New car~?

Joined
Dec 12, 2015
Messages
45
Location
Florida
I have a friend who constantly tells me I should buy a new car.. My current driver has 150,000 miles on it, gets 21.9 mpg, uses absolutely no oil, and is extremely comfortable. Any new car the I might consider buying costs over $50,000 and gets 21 to 30mpg. I've been offered $2500 trade-in allowance for my car, and wonder if what I save in improved mpg will pay for the $47,500 new debt in any foreseeable time frame~!! Seems to me that I can buy an awful lot of gas and make some pretty expensive repairs to my car qith that much money~!!
 
I have a friend who constantly tells me I should buy a new car.. My current driver has 150,000 miles on it, gets 21.9 mpg, uses absolutely no oil, and is extremely comfortable. Any new car the I might consider buying costs over $50,000 and gets 21 to 30mpg. I've been offered $2500 trade-in allowance for my car, and wonder if what I save in improved mpg will pay for the $47,500 new debt in any foreseeable time frame~!! Seems to me that I can buy an awful lot of gas and make some pretty expensive repairs to my car qith that much money~!!
If you don't care or need a newer vehicle-don't buy one. I am assuming it hasn't left you stranded.
 
Yeah, maybe push back on the friend a slight tad bit. You no doubt gave your reasons, they just aint listening to you or respecting your opinion.

The few major considerations for a new vehicle are 1) safety is compromised such as rust, 2) lack of semi-modern or recall replaced airbags 3) the safety of the vehicle itself is no longer within your tolerance.

I say #3 with some subjectivity, I would not be caught driving, owning, and would be near terrified of riding shotgun in a pre 2000 Honda Civic or similar class or smaller vehicle on US roads due to it crumpling like a tin can over 50mph. Unfortunately i witnessed a couple die in the exact situation from a side hit.

One more consideration that will silence them a bit, ask them to fork over the $47k.
 
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Normally, I would drive my 2000 Maxima until it's totally worn out. Given its age and miles, the most likely item to break is a timing chain guide. Unfortunately, the next car I want to buy is a Toyota Hybrid, which is in very short supply and waiting lists are about 6-12 months.
 
Cars rot like crazy up here, but $50k is too much to toss around willy-nilly. I'd drive what you have for longer, until it's reliable or until you don't care about that $50k.
 
I would like to upgrade the family's DD to something newer than my 2011 Prius....mainly for more room. We just want something larger for day to day driving - the truck is too large for that.

But for the 5k miles/yr that my Prius gets driven, neither of us are super interested when the Prius still averages 35-40 mpg and has never left us stranded. And at 236k, it owes us nothing.
 
I would like to upgrade the family's DD to something newer than my 2011 Prius....mainly for more room. We just want something larger for day to day driving - the truck is too large for that.

But for the 5k miles/yr that my Prius gets driven, neither of us are super interested when the Prius still averages 35-40 mpg and has never left us stranded. And at 236k, it owes us nothing.
I imagine these days you could trade even for a similar mileage and age 2wd CRV/RAV4.... An exciting prospect I'm sure... Or a Acura MDX type vehicle, although premium gas in California must be a bit painful to buy...
 
Buy a new car if you want one. New cars are expensive. Sounds like you are happy with what you have; that's a good thing.
This. Tell your friend if he’s so worried about what you’re driving he’s free to buy anything and give it to you. Until then, you have a reliable car that’s not constantly in the shop and you’ll keep driving it.
 
Normally, I would drive my 2000 Maxima until it's totally worn out. Given its age and miles, the most likely item to break is a timing chain guide. Unfortunately, the next car I want to buy is a Toyota Hybrid, which is in very short supply and waiting lists are about 6-12 months.
I'm wondering if those new battery replacement lines are going to be 6 to 12 months as well?
 
I have friends like that and I think they are trying to justify the money they spent on their new car. I enjoy having no car payment and lower car Insurance. The only reason I would buy new is if mine became unreliable or as I age it becomes to difficult to get in and out of.
 
If you don't want a new car, don't buy one.

That's a good problem to have. I seem to get the itch to buy another one fairly often unfortunately.
 
Emotional = New car purchase which often leads to buyer remorse once the payments kick-in.

Keep your car running and enjoy life. My 0.02cts
 
If you don't want a new car, don't buy one.

That's a good problem to have. I seem to get the itch to buy another one fairly often unfortunately.
Is my grand caravan perfectly fine? Yes. Do I want a 4x4 full size SUV to replace it? Yes. Is being a sensible, responsible adult and NOT doing that incredibly hard for me? Also yes.
 
Wait like 6 months till the next "cash for clunkers" program starts. Its gonna be worse than '08 and you will be able to scoop up the car of your choice for half off. Don't believe me? Go look at forum posts on car forums back in those days. I picked up an V6 Avalon in 2008 for literally 15k OFF MSRP as long as I paid "cash". I bought it outright, who wouldn't when you get such a deal!

The housing/car/asset apocalypse is right around the corner.

Only reason I buy new cars is I roll over equity from current cars when the time is right. Usually with some good haggling and patience you pay bellow MSRP for your previous car so you offset the depreciation when you trade it in to a new haggled car.
 
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