldn't compare one to the other.

I prefer to look at buying a car by what it's going to cost me over how long I intend to own it. I generally keep a car for 10 years or more, put 10-15K miles on it per year. Rather than just monthly payment, I look at total cost of ownership per month which includes lots of things like tires, insurance, fuel, financing, and maintenance. I don't include depreciation because I simply apply whatever money I get out of it for the replacement. I budget that amount of money per paycheck and allocate that amount to a special bank account I use exclusively for transportation.

My experience with financing doesn't match the interest rate you quoted. I financed my last vehicle in November at 1.75% which is almost half the rate you specified and that was for 48 months which is a longer term, although I did put up a $10K down payment.

[Xithras]

43. Financing a car is nearly always a terrible idea, unless you can do 0% for the full term.

My wife loves new cars, and she's one of those people who would buy a new car every year if she could. Rather than waste money on interest payments, she pays $350 a month into an aggressive growth mutual fund. When the fund balance gets high enough, she taps enough money out of it to pay cash for a new car. Not only does that save her many thousands of dollars in interest charges, but she gets to leverage her own money with the Vanguard fund to profit and buy a new car even faster.

The idea was dreamed up by our investment adviser over a decade ago and it works pretty freaking well. She ends up paying about the same amount of money she'd shell out on a car payment anyway, but the investment angle saves us a huge amount of interest.

[Major Nikon]

44. It doesn't necessarily have to be 0%

Right now the rates for secured loans is excellent. I financed my last vehicle at 1.75% through my credit union. The US stock market has been averaging better than 7% for the last 10 years. If I had pulled the money out of an investment account to pay cash for the vehicle, I would almost certainly lose money.

[Taitertots]

27. thinking your preferences reflect objective truth is a bad way of thinking.

If you only care about utilitarian concerns when buying a car, that's your choice. Other people want style. Other people want performance. Your preference for utilitarian concerns is just as driven by marketing as other people's preferences.

[mnhtnbb]

8. My current--and previous two cars--are BMW's that I bought when they were 2 years old

with low miles.

My current car is a 2007 which I bought in 2009 with 14,000 miles on it. Found it on-line at a dealer in Ohio, flew up and drove it home
to Chapel Hill, NC. I don't drive a lot--it just turned 48,000 miles--
and is great for occasional road trips (a wagon).

I could never have afforded these cars when new.

The last time I had a new car was 1988 when we moved from Santa Monica, CA to St. Joseph, MO and I bought a new Jeep Cherokee
for the trip and to have for hauling home antiques as we furnished a big old house. The first used BMW I bought replaced the Jeep
in 1998 after we had been living in Lincoln, NE. The BMW was a convertible that had to stay garaged in the snow, so I bought a used
Altima from Hertz rental cars that was my every day car and intended to go to my oldest son when he turned 16. But in 2000 we moved
to Chapel Hill--sold the Altima--and the convertible came here with us.

With the ability to go on-line and search for used cars I can't imagine ever buying a new car again. They just lose too much value in
those first couple of years.

[MissB]

9. This.

Except I prefer used Mercedes to BMWs.

Edited to add: I also am a fan of Volvos. I've bought one of those used before (and used to me means right around 3 years old/less than 30k miles) and driven it into the ground over ten years. Those last a long time, but I used it when the kids were growing up. Got rid of it right before I had to teach my two teenaged boys how to drive.

[mnhtnbb]

37. My oldest learned to drive on my BMW convertible--manual transmission--and to this day

he loves driving. He turns 30 this year and drives in an autocross club. BUT, when he was a senior
in high school we got one of those dreaded Saturday night 2 am phone calls that started out "This is Officer X...he's ok...
but there's been an accident." Turned out he was supposed to be at a friend's house--they were playing video
games--but decided playing at driving wasn't enough fun. So the four guys went out in two cars and were driving
30 some miles away in Raleigh when my son lost control and wrapped his car (he was driving his own Altima at that point) around a street sign. Thank
goodness it was not a phone pole or a tree! No one was hurt. My husband went to get him--and the other boys
all had to ride home with him except the other kid who was driving the other car followed them. My husband
said it was a VERY quiet ride home.

We made him pay off the $500 deductible that insurance didn't cover to repair his car. He's never had another accident. And he's still driving
that Altima. In fact, it was the car he and his partner drove on their cross country road trip from NC to CA and back this past May.

[MrScorpio]

10. Unless I'm some lottery winner, I'm never buying new again nt

[Wounded Bear]

11. Yeah, if I could afford it, I'd buy new...

emphasis on buy, not lease.

But, it'll take a lottery win for me to do that again.

Interesting side story. I used to have a boss, a German guy, who never bought a car with less than 50k miles on it. He called them "road tested."

Oh, as long as we're in "dream" mode, I'd probably go at least partially green, like with a hybrid or something. Not sure I'm ready for all electric just yet. There is still one trip I make once or twice a month that is 60 miles one way. For my normal around the town stuff, I could get by with not much more than a golf cart.

