Does it really make financial sense to buy used over new?

[50yr Street Mech]

Never said they were better. Just said they stole their customer base. H/K lured people in with that 10yr / 100,000k warranty. I worked on H/K's for years. They are junk. No doubt about it. But, they dragged Honda down. That's what ticks me off. Honda was GREAT !!!!!! Honda use to be one of those cars or trucks you never had to worry about. Just do the maintenance, and you were good for 300-400k. An old friend of mine had a 1988 Acura. 850k on it. No problems. Until a tree fell on it one day. He was heartbroken.

 

[tbm5690]

The consumer is somewhat to blame for the overall decrease in quality. Average Joe doesn't want to keep the same car for more than 4-5 years, and it seems that 100k now is the new 200k for the mileage where cars are seen as "too used". Point is, reliable or not the masses dump their vehicles for new ones much more often now so why should a manufacturer care about longevity?

 

[MCompact]

Definitely not true.

80's Japanese cars have a certain smell to them that I love.

I feel the same way about 70’s BMWs.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Not buying that. The auto industry is producing garbage. How many different manufacturer's have fuel/oil dilution because of GDI ???? That's happening right off the floor of the dealership. Poor quality control, or they just don't care anymore. " We know the fuel is mixing with the oil. The hell with it. Mass produce it " The Ford Ecoboost with the timing belt swimming in oil....put it out there ! Manufacturer's just don't care any more.

 

[tbm5690]

Not buying that. The auto industry is producing garbage. How many different manufacturer's have fuel/oil dilution because of GDI ???? That's happening right off the floor of the dealership. Poor quality control, or they just don't care anymore. " We know the fuel is mixing with the oil. The hell with it. Mass produce it " The Ford Ecoboost with the timing belt swimming in oil....put it out there ! Manufacturer's just don't care any more.

Not arguing that these aren't issues, but the average consumer doesn't care, in part because the average consumer has no idea what fuel dilution, GDI, or a timing belt is. As long as the 12" infotainment screen works on the test drive it's good enough.

 

[MaximumMini]

Agreed. Modern consumers are about as bad as the junk they over pay for.
GM is so cheap now, they skip BASIC mechanical common sense items, you know, like slots and keys on crankshafts (WTH???)
They just press them on. But people need the status and image so they will hock themselves neck deep in debt to drive that brand new $65,000 pickup.

And those "extended warranties"...yeah...good luck when you need it.
those warranties were designed to make more profit for the vendor....not waste it on your problems.

 

[The motor guy]

Given the option....
I'd rather have a dependable old vehicle parked in front of my beautiful mansion, and be able to afford any car I want........
Than have an $80k new vehicle parked outside my mobile home while I struggle to make ends meet.
(No offense intended if you happen to be the latter)
Just me.
ymmv

The skirt covering the wheels makes it an official house. I am offended

 

[MaximumMini]

The skirt covering the wheels makes it an official house. I am offended

As long as you also financed those skirts its all good

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Then the average consumer wouldn't be buying new then. That just tells me they can afford a new car,,,,or can afford the extra note a month...I can't afford either one.... Good for them. I buy " New Car Scent" little tree air freshners. That's about as far as I get. Like I said, you got $$$$, go buy 7 cars, one for each day of the week...More power to ya !

 

[3GTL300k]

I've have two old vehicles and one of them is described in my screen name. When one of them dies or gets totaled by a deer or someone hitting me, I'm going to buy a new car. I'll probably get a new Camry or Corolla Hybrid and keep it until it fails. Saving a few grand on a 2-3 year old used one doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather have it new and maintain it the way I want.

 

[JHZR2]

The consumer is somewhat to blame for the overall decrease in quality. Average Joe doesn't want to keep the same car for more than 4-5 years, and it seems that 100k now is the new 200k for the mileage where cars are seen as "too used". Point is, reliable or not the masses dump their vehicles for new ones much more often now so why should a manufacturer care about longevity?

No idea what you’re talking about.

We have two Hondas that are just below and just above 100k. Both are like new. A set of tires on each, a few suspension parts and brake pads, one timing belt job. So what? I knew about the tb when I bought the van new 100k ago.

Vehicles definitely used to be shot at 75-100k. If not shot then corroded. Unless they were some of the greats, like Mercedes diesels, some Toyota/honda vehicles, some police duty vehicles.

For all the commentary on here about how folks are going to maintain their cars to last 300-400k miles, very few do. Very few ever did, and those that did saw mostly highway miles or similar service.

 

[tbm5690]

No idea what you’re talking about.

We have two Hondas that are just below and just above 100k. Both are like new. A set of tires on each, a few suspension parts and brake pads, one timing belt job. So what? I knew about the tb when I bought the van new 100k ago.

