Sell when Basic Warranty Expires

  • Thread starter Thread starter Al
  • Start date Start date
Probably better than leasing - at least your on your own schedule if your mind changes, if you want to drive new and different cars all the time.

Return likely depends on the model. Some models depreciate very little.

If your doing it for the warranty - extended warranty might be a better option, but it doesn't cover everything.

Its your money, so as you wish.
 
We all have our own ideas about the most sensible approach to car ownership as well as where we want to put our financial resources.
Nothing wrong with trading off a car every five years if that's what gives the OP peace of mind in his use of his cars.
 
Al said:
At the age of 78 and being financially good (not wealthy) this method is not for everyone.

I did this with a '16 Spark, '19 Crosstrek, and '22 Forester. If I am still alive, next up will be a'27WRX.

My '22 needed tires- I buy top end tires so $1300+, CVT oil change (+400), Walnut blasting in the 1 year future. Also the Basic warranty. Its hard to put a price on that. So all in all this method keeps me with new vechicles, latest safety and zero repairs.

Why am I posting this? BC its an exciting saturday nite. :rolleyes:
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^^^^^ Proof that even boomers know how to troll!
;)
 
I'll chime in,
I'm 67 and I keep cars for about 10 years. Then I either trade up or sell privately.
I'll mention I just went through a lemon law. Buyback with a Mercedes. This was a retirement present to myself, this car gave me nothing but problems. I went with a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. So far knock on wood. I have over a thousand mi on it with no problems, again knock on wood. The Mercedes gave me problems within 200 mi.

So my point here is, at a senior age. I don't want to have to deal with constant issues. For me it makes good sense to buy a relatively reliable car and just keep it for a while until it gives you problems that you can't mentally or physically handle.

Cars are not an investment, They are a luxury. It's Very hard to get back what you paid for a car or the depreciation. Just my two cents here. Enjoy!
 
I used to work with a guy that traded in his pickup every 2-3 years . He said he wanted to stay in a new vehicle and trade while it still had some value . Whatever ...
 
Al said:
At the age of 78 and being financially good (not wealthy) this method is not for everyone.

I did this with a '16 Spark, '19 Crosstrek, and '22 Forester. If I am still alive, next up will be a'27WRX.

My '22 needed tires- I buy top end tires so $1300+, CVT oil change (+400), Walnut blasting in the 1 year future. Also the Basic warranty. Its hard to put a price on that. So all in all this method keeps me with new vechicles, latest safety and zero repairs.

Why am I posting this? BC its an exciting saturday nite. :rolleyes:
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I agree it’s nice to always have a worry free car and you deserve it!! I suspect a lease would make more financial sense for a new car every 3 years, but I will not tell anyone how to spend what they earned.
 
I do not intend to blow up this thread....it's just that I had an experience which fits so well.

A neighbor, a widow approaching 90, had three major assets.
1) Whatever savings/pension/social security
2) A nice, attached condo in the Mid-Atlantic region
3) A small, old house on a postage-stamp sized parcel way up in a quiet place....where I know her from.

She needed to move to a "semi-assisted" residence where she says she'll be cared for for life.
The cost was essentially her current condo + the small house in bucolic city.

I walked by to show her our new dog on the very last day she was in the old house. I didn't know it was the final day.
Her two daughters and their husbands showed up with their own untrained, barely controllable monster dogs.
These people didn't even look up to say hello to their mother's immediate next-door neighbor of nearly 60 years (me).

She donned a raincoat to come out and say hello to me and Gus (our dog).

Later, I mustered the courage to ask her if they had come by to scold her for "spending their money".
She said, "Of course. I haven't seen either of them in over 5 years. They only contact me if they need money."

My favorite line from her pertained to one daughter and SIL. "Two PhD's and not an ounce of common sense between them".
"Kids" isn't always a sacred word. Some people are truly garbage.

Hey, let's be a bit compassionate; maybe her princesses just wanted the old, small peaceful house as it lies close to where they live.

And a comment, if I may?
Use of terms like "boomers", "Gen X", "Gen Y" and "Gen Z" serve only to polarize as there's little distance on a time-line to distinguish among them. It'd be better to classify people along the mechanical development time-line they were born into.
Ex: People who were born before or after radio....the same for TV....the same for the internet. The soil they were planted in is more determinative than their mere DOB....though that does correspond.

Even the clumsy term, "The Greatest Generation", smacks of marketing rather than reverence; it sure isn't modest.
 
I’m not convinced that a lease makes “more sense” or “costs less” than buying new.

The depreciation between new value and end of lease is the same.

The lease has a money factor that needs to be negotiated, and that is going to be higher (typically) than the rate on a loan, and much higher than the current savings account interest.

