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The car that is my daily driver has 350,000 miles. The truck has 221,000 miles. My daughter's car has 210,000 miles. Our low-mileage vehicle is my wife's van at just under 110,000 miles.
I don't owe any money on any of them, and haven't had a car payment for many years. But I'd jump in any one of them today and drive it anywhere in the country.
Unless you have a combined family income of over $100,000 per year, you CANNOT afford a new vehicle, regardless of what a salesman tells you.
Buying the right vehicle, then taking care of it, is the key.
Fuel cost won't bother me much. I only buy fuel 3 times a year anyway to go visit my grand kids. The rest of the time the vehicles sit while I ride a bicycle around our small town.
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Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday
If this is anywhere near true then just stick with your current car. If it's entirely true, then the second it needs any costly repair just switch to renting.
Yes, it's true. However, I keep my vehicles in good repair since ,while my legs allow me to ride a bicycle still yet in town, a break down on a trip for me is a real problem since I can't walk very far to get help. That said, renting where I live is a no can do since there are no car rental's within 50 miles of my home.
It is a rare treat to get a in a vehicle that you really like and travel. Something only a car keeper can understand.
There are plenty of good reasons to buy a brand new car. Reliability, current safety standards, comfort, etc. If you keep a brand new car for ten years you don't have to worry about depreciation rates either. You either spend more on a new car and keep it longer, or spend less on used cars and do it more often as they have shorter reliable lives. The only time you really lose out is when you buy a new car every two or three years. At any rate, you answered your own question about why people want to have "t**rds" in their driveway, as you say.
A vehicle can be so much more for people that know how to enjoy themselves in them. I'm sorry you're apparently missing out.
I probably enjoy driving--when I'm not in a ton of traffic--as much as anyone. I've probably logged more miles in vehicles than a whole lot of people. My work required me to drive a lot for many years, a situation now passed that I do not miss one bit. That said, I don't need some flashy, expensive piece of crap that will go from 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds to enjoy driving. I also don't need something that will go 140 mph because I live under the stodgy notion that speed limits were put on roads for good and practical safety reasons. I also don't need a fancy car to impress some member of the opposite sex. If the twit is impressed by that, she is probably a gold-digger with whom I want to have no association.
What I am "missing out" on is astronomical car payments, driving a vehicle that is a "cop magnet," worrying about getting a little "ding" on my $50K p.o.s., and having a bunch of money tied up in a depreciating non-asset. I'm not sorry about missing out on all of that one bit--in fact, it makes me downright giddy to know that I am.
Last edited by jazzlover; 12-04-2009 at 05:49 PM..
I should buy a new car, but I just cannot bring myself to pay the price that they charge for anything decent. $35,000 plus will buy you a house, or even two houses. By comparison, it is an insane price to pay for a car. I just cannot bring myself to do it. Maybe I am cheap.
I will just buy someone else's "clunker." MAybe I will get lucky. I am looking at Avalanches with 100,000 to 150,000 miles on them and I see several of them for sale with 250,000 miles on them. If I get another 100,000 miles out of a $9,000 truck I will be thrilled.
OK, I just bought a used vehicle. First time after many years. We were buying a new ones only, by now. I was affraid to buy used ones, since I didn't feel comfortable about vehicles out of factory warranty.
That changed. I no longer drive much, so I thought, a new one would be an unnecessary luxury, at this time. I got 06 PT Cruiser with 76K miles on it, and with 3months/4500mi warranty from the dealer. I just purchased another extended warranty (from a different company) for 5 years/60000 miles, that will start after 90 days. Total cost for the vehicle and the warranty = $7400.
I hope, I'll be all right for the next 5 years. We'll see.
I've never had a new car (or a car loan) although I have been moving up in the world of clunkers. Right now both of my vehicles are around 15 years old with around 140K miles on each. Both are reliable enough that I'd be willing to get in them on the coldest winter day for a cross country drive.
I figure my daily driver is good for another 100K, and the other will last another 150K or more before they have major mechanical problems. Since I only put on about 5-10K a year, I expect that I'll finally need to replace them when the bodies rust out or fall apart rather than for mechanical reasons.
Unless you have a combined family income of over $100,000 per year, you CANNOT afford a new vehicle, regardless of what a salesman tells you.
That's quite a blanketed general statement and though your intentions are good, it doesn't hold water. Anyone making less than that could have a low debt to income ratio and afford a new car much easier than someone making more than that with a high debt/income ratio. Or a gazillion other factors. You can buy a new Nissan Versa for $9K or a used Mazda for $20K. So forth.
There's lots of reasons to buy a new car. There's lots of reasons to buy used. Some are more important than others to the buyer. The problem with keeping an old car roadworthy these days is that, unless like me you fix them yourself, labor costs are high and there comes that point where repairs exceed the value of the car.
There's lots of reasons to buy a new car. There's lots of reasons to buy used. Some are more important than others to the buyer. The problem with keeping an old car roadworthy these days is that, unless like me you fix them yourself, labor costs are high and there comes that point where repairs exceed the value of the car.
Well, this is kinda true if your values system is dollars only with no consideration for use or comfort value.
I figure once the depreciation as maxed out your personal values system will override any dollar value since , more than likely, the car will be worth more to you than anyone else.
As an example......
My 93 Suburban is in great shape body wise but the engine/tranny may need replacing in 3>4 years. The Suburban isn't worth much in dollars anymore but it fits our needs better than a new vehicle of any kind for now (a new something isn't a $$$$ issue for me) could plus we simply like it a lot.
That said, there is no amount of dollars that can override my personal value of the Suburban even if it's depreciated out today. I think Sam Walton said it best when asked why he preferred to drive an old Ford pickup all the time. Sam answered I'm rich enough to drive anything "I" want to and "I" like this old Ford.
Being rich isn't simply money. More than anything 'rich' is being able to do exactly what you want to inspite of money.
You might say that dollars, use, and comfort value are all part of the same plan. You have to find the right balance between those things.
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