Should we buy new?

[Thermo1223]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
I am really getting tired on this armchair financial adviser stuff.


You did ask the question...just sayin'.


No I get asked what I don't get is inferring all kinds of this & that from asking a question.

"O he takes out loans, he must be living pay check to pay check."

"He doesn't buy in cash, he can't afford to live within his means."

We live WELL within our means but there is no sense draining our savings.

These are the answers I got not is it worth paying up to $5k cash now for an SUV or should be buy it at a low apr. We would plan to just keep the thing forever is we did go newer used which is where I am swinging now. I see no point buying new when the same money will get me the same car certified with 10k miles.

 

[hattaresguy]

Go lease a new Rav4 or something than and stop asking if you don't like the advice your getting.

 

[Dakota1820]

Maybe if people gave relevant advice and actually used some tact. We wouldn't have these problems. Can't imagine why a bunch of members aren't seen anymore on here they probably got sick of the [censored]

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
I am really getting tired on this armchair financial adviser stuff.


You did ask the question...just sayin'.


Exactly! Thermo - in your original post, you brought up borrowing from your mother-in-law, your 401k, your lease, loan rates and a host of other personal details.

You posed this as a financial question.

You got financial advice.

This surprises you?

 

[dwcopple]

supton, How do you put 25K miles on a year on your cars? Do you live in them?

 

[SteveSRT8]

my wife puts 125 a DAY on her truck, I averaged 70k a year for 3 decades. Not that many now thank goodness!

 

[Cujet]

Thermo,

Purchasing a new, quality, affordable vehicle likely won't cost you more than a used one, when you look at the cost per mile. "if" you keep it for it's lifespan.

I'd advise anyone to carefully consider needs, finances, and actual cost of ownership, including insurance, gas, registration, personal property tax (if it applies) and maintenance costs (trucks/suv's can be far more expensive) and any other costs. Then do a cost per mile analysis. My guess is that you will recognize which vehicle you want to pay for very quickly this way.

 

[Dakota1820]

^^exellent and very well said

 

[Boatowner]

My observation is that certified pre-owned is almost never as good a deal as a well negotiated new car of the same model. I buy new and keep for years.

 

[JHZR2]

Agreed.

 

[supton]

25k/year... Well, it was 32k/year for a while! Let's see, I live 45 miles from work (but I prefer the 50mile route which is a pinch more highway). We visit the inlaws once/month; that is 200miles each way. My parents for a while were a similar distance too; but now they are more like 1,000miles away--so we only do that trip over Christmas.

Wife's car gets used as bus, taking kids to school. Everyone can sleep in at least 30minutes if mom drives them, as the bus route is just not good for us--5 minutes of driving for one school, 10+ for the other (which doesn't have a bus route anyhow).

Throw in some random trips, and it appears we are doing about 25k/year on each of our cars. I figure 22k is just my commute to work and back. Camry gets 32mpg with her driving it (I get 27-28), while the VW pulls 45 if I drive for time, or 51 if I don't.

Huge waste of time, but we like where we live, and we got hurt by the housing bubble: when we refinanced we wound up getting PMI, we had lost so much! So moving isn't an option for at least a few more years. [We bought when it was located in between our places of employment; we thought she might go back to work after having kids. Somehow we've managed on one income, so, in a few years we'll look again at where we are and where we want to be.]

 

[Thermo1223]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
I am really getting tired on this armchair financial adviser stuff.


You did ask the question...just sayin'.


Exactly! Thermo - in your original post, you brought up borrowing from your mother-in-law, your 401k, your lease, loan rates and a host of other personal details.

You posed this as a financial question.

You got financial advice.

This surprises you?


No I got lots of people inferring bull not advice...that does surprise me.

The reason certified pre-owned came up is the longer factory warranty. Isn't that worth it though?

 

[JHZR2]

Just because it isn't the answer you want to hear doesn't make it bull or nonsense.

You said about 401k and various loans. All that is well established to be bad moves.

You said about AWD. I hear you, some of my friends think they need it too. But Easton isn't Montana. 611, 22, 78, etc can all be rough, but mid Atlantic just does not have the setup to justify the cost of AWD. Can't they have their opinion?

I know you had some seemingly harsh responses. But numbers don't lie. And recognize that things like long-term loans, be it from a 401k, student loan or family, on a depreciating asset, especially one with finite life like a used car is a fairly poor idea to many. The math on why leases are bad is shown in this and other threads.

Sorry you got some rough responses. Please do realize that the approaches mentioned in them are really done out of care, because when you run the numbers and see the big picture, so many practices have only the bank's best interest in mind. Believe it or not, and run the numbers to prove it to yourself, much of the advise you have here that seems mean is actually far more with your best interest in mind than anything!