Would you ever buy a brand new car? - Page 2

[MamaMonica]

We bought two new cars (after having use cars previously). Dh got a Toyota Prius- there was no price break on a used one. I got a new Saturn in 2000 and plan to drive it until it falls apart.

In the Tightwad Gazette, Amy D. bought new cars, and she's the ultimate frugalista.

Dh's Prius is still worth about what he paid for it.

[Rainbowbird]

Never never never. When I was single I did buy a new Ford Escort and drove it into the ground. Sold it when it was 10 years old for $500. Before that car, I bought a gorgeous used Mazda 626 in excellent shape. I LOVED that car! Now we only buy used.

I agree with the PPs who say it is not worth it to buy new unless you have a lot of disposable income to throw around. A car is the absolute worst investment you can make. As the others said, the second you drive it off the lot, it's worth 30% less than when you bought it. You can buy a used car with just a few thousand miles on it for less money, and pay less taxes. If you shop around,you can find great deals.

Our current car is a 2000 Ford Taurus wagon that we purchased in '02 for $5000 when it had 60k on it. It had been very well-maintained. We saved up and paid cash for it. It's given us no problems.

DH drives an ancient Toyota Camery that again is a workhorse and has given us no trouble. Even if we had to spend $1000 on it for repairs, we'd still be way ahead than if we had bought it new.

I will add that my FIL is a mechanic and goes over the cars for us before we buy. So we feel confident that we are getting something safe.

I also like the idea of buying used because it is the greener thing to do, provided, of course, the car is fuel-efficient and passes emissions!

[UUMom]

I;m new here- I did an intro, so I hope it's ok to participate without seeming like I am barging in.

Amy D is a huge used car proponent, but her dh once did buy a new car, but it was some sort of crazy deal. I think she wrote once about buying new only if you could pay cash. I think...well, let me get the book, lol, so I know what I am saying...ok here it is:

"Purchasing a new car can only be considered economical if you plan to own it for more than 10 years, you maintain it meticulously, and you buy it with cash. The exception would be if your cash is invested in a safe plan that has a higher interest rate than the interest rate you could get for a car loan. At least try to pay off the loan quickly". (She also mentions not buying a compact car if you are planning a family etc).

This was before 0% car loans, obviously. If a person can pay 30k cash or so for a car without it denting the budget or sacrificing more important things, then who are any of us to say what a person should spend their money on, yk?

I've has such great luck with used cars. We;ve not owned very many cars and I like not having monthly car payments, even if they were to be 0% interest. I'm currently driving an 8 yr old Volvo wagon that I love. It's got everything and I paid 3k for it. Can't beat that with a stick. It was a 35k car new, yk? Even if I have to fix something in the next few years (did a ton of research before I bought it and had it checked out etc), it's still nowhere near a monthly car payment on a 30K loan. And given that so many new cars have issues and recalls, it's hard to say that even a new car won't present with some problems. They'd be covered, but you would still have the aggravation.

While buying new is an option, so is buying used. The right used car at the right price is going to be an easier pill to swallow than $400-500 montly payments for years. Unless money isn't an issue and you have the 30-40k available. If ya do, that's *cool* and you should buy what makes sense for your family. Well you should do that anyway. But if I had 40k readily avilable, I'd take the kids on a trip around the world.