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Is it better to spend a little more for a brand new car that only you have owned and maybe only you have ever driven? Something that you know the full history on?
Or is it better to gamble on buying a used car that you may not even know the history on? Or maybe have to settle for a car that doesn't have all the options you would have wanted when you bought it new because said optioned car is far and few in between?
Case in point....I'd like to have a new 5.0 Mustang. But the $34k base sticker price is a bit steep.
So I could wait a few years....but then it might be difficult in finding the same car that wasn't ever ran hard. Because it's a performance car, and they're usually not babied all the time.
At least buying new I can custom order one the way I want....that when it gets to the dealer, is being unloaded off the truck and most likely no one but myself will be driving.
Back in 2000 I was going to custom order a brand new Xtreme with the short box reg cab hi output V6 with 5 speed manual trans, power everything...and I was going to order it all black....I never did it...and several years later after production of this model ended I tried to find the same vehicle for sale....most of the ones I saw did not have the 5 speed manual option...in fact it seems automatics were more favored. Plus it seems more of the V6 models were x cabs. I won't even get into how many were owned by kids that were modded untastefully and/or beaten on hard. So see I missed out on that boat and wished I would have just ordered what I wanted then.
Cars are meant to be driven, not used for investment purposes. When/if I buy a new car, I plan on having it for a good while.
To be fair, I could of told you years in advance that most of those cars would be optioned with automatics and x cabs.
We buy new and keep them for an average of 13 years. Losing "x" amount of money as we drive off the lot is not a factor. Buying someone else's problems is though.
I've bought new and I've bought used. I prefer leasing, but I like a new car. I like not having to worry about service history, what has been done in the past, etc.
As long as you aren't flipping a car every 2-3 years, a lot of time the difference between new and used is negligible when you throw in new car incentives.
I think you misunderstand the use of the term 'investment' in this context.
And it's not 'a little more', it's ALOT more.
What it's referring to is that EVERYTHING you spend money on is an investment.
Becasue it's a place you decide to spend your money.
From that $1 Burger, to the $20 or $200 pair of jeans, to the $34,000 car, to that retirement account I'm sure we all have overfunded???
Now, I'm not a 'car guy' but I AM a motorcycle guy. I ride them more than I drive a cage.
Take my Beamer. I bought a 5 year old one, with just over 10K miles on it, for under book value, WITH $2,500 worth of extras.
Took me just over 4 months to put 10,000 more miles on her.
HOW would it have made a difference to pay 2x as much?
Not much from where I'm sitting.
And I doubt you cruse for hours at 100, and while I've only got the beamer up to 130, I got my CBR up to 168.
Oh, it cost me $1,000 and I spent another $500 making sure it was safe.
My buddy who paid $8-$9K on his R6 used to almost cry about it...
In short, rather than taking your "poor choice number one' OR your 'poor choice number 2'
I'll take option three:
Educate yourself, check out the vehicle, spend a couple bux on having it professionally checked out, and then ride (Or in your case drive) the He'double hockey sticks' out of it, and enjoy the fact that you spent 1/2 what those other suckers spent, and laugh all the way to the bank!
No misunderstanding of investment here...my 2 cents is if you plan to own and drive a vehicle for many years to come, and want to ensure the oil was always changed on time, the car wasn't raced every city block, etc...then buy new.
And if you want to custom order your car to YOUR likings...i.e. you want a manual when all others seem to be automatics, then order new.
If you want to save a few dollars and purchase something that you really don't know the history on, aside from whatever someone wants to conjure up, or if you buy whatever carfax doesn't tell you, then buy used.
In the end, it's all about what you're willing to pay. Some people don't mind paying a little extra for a new car. Some want to be bargain shoppers. There's no right or wrong way but each has it's own pros and cons.
Besides as someone pointed out, new cars must be bought in order for used cars to exist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iTsLiKeAnEgG
To be fair, I could of told you years in advance that most of those cars would be optioned with automatics and x cabs.
No misunderstanding of investment here...my 2 cents is if you plan to own and drive a vehicle for many years to come, and want to ensure the oil was always changed on time, the car wasn't raced every city block, etc...then buy new.
And if you want to custom order your car to YOUR likings...i.e. you want a manual when all others seem to be automatics, then order new.
If you want to save a few dollars and purchase something that you really don't know the history on, aside from whatever someone wants to conjure up, or if you buy whatever carfax doesn't tell you, then buy used.
In the end, it's all about what you're willing to pay. Some people don't mind paying a little extra for a new car. Some want to be bargain shoppers. There's no right or wrong way but each has it's own pros and cons.
Besides as someone pointed out, new cars must be bought in order for used cars to exist.
Where were you back in 2000?
I wish I was there back then to help! I only said what I did because although I knew that the majority of buyers opt for automatic transmissions I didn't realize how bad things were for manual transmission enthusiasts until I read several interviews with the heads of design for many recent new cars and they all mentioned the take rates on manual transmissions were often less than 6% (and this was on various sports models). I'm not saying this applies in 100% of all cases but I'd say it gives a pretty good idea of how many are actually bought.
As an example of my own, four years ago when I bought my used G35 it was far more difficult to find a manual transmission equipped model (sedan). Not only were there fewer of them but there was a price premium over the automatic quipped models of several thousand dollars.
Last edited by iTsLiKeAnEgG; 02-10-2011 at 08:03 PM..
If you buy new and keep it for a long time, you aren't really losing anything. My car is a 2005 that I bought new. It's paid off and on the 12 year plan. If you look at it the way an economist might, I didn't pay for the price of the car divided by 48 months (length of time making payments), I paid the price of the car divided by 144 months (length of time actually owned and driven). Not too shabby a price, really. And because the thing won't be worth much by then anyways, why should I worry about resale value? As long as I keep taking care of it, and do not plan on trading it away or selling it, why should I worry about a collective estimate based on thousands of cars similar to mine and therefore out of my control?
Last year I bought my wife a new vehicle and told her it's on the 12 year plan as well. Of course, knowing how this things work, when it comes time to replace my car, I'll slide over to her SUV and she'll get to pick her new car.
This isn't the 50s and 60s either, so getting the new car for your neighbors to come gawk is a thing of the past
Couldn't be further from the truth. I've watched the ring of neighbors on the bottom of our hill battle it out for the past 11 years. This happens everywhere though and it will never go away as long as humans exist. It's called keeping up with the Joneses and most of those who are involved are completely unaware of their behavior, deny it or attempt to rationalize. Its sad and funny at the same time.
I bought my car last year-Nissan--New- and 0% financing-and since I plan on driving my car until the steering wheel falls off I think in my case buying new made sense. I am religious about my oil changes and any other maintenance (preventive) on the car so I feel I can keep my car 10 years minimum...I'm hoping 12 years or more.
I think the new vs. used car debate really depends on how long you plan on keeping the car.
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