[noamnety]

12. Depends on your definition of "afford."

If you mean "can afford to take out a loan/finance a new car without losing my house" - oh, heck no.

If you mean "can afford to pay cash but my retirement isn't fully funded yet, so I am going to have to be a wage slave to my car" - nope, not happening. Freedom > new car.

If you mean "already set for life, retirement is funded and either I am retired already or I'm working just because I love my job and I can pay cash for a new car" then, eh, maybe, maybe not.

[Tobin S.]

30. Use whatever definition you wish. I left that open to whatever people's conceptions are of that.

[LynneSin]

13. I liked the 'certified' program that many car makers have!

A car as soon as it rolls off the lot depreciates about 10-25% depending on the brand. 'Certified' pre-own cars are used cars backed by the dealership and manufacturer as a 1-2 year old car that will come with a full warranty and certified to be in top working shape. These cars are usually rentals taking out of circulation, Dealer cars (meaning someone at the dealership drove it for a year) or Lease turn-ins.

Why lose that 10-25% when you can get a pre-owned car that is backed by the carmaker?

[nadine_mn]

15. We bought used for years and so much in repair $$

pushed us to buy new.

Now - we bought Jeep Cherokees, so that was part of the problem. Our current vehicle we bought new in 2005 - a Hyundai Santa Fe. It has 135k miles on it, and really only regular maintenance has been our cost - new tires, oil changes, etc. We did have it break down earlier this year - but it was a recall thing with front shocks and spring thingys, so that was towed and fixed at no charge.


I like new - I like knowing what the car has been through and how it has been maintained. Financially, we will probably go the certified pre-owned, but if money isn't an issue - new for me.

[benld74]

16. Our last new vehicle was in 1998 Windstar van

and that was paid for with
2 vehicles being traded in
Ford Credit Card points
Kept is for over 100K miles
Sold for $2000

Since then its been used vehicles

[OriginalGeek]

17. I will very likely buy my next car new for cash

Not because I'm rich or anything but I will inherit enough to get the truck I need with plenty left over.

I hope that's not too grim or crass a way to look at things but me and grandpa often joke about it.

Last year we bought a 3 year old Hyundai for my wife and financed it. The payments are low enough it doesn't hurt to make them and we got used because they offered us the same 10year/100k mile warranty they offer on new cars and this used one was loaded with every option we wanted and more for the same price a bare-bones brand new one would have cost.

I wanted her to get a Chevy Cruz but when we went looking at cars we walked around the Chevy lot for 45 minutes and nobody ever even came out and said "Hi". I don't know if it was the POS car we pulled up in or my pony-tail and death metal t-shirt or it was too hot to come out but I know they saw us because I could see them inside the showroom lounging about, leaning on counters and shooting the shit. Finally I said fuck these a-holes and we went to the Hyundai dealer down the street and got a great deal.

I'm still pondering which truck I want - a Chevy Colorado or GMC Canyon - but I can tell you for sure which dealer I won't be looking for it at.

[hunter]

18. I bought a new car once when I was young and cocky. I won't do that again.

First of all I hate that feeling of having to keep everything "like new" and worrying about all the ways my car could be damaged. (Even worse is driving someone else's new car! You say "yes" because they are proud of their new car and want you to see how wonderful it is to drive, but then you have to drive with excruciating care and hope nothing random happens.)

The other day I was waiting to turn out of a parking lot when an older guy in a handicapped spot backed his car into mine. I had nowhere to go, nothing to do but lean on my horn. He stopped when he bumped me. It was a pretty hard bump too.

I was glad whatever damage he did to my car was lost among the other dings and dents. His own car was undamaged, it's plastic bumper unscratched, unharmed except for a smudge of actual dirt. (I rarely wash my car. I clean the windows but the rest literally has lichen growing on it.)

He got out of his car afraid that I'd be some kind of asshole, and I got out to smile and say, "No harm done."

You could say that maybe old guys who have to rely on their mirrors because it hurts too much to look around directly, who can't hear car horns, shouldn't be driving and that me being an asshole might have prevented some future accident, but I don't believe that. I don't trust ANYONE driving. The worst fools on the road think they are great drivers.

I'm a pretty good mechanic too, so I don't have a lot of reason to fear older cars.

[mnhtnbb]

19. I cannot tell you how many times in the last few months someone has almost backed into me

in the grocery store parking lot.

I go on senior discount day (to save 5%) and obviously a lot of other seniors are there, too, and not looking around
when they back out!

I've started parking farther away in spots across from the cart return so no one can back out directly behind me anymore!

[haele]

20. No, why take the depreciation hit?

Our next car we are getting from a "name brand" rental car sales lot. So instead of being new, they'll be one or two years off the original dealer's lot.
The cars might have more mileage than the average used car, but they've been scrupulously maintained and most of the bugs have been worked out; it's much easier to determine if the car is a lemon or in constant need of work to keep it running when it comes with a rental fleet maintenance record.