The best reason to lease - the full lease is deductible as a business expense, while mileage is difficult to track and hard to claim.

Otherwise, a lease is a tool that car salesmen use to get people with lower incomes into a more expensive car than they could otherwise afford. Great for car salesmen, not so good for the financially naïve.

So, pay for that new to xxx age/miles depreciation value however you choose, through a lease, with a money factor on it, or a loan, with interest on the whole thing, or with cash, forgoing interest on the cash.

The advantage of Al’s approach - he is not locked in to the terms of a lease, he is not bound by any of those terms - he is free to sell this car whenever he chooses.
 
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Kira said:
Even the clumsy term, "The Greatest Generation", smacks of marketing rather than reverence; it sure isn't modest.
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It is modest, because they didn’t choose it for themselves. Subsequent generations created the label.

If some particular person calls themselves, “the greatest”, pretty good bet, they’re not.

If someone else calls that person, “the greatest”, pretty good bet that they are.
 
I know folks that do this, a car payment is consistent spending and guarantees a reliable car that is replaced every so many years and you lose the hassle of repairs and maintenance (for the most part). Having older no car payment cars isn't free like many like to tout but they are certainly lower cost to own than a new car every few years but whatever folks want to spend their money on. Life is short, enjoy what you have. I know folks that buy/sell a vehicle every year or less and always have the latest and greatest, they aren't in deep debt/finanically irresponsible, they just choose to spend their money that way which course is....fine. I wish I could do it sometimes but I'm not wired that way (nor have the disposable income to do so).
 
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Astro14 said:
The advantage of Al’s approach - he is not locked in to the terms of a lease, he is not bound by any of those terms - he is free to sell this car whenever he chooses.
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^^this. Call his cars a "more liquid depreciating asset".
nomas said:
I have to strongly disagree with that statement .
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You certainly may.
In my experience, the term is only used in commercials or promotions for TV shows (also commercials).
That it popped into our vernacular and vanished fairly quickly speaks volumes.

And to Astro14's point: Assigning that term to another group can just as legitimately be called "condescending". The 'assigners' are script and ad copy writers who endeavor to create catchy words. If one of their babies (dreamed up slogans) doesn't get traction, it gets dumped or replaced.

Also, the thing which rankles me is that the term was always attached to the sale of War Bonds and the notion that, "they paid for the war (World War Two)". While that's a good thing, all that's left is the echos of a slogan...we don't even look at the basics of deficit financing.

Make up a term...go "Rah-rah-rah"...then onto the next platitude or focus of derision.

Being transformed into gangs of cheerleaders is a huge part of what's wrong with this country.
 
A very good buddy of mine ran a very successful business just removing wallpaper. At one point he had four trucks on the road and about a dozen employees. He'd trade in his work vehicles every three years, once in a while stretch it to four years. He felt it was better than a lease because he didn't have to concern himself with miles or months of a lease. He would typically get out of the vehicle just around the time the vehicles needed brakes and/or tires. They also were still worth something on a trade. Combine that with business write offs, etc. that system worked very well for him for over 40 years.
 
Astro14 said:
What logic are you defending?

@oil pan 4 directed his comments at me.

I said let the 78 year old buy what he wants. Full stop.

Oil Pan made the point that I am a narcissist who doesn’t care about my children because I would rather stroke my own ego.

Without knowing anything about what I have done for my children, or how my children are doing, or what legacy I might have already provided, he seeks to tell me that I should focus on them, instead of choosing how to spend my money.

Really?

On that basis of zero facts - of zero context - you defend his statement?

Perhaps you should know how someone’s kids are doing, what Dad has done for them, how much Dad has sacrificed, before you’re able to fairly judge, and criticize Dad.
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I think oil pan was misunderstood and I indicate I can see the danger in what he was saying if I read further

I also said I am not against OP approach although, in separate posts, would get a Lexus or EV or Hyundai if out-of-warranty repairs are scary. Personally, I spent $4k on all expenses minus insurance, registration fees, and gas for my 2012 Honda Fit Sport, which currently has over 180k miles and is on its 4th set of tires. The only things I do myself is changing the oil about once a year, ATF every 2-3 years, and ATF filter at 175k miles. It had two 3 repairs; an A/C leak for $235 done at shop, spark plugs replaced as an emergency service at 170k miles for $200 because I completely forgot about it and one broke off and my personal mechanic had to buy parts from AAP for $125 and charged me $75 for labor as the spark plugs are located in the bar, and A/C blower fan component burnt out at 150k miles for $125 because my personal mechanic had to remove the lower section of the dash. This is the same mechanic that just recently charged me $150 in labor to replace all 4 rotors and pad sets and replaced some control arm for my Honda Accord. I paid $189 for parts and he charged $150 for labor. The same shop that fixed my A/ C leak on the Fit failed my state inspection snd wanted $1685 to do the work. The onky thing that scary me about owning a old car is annual state inspection and that problem is only real past 12 years and many miles and I can address it by asking for the repair list to order parts for my mechanic to take care of.
 
