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Depends on how much you're spending on that new car too.
Can buy a new Kia at $18k. Finance it at 0% for 5 years and actually keep it through the whole 10 year warranty or longer. You're looking at owning a car you were the first to fart in for 10 years at a pretty low "ABC" cost. The higher cost car you're talking about the more used makes sense.
This is absolutely true as well. If you can live with base transportation to get from Point A to B this would be one of the instances where it might make sense to buy new versus a loaded out car of another brand. But if you want a vehicle loaded with features, it makes sense to consider used as well.
I'm speaking in terms of the money spent. If you look at the long term (using the 8 years you posted) even with a catastrophic failure at 3 years on a used vehicle versus 8 years on a new one it still comes out to less money spent during the time period in which you own the car.
Get past the first 3 years of warranty and look at the entire 8 year timeline. Or 10 years, or 12 years... However long you want to do the math. It's numbers.
In 8 years you spend ABC to own a new car. Initial investment is more, but over that 8 years maintenance is less.
In 8 years you spend XYZ to own a used car. Initial investment is less, but over 8 years the maintenance costs more.
If XYZ is cheaper than ABC, doesn't it make sense to go the route that gives you the same results for less money spent?
In your attempt to justify buying **** cars off Craig's List you're forgetting that you're losing X years of utility from that used car.
Buying a proper used car is almost always going to be way cheaper than a brand new car (obviously don't get a used AMG/M5/RS/etc. high performance used car as they are exceptions since they will be expensive to maintain) but otherwise it is way cheaper:
Lower insurance, lower tax, less having to finance, less dealing with salesmen (if you buy from private seller), less worry on cosmetics if something scratches paint, etc
This is my main reason for liking used cars, no pressure from the wife to fix scratches/dings if something happens to it.
Is there a point in buying almost new car if the car doesn't depreciate much (ex. Toyota Corolla retains 90% of its original value from MSRP). Most new car driver can get discount close to that depreciation
It seems like the most depreciation happens on luxury cars after it gets off lease (2-3 years old to even 5 years old). But 5 years old corolla might be only $5K less than brand new corolla. In that case is it even worth getting 5 year older car
Is there a point in buying almost new car if the car doesn't depreciate much (ex. Toyota Corolla retains 90% of its original value from MSRP). Most new car driver can get discount close to that depreciation
It seems like the most depreciation happens on luxury cars after it gets off lease (2-3 years old to even 5 years old). But 5 years old corolla might be only $5K less than brand new corolla. In that case is it even worth getting 5 year older car
At 5 years it will retain about 50% of its original value, so the depreciation is certainly larger than 5k.
In your attempt to justify buying **** cars off Craig's List you're forgetting that you're losing X years of utility from that used car.
Not once did I mention buying off Craigslist. My comparison was using a reputable DEALER who had maintenance records. There's no attempt to justify buying a used car. The numbers make sense for a lot of people who rationalize the buying decision the same way that I do.
Last week I bought a 2012 Ram 2500 diesel truck. I looked at a 2016. I decided that spending mid $30k on a truck with 50k miles would benefit me more (again looking at the numbers) than a 2016 at $58k. I did the math, looked at all of the scenarios and decided I didn't want a new one.
We're also not discussing losing years of utility. We were discussing folks who are going to sell/trade the car off after X number of years. For those who do that, they're getting 8 years of utility regardless of whether it is from a brand new car, or a used one. If you want to keep a car for 15-20 years, then yes brand new is likely the better option since you will get longer use out of it. But for 5-10 years of use, used is definitely a viable option. If you laid it all out on paper in a timeline, and determine that you need transportation for the next 40 years you have a few options. You can buy new and replace the vehicle every 15 years or so with another new vehicle. You can buy used, and replace the vehicle with another used vehicle in 8 years or so. Or any combination of used/new in between. In the end though, the money you spend can be quantified over a timeline to help determine what is the best path for your individual needs. For my personal use, I can justify replacing the used vehicle with another used vehicle every 7-8 years because the math works out in my favor to do it this way. Less of my money is tied up in a vehicle. Does this work for everyone? Nope. But it works for many and would work for more who took the time to break it down.
If you're an advocate for buying brand new, by all means go for it. I've even said that there are some who prefer to do it and more power to them. Some people want the warm and fuzzy feeling that a piece of warranty paperwork gives them. Others prefer to look at the numbers and see if the investment would pay off for them or if they prefer to use their money for something else.
My point in all of it was that it isn't as cut and dry as "I buy new because it has a warranty so it must be a better deal". You need to break it down and dig into the numbers to figure out that there might be another option that will still give you the utility you need at a more affordable price.
Last week I bought a 2012 Ram 2500 diesel truck. I looked at a 2016. I decided that spending mid $30k on a truck with 50k miles would benefit me more (again looking at the numbers) than a 2016 at $58k. I did the math, looked at all of the scenarios and decided I didn't want a new one.
We're also not discussing losing years of utility. We were discussing folks who are going to sell/trade the car off after X number of years. For those who do that, they're getting 8 years of utility regardless of whether it is from a brand new car, or a used one. If you want to keep a car for 15-20 years, then yes brand new is likely the better option since you will get longer use out of it. But for 5-10 years of use, used is definitely a viable option.
If you're an advocate for buying brand new, by all means go for it. I've even said that there are some who prefer to do it and more power to them. Some people want the warm and fuzzy feeling that a piece of warranty paperwork gives them. Others prefer to look at the numbers and see if the investment would pay off for them or if they prefer to use their money for something else.
Fine, but you will now have 4 years less use of that truck than someone who bought one new. Which you totally ignore with your financials. Which also has to be taken into account.
I know several people, some fairly smart, who make the same arguments you do for buying used. And they do.
They then do nothing but ***** and moan about either having to fix whatever high dollar part/system broke or buying yet another used vehicle.
I don't get warm and fuzzy feelings about warranties. In fact, when I bought my last new truck 2 years ago I stopped the person who was explaining it and just told her I understood it and I was ready to leave. No problem, although I did have to sign the paper stating I had been properly advised of the warranty.
Fine, but you will now have 4 years less use of that truck than someone who bought one new. Which you totally ignore with your financials. Which also has to be taken into account.
I know several people, some fairly smart, who make the same arguments you do for buying used. And they do.
They then do nothing but ***** and moan about either having to fix whatever high dollar part/system broke or buying yet another used vehicle.
I don't get warm and fuzzy feelings about warranties. In fact, when I bought my last new truck 2 years ago I stopped the person who was explaining it and just told her I understood it and I was ready to leave. No problem, although I did have to sign the paper stating I had been properly advised of the warranty.
Huh, just because someone bought a 4 year old used car doesn't mean they were without a vehicle for those 4 years.
Huh, just because someone bought a 4 year old used car doesn't mean they were without a vehicle for those 4 years.
Theirneeds were met in those 4 years.
He means the used car would die/be worthless 4 years earlier than a new one.
But that involves a lot of assumptions.
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