Financial incentive - New vs Used vehicle

[MoneyJohn]

Hello folks,

I am out in the market for a vehicle, small SUV. Living in NY and with the brutal winter we had, current Nissan Sentra fishtailed so many times that it scared me to death (It is also clocking 95K now, and will stay with me). Settling down on Subaru (Forester/Outback) primarily for their AWD design. But this post is not about the vehicle per se, instead about what financial incentives do I have in buying a new vehicle as opposed to the old one.

The Subarus I am looking at are about a year or 2 old. First of all, there are not many and those in the market are not priced that lower than the new vehicle. I am going to get max 50% of finance. So if I a buy a new vehicle, what rebates/extra cash do I get that I do not get with an used one?

The old vehicle was bought for me, all I did was to sign, rest everything was done by my relative so I really have no clue, what I paid for and what I did not. If any more information needed to answer this question appropriately, please ask for it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[loyd]

Go talk to a dealer, they can explain any dealer or factory incentives. On a side note, if you buy a new vehicle you will have a full factory warranty and the piece of mind knowing that the car has never been abused.

 

[99Saturn]

http://www.edmunds.com/car-incentives/

I think there is a Suburu credit card out there as well, maybe someone can comment if there are periodic "special offers" for credit card holders that are any good.

I know when we bought the Cruze, the combination of the small manufacturer rebate that was going on as well as the promotional rebate they sent out to "select" credit card holders made it a pretty easy decision.

Also, as an aside, not sure where you are in NY, driving needs, etc., but a set of snow tires if you don't have them already might do wonders.

 

[i812]

You might get a better idea over here:How much did you pay your outback 2013-2014?

Cars101

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: MoneyJohn
current Nissan Sentra fishtailed so many times that it scared me to death

Was this on proper winter tires?

Whatever new car you get, proper winter tires will make more of a difference than any kind of AWD system for confident winter driving.

 

[gathermewool]

I know you're looking for replies specific to buying new vs used, but I wanted to add that having AWD may not have helped if the fish-tailing you experienced was attributable to the tires. In other words, I would prefer and choose to drive our Subaru in heavy snow and other inclement wintry weather over our Civic with snow tires, but would choose the Civic with snow tires for icy or slick conditions (e.g., freezing rain and sleet.)

Both vehicles are all-wheel stop, shifting safety to the vehicle with better tires.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: MoneyJohn
current Nissan Sentra fishtailed so many times that it scared me to death

Was this on proper winter tires?

Whatever new car you get, proper winter tires will make more of a difference than any kind of AWD system for confident winter driving.


This!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: MoneyJohn
current Nissan Sentra fishtailed so many times that it scared me to death

Was this on proper winter tires?

Whatever new car you get, proper winter tires will make more of a difference than any kind of AWD system for confident winter driving.


This!

If you buy a Subaru with bald tires, it won't do any better in the snow in regards to stopping and turning.

 

[glock19]

Of course if he buys a Subaru and uses snow tires he will run circles around the Sentra.

EDIT: Except for a BRZ of course.

 

[Phishin]

My wife and I just bought a 2009 Subaru Forester. She had 44k miles on the clock when we bought it. Brand new set of tires and brakes.

Just the base model, Forester X, I think it's called.

We paid $14,000 for it.

I think new they are about $21k. I don't know about you, but $7k is a lot of money to me.

With my savings, I quickly purchased enough Redline Gear Lube to do the front and rear differentials. And enough Subaru ATF-HP to flush the tranny and power steering system 3x each, with plenty of fluid left over.

No brainer for this guy.

 

[Kuato]

Tires aside, back to OP's question....

I'd go new for three reasons.
1) With prices same as a year or two old model you are ahead of the game and the vehicle has not been abused by previous owner. AND it has a known maintenence history - yours.

2). Current incentives on the Outback include 0% interest up to 63 months. That would mean that financing only 1/2, your monthly out of pocket would be under $200.

3). They have sales and incentives for a reason....unloading the '14s before the next model year comes in. This will allow maximum negotiation power, especially towards the end of the.month.

 

[eljefino]

Buy new. Also get maybe a lower APR on your loan rate.

Old subarus hold their value, ridiculously.

Also, from following subies in the snow, there are two types of drivers: Really good ones who use the car and its abilities, and total morons who hope the car will be a crutch for their lousy skills. You don't want the moron's used car.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: glock19
Of course if he buys a Subaru and uses snow tires he will run circles around the Sentra.

EDIT: Except for a BRZ of course.


Actually a BRZ still is far more of hoot over any sentra any day especially with winter tires in snowy conditions. It can do drifting circles around a Sentra.....

 

[PandaBear]

Buy new, there's no reason to buy an couple years old car if the depreciation is not there, especially in a salt area.

But have you tried snow tire and see if it works? Getting new snow tires should be much cheaper than getting a new car. You can always get another set of steel wheels and only use them in the winter, or buy a set of new snow tires every couple years and just use them in the summer.

 

[SteveSRT8]

New works if you keep them and have the financing right. These days there are ridiculous loans available. We recently got a new fleet truck with virtually free financing, and when you are talking aftermarket mods that rarely happens.

I also like new because I can maintain the vehicle my way from day one, this makes a real difference if you keep them to high miles...

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Since you can't afford to pay for the vehicle up front, if I were in your shoes I'd either wait and save up the entire cost of the vehicle or purchase something that I could afford.

I make it a habit to live within my means and not pay someone else interest. I prefer to earn interest and keep my money working for me rather than working for someone else. I can't imagine being a slave to monthly payments. Your post sounds as if you are fairly young-once you get older the financial decisions you make now will come back to either haunt you or make you very, very happy. The choice is yours, and every penny counts-it's why so many 50 and 60 year olds don't have nearly enough to retire.

There is one poster above that has it right-loans are indeed ridiculous. Unless you are the lender.

 

[Vikas]

Replace the tires on your current vehicle and don't look back.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Replace the tires on your current vehicle and don't look back.

+1 Go with a decent snow tire a size narrower and one taller and you'll fishtail much much less. A subaru will fishtail under the same conditions as your Sentra with 3 season tires anyways. All the AWD "magic" only happens when you are on the gas, which was not when your sentra was fishtailing.

 

[BearZDefect]

If only the Outback were also available with FWD or RWD instead of AWD. I like the utility of that vehicle, but simply don't want AWD complication since I have no need for it. In my case, if it is too slippery to get going, it is also too slippery to turn and stop.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
but simply don't want AWD complication

What sort of complication exactly? Subaru AWD is probably the most bullet-proof system out there. The car will be junked due to some other failure, but AWD is rarely ever the reason.

Quote:
since I have no need for it.

Does it ever rain where you live? If it does, then AWD will help you. But yeah, not really a necessity.