I'm not quite ready for a new car. But I've been thinking about what to get and have done a good bit of online shopping around.
The question I keep coming back to is whether it is still wise to buy a good used vehicle as opposed to a new vehicle. I know it used to be the conventional wisdom that it was ALWAYS better to buy a good used since they depreciate so much when you "drive 'em off the lot". I understand that. But I am wondering if that really applies to real life like it used to.
I don't swap off cars often. I tend to drive 'em a long time. The newest is a little less than 220,000 miles and I tend to go 1/4 million or so. So I have a little time and I don't see why this one won't make it that far. It is getting a little tired, though.
Anyway, when I look at new vehicles, I am usually shocked at the sticker prices. Dang, that's what we used to pay for a house. But I really don't need all the bells and whistles and gadgets, I really don't. I don't need the fancy sound systems. I don't need the doors to all open for me at the push of a button. I just mostly need basic and comfortable (comfort is important as I approach decrepitude) transportation which generally means a lower end model is just fine.
Thing of it is, when I look at "good used", I'm also shocked by how little of a price difference there is between that and a brand new one except it now has 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 thousand miles on it, arguably, the best miles because they're under warranty and the thing was brand new and probably needed very little.
If I look at an 80 thousand mile car that's only 2/3 of the price of a new one and I expect to get about a quarter million miles out of it, I'm not so sure the new car isn't actually the better deal since maintenance and repair costs will likely be higher on the back end.
Also, there are some of the new car dealers that offer zero % financing, and it's hard to argue with that. You won't get that on an 80k mile car unless you pay cash, and I don't know if I'm gonna have an extra $15k or $20k in cash sitting around to buy something and even if I did, still might rather have the 0%.
So I'm wondering, does buying new sometimes make sense? I know, it didn't used to. But we also don't have new cars for sale for $3,995 anymore, either. Things change. I'm just questioning whether this is one of those things.
Interested in your thoughts if you'd care to share.
The question I keep coming back to is whether it is still wise to buy a good used vehicle as opposed to a new vehicle. I know it used to be the conventional wisdom that it was ALWAYS better to buy a good used since they depreciate so much when you "drive 'em off the lot". I understand that. But I am wondering if that really applies to real life like it used to.
I don't swap off cars often. I tend to drive 'em a long time. The newest is a little less than 220,000 miles and I tend to go 1/4 million or so. So I have a little time and I don't see why this one won't make it that far. It is getting a little tired, though.
Anyway, when I look at new vehicles, I am usually shocked at the sticker prices. Dang, that's what we used to pay for a house. But I really don't need all the bells and whistles and gadgets, I really don't. I don't need the fancy sound systems. I don't need the doors to all open for me at the push of a button. I just mostly need basic and comfortable (comfort is important as I approach decrepitude) transportation which generally means a lower end model is just fine.
Thing of it is, when I look at "good used", I'm also shocked by how little of a price difference there is between that and a brand new one except it now has 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 thousand miles on it, arguably, the best miles because they're under warranty and the thing was brand new and probably needed very little.
If I look at an 80 thousand mile car that's only 2/3 of the price of a new one and I expect to get about a quarter million miles out of it, I'm not so sure the new car isn't actually the better deal since maintenance and repair costs will likely be higher on the back end.
Also, there are some of the new car dealers that offer zero % financing, and it's hard to argue with that. You won't get that on an 80k mile car unless you pay cash, and I don't know if I'm gonna have an extra $15k or $20k in cash sitting around to buy something and even if I did, still might rather have the 0%.
So I'm wondering, does buying new sometimes make sense? I know, it didn't used to. But we also don't have new cars for sale for $3,995 anymore, either. Things change. I'm just questioning whether this is one of those things.
Interested in your thoughts if you'd care to share.