Vehicles definitely used to be shot at 75-100k. If not shot then corroded. Unless they were some of the greats, like Mercedes diesels, some Toyota/honda vehicles, some police duty vehicles.

For all the commentary on here about how folks are going to maintain their cars to last 300-400k miles, very few do. Very few ever did, and those that did saw mostly highway miles or similar service.

My point was, the average car buyer doesn't keep a vehicle past (or in many cases, ever get to) 100k as they rotate vehicles like they do iPhones. I wasn't talking about a vehicle's capabilities of being reliable past 100k. My MDX will hit 100k this month and I have no plans of getting rid of it anytime soon.

 

[MaximumMini]

I've have two old vehicles and one of them is described in my screen name. When one of them dies or gets totaled by a deer or someone hitting me, I'm going to buy a new car. I'll probably get a new Camry or Corolla Hybrid and keep it until it fails. Saving a few grand on a 2-3 year old used one doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather have it new and maintain it the way I want.

You may not have to wait long for that failure.

Unfortunately, most people seem unaware that it's no longer as simple as "buying a new car"
Toyota is another of the major auto manufacturers who have moved from a "Quality Product" business model to a "Maximum Profit" business model. The product Quality is down significantly. Longevity is deliberately avoided (planned obsolescence). Failure by design. The service has become costly regardless of whether you buy or lease. You can certainly pay a lot for a "Full Coverage Warranty", but when it comes time to benefit from that warranty you paid for you may not get what you paid for. Read the fine print in the entire contract (even if it takes days)...then get a Lawyer to explain the limits. And for God's sake, don't buy Carshield warranties.

 

[Arc]

buying used makes sense especially if you pay cash and can work on the vehicle yourself.

 

[Rmay635703]

The consumer is somewhat to blame for the overall decrease in quality. Average Joe doesn't want to keep the same car for more than 4-5 years, and it seems that 100k now is the new 200k for the mileage where cars are seen as "too used". Point is, reliable or not the masses dump their vehicles for new ones much more often now so why should a manufacturer care about longevity?

That simply isn’t true, the age of the average vehicles are steadily increasing , a very small subset of people are ditching vehicles often but many who ditch a vehicle now are doing so involuntarily because they are becoming non-repairable faster

 

[50yr Street Mech]

That's one reason I buy used. I pick a make/model that I know I can work on. Just that it's not easy finding what you want. May take months, so you really can't be in a rush when looking for a car you can work on AND suits you're needs. The last one I found I got lucky. It was my sister's neighbor's car. Total of 2 days and it was mine. The guy just so happened to be lookin to get rid of it.

 

[Kurtatron]

You may not have to wait long for that failure.

Unfortunately, most people seem unaware that it's no longer as simple as "buying a new car"
Toyota is another of the major auto manufacturers who have moved from a "Quality Product" business model to a "Maximum Profit" business model. The product Quality is down significantly. Longevity is deliberately avoided (planned obsolescence). Failure by design. The service has become costly regardless of whether you buy or lease. You can certainly pay a lot for a "Full Coverage Warranty", but when it comes time to benefit from that warranty you paid for you may not get what you paid for. Read the fine print in the entire contract (even if it takes days)...then get a Lawyer to explain the limits. And for God's sake, don't buy Carshield warranties.

You know who will suffer the most through all this? I theorize it’s the people who love buying cheap beater vehicles.

Modern cars can go the distance, 200k, but beyond that, repairs are much more complicated or expensive.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Very true. You need a master's degree to work on these new fangled gizmo's there putting out there. No more just a carb, wires, plugs, cap, rotor, air filter. Whole new game now. Their building them to force you to bring it to a dealer for repairs.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Never said they were better. Just said they stole their customer base. H/K lured people in with that 10yr / 100,000k warranty. I worked on H/K's for years. They are junk. No doubt about it. But, they dragged Honda down. That's what ticks me off. Honda was GREAT !!!!!! Honda use to be one of those cars or trucks you never had to worry about. Just do the maintenance, and you were good for 300-400k. An old friend of mine had a 1988 Acura. 850k on it. No problems. Until a tree fell on it one day. He was heartbroken.

This statement makes no sense. If Honda was so great and H/K were stealing all the Honda customers, Honda could just have offered 100K warranty and been done. Since they were so awesome it would have cost them nothing.

Honda drove their own selves into the ditch - just like Nissan and several other Auto OEM's. They figured they could offer slop and their loyal sheep buyers would just follow along. Its what happens when management thinks there better than their customers.

H/K didn't seem to steal anything from Toyota. Possibly Honda buyers moved along just because they were sick of being told how awesome Honda was when they were not anymore.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

You can't even find a cheap beater anymore. Those days are gone. I used to buy them for $ 500 back in the day.