Haele

[mnhtnbb]

21. We bought a car from Hertz--out of their 'retired' rental car fleet

in Lincoln, NE back in the late 90's. It was a Nissan Altima and we got it for a great price and had no trouble
with it while we owned it.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

35. When I was in the car business we used to buy from Enterprise for our used car lot.

They were all super clean and nicely equipped. I would sell them to friends. Never had any complaints.

Of course we did have a running joke:

Customer: Is it a one owner car?

Salesman: oh certainly! It's a one owner car. (Under his breath: one owner but lots of drivers).

I wasn't in sales so I wasnt involved in those shenanigans.

We just picked up a 2014 Fusion Plug in hybrid with 3700 miles. I saw the title it was a lease company. The thing is like brand new. Even smells new. We got it for under $20k. IIRC, it stickers around $36k.

I spent 10 years in the business and will never buy new.

[mnhtnbb]

36. There you go!

[My Good Babushka]

23. Used.

I hate driving, and I don't drive that much. I would rather spend money on other things.

[mainstreetonce]

24. New

Dealer used

[jonno99]

26. Do I buy a new car-or used?! Definately a 1st world question. And my guess is that MOST of us here

are happy when our much-used car simply makes it back home every day...

[Tobin S.]

31. What's your point?

There are probably a lot more people here than you think who are in a position to be able to buy a new car. I see several on this thread.

I'm not knocking buying a used car. If you'll read the OP you'll see that I'm advocating for it. My car is 6 years old and my wife's is 14 years old. We do what we need to do to keep them running good so we won't have to buy another car for a while.

[trof]

28. I usually buy a year old leased car.

They're generally low miles and have had good maintenance.
Oh, all Plymouth Voyager/Dodge Caravans since 1985.
Have an '05 now.

[shanti]

40. i have an 05 caravan too

only 32000 miles on it but as soon as i am able, will get rid of it! the DS power window motor has been nonworking for a couple of years, going out JUST after the warranty expired! i HATE electrical problems in cars! i bought it brand new from carmax, mainly to shlep my son and friends to basketball games. it's served its usefulness and i need something smaller now, maybe a prius?

[trof]

42. '08 Prius is our other car. I love it.

[Generic Brad]

29. I like to buy new

Then pay it off as quickly as possible and keep it for 10 years.

[John_Doe80004]

33. i prefer older vehicles

preferably ones with a beefed up electrical, alternator and battery system to handle lots of aftermarket two way radio and electronic gear. my favorite being older ford crew cabs with the oversize bed and dually's.

as long as they have general on time maintenance they will outlast anything on the road today.

these new cars less than a year out are all having problems and they are cheaply built while costing a fortune!!!!

[Laffy Kat]

34. Mildly used.

I let someone else take the depreciation and buy a slightly used car. Just makes more sense to me. Oh, and I only buy certain makes, 'cuz I don't think American cars hold up well enough to buy used (sorry).

[mopinko]

38. lifelong beater driver, but

i won the divorce lottery, and will be buying new. this will be the last car of my life, i hope. i need all that driver assist stuff so that i can stay independent. and insured.

i always figured that the occasional hit at the mechanics beat the steady beat of a payment. plus, i looked at it as giving the money to someone local v fat cats.

[blaze]

39. Bought new once

I have always bought used cars and had very good luck with the condition they were in and how well they held up.

But then the Smart Car came out and I was smitten. I went to test drive one but they were so new you had to make an appointment for your test drive. I wasn't really serious about buying one because of the big depreciation hit you take driving it off the lot.. so I passed on the test drive. A year later I decided I had to see what they were like to drive... and I drove home with it. It helped that I was just 4 or 5 months away from paying off my house.

I love driving this car. I love this car. I never felt about a car like this before. That was 2009 and I still have no regrets.

[elleng]

41. I prefer NEVER to have to buy a car again!

Bought my first NEW in 1979, after that leased, and now driving '93 Toyo Wagon Dad gave me, 170,000 miles. It's working well, and I HOPE it keeps up through my life!

[AwakeAtLast]

45. I've done both

I bought a new Toyota Camry in 2005. It is now paid off. We do general maintenance on it and it still runs like it always has even though it has 260,000 miles on it. Our 14 y/o will probably get it when she gets her license at 16.

In 2010 I found a 2000 Toyota Avalon with only 56,000 miles (I know!) on it. It was loaded, too (moon roof, electric seats, dual heat controls, etc). I snapped that puppy up quick. It is also paid off, we do general maintenance and it still hums along nicely with 125,000 miles on it (I don't drive as far to work as my husband does). It will take a lot to get me out of that car. I love driving it!

I have bought other used cars that did not work out quite so well. Here's what I think helps when buying used:

Buy from the companies with the best reliability records.
Get the lowest mileage you can find no matter the model year.
Get the most upgrades you can find (so no base models).

I am by no means an expert on cars, but I think following those three things would help me weed out potential problems.

We are going to be in the market for a Toyota Tacoma in the next year or two. I'm pretty sure we're going to look for a used one.

[Recursion]

46. Never have; never will. It loses half its value the second you drive it off the lot

I never saw why anybody thinks that's a good deal.