Thanks for defending me Astro :LOL: . But seriously I certainly did not expect many to agree with this "plan". Looks like it turned into a good discussion and really I hoped it would.

But the idea of a Lease may be worth pursuing. I may do that. Thanks
 
joekingcorvette said:
Go ahead and get a new one. Some day none of us on this board will be able to drive any longer. Enjoy your life and get a new vehicle. Buy something with a history of good resale and you will be just fine.
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Most people at 78 would be concerned with being called to DMV principal office to surrender driver license and I think they would be better off using Uber for safety and convenience. I feel the same way about inexperienced driver or idiot bikers who are so insecure that they have to rev high at the lights or lane splitting.
 
Al said:
Thanks for defending me Astro :LOL: . But seriously I certainly did not expect many to agree with this "plan". Looks like it turned into a good discussion and really I hoped it would.

But the idea of a Lease may be worth pursuing. I may do that. Thanks
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Do whatever you want with your money but out-of-warranty shouldn’t be a reason. I didn’t know a Corvette only starts at $69k. If my house isn’t on a hill, I would buy one once GM resolved all the mechanical problems that is enough of a concern for my dentist to cancel his pre-order snd keeps his current Corvette longer.
 
M1Accord said:
I think oil pan was misunderstood and I indicate I can see the danger in what he was saying if I read further

I also said I am not against OP approach although, in separate posts, would get a Lexus or EV or Hyundai if out-of-warranty repairs are scary. Personally, I spent $4k on all expenses minus insurance, registration fees, and gas for my 2012 Honda Fit Sport, which currently has over 180k miles and is on its 4th set of tires. The only things I do myself is changing the oil about once a year, ATF every 2-3 years, and ATF filter at 175k miles. It had two 3 repairs; an A/C leak for $235 done at shop, spark plugs replaced as an emergency service at 170k miles for $200 because I completely forgot about it and one broke off and my personal mechanic had to buy parts from AAP for $125 and charged me $75 for labor as the spark plugs are located in the bar, and A/C blower fan component burnt out at 150k miles for $125 because my personal mechanic had to remove the lower section of the dash. This is the same mechanic that just recently charged me $150 in labor to replace all 4 rotors and pad sets and replaced some control arm for my Honda Accord. I paid $189 for parts and he charged $150 for labor. The same shop that fixed my A/ C leak on the Fit failed my state inspection snd wanted $1685 to do the work. The onky thing that scary me about owning a old car is annual state inspection and that problem is only real past 12 years and many miles and I can address it by asking for the repair list to order parts for my mechanic to take care of.
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Then, you and I have taken the same approach to cars.

From the time I got my first car, in 1981, until now, I have bought used, and kept them running by turning my own wrenches (and the occasional paint gun, or interior work).

Always thought it was the cheapest way to go. Two examples:

I got the 1970 Fairlane in 1990 for $250. Sold it in 1995 for $100 (I’ve told the story before). Depreciation on that beauty was about $30/year. Hard to beat that.

My most recent acquisition was the 2004 XC90. Put about $4,000 in parts (and hundreds of hours in free labor) into it to bring all the systems up to date and make it a reliable daily driver. I paid zero for it, so, depreciation will never be a meaningful number on that car. There is only the cost of parts and labor to keep it running. So far, it has nearly 20,000 miles since that work. Cost/mile is low and going lower.

That said, when I am 78 - maybe I don’t want to turn wrenches any more.

Maybe I just enjoy a new car and the life I have earned.

I think @Al has it right - no stress, no worries, no getting under a car anymore.

Sounds great!
 
Al said:
Thanks for defending me Astro :LOL: . But seriously I certainly did not expect many to agree with this "plan". Looks like it turned into a good discussion and really I hoped it would.

But the idea of a Lease may be worth pursuing. I may do that. Thanks
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If post warranty repairs are of concern, a Lexus may be appropriate. Since you are certainly not on a budget, a Huyandai or Kia aren’t need but a Telluride or a newest Santa Fe are pretty hot.
 
Im 61 , both vehicles are like 20 years old, both motorcycles are 10 to 20 years old, Have zero desire to buy anything new, unless forced to.

I will have to eventually replace the wifes 21 year old toyota, or it is a top of the list
 
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