What is the value of being the original owner of a car?

[Badgerstate]

In deciding whether to put a major expense into a car, what is the value of being the original owner of a car and keeping it, as opposed to buying a used car? If you're the original owner, you generally know every thing about the car's maintenance, something you can never be 100% confident about when buying used. I am trying to calculate whether it is worth it to put money into a car and keeping it for several more years, or trading it in, and to me there should be some factor as to what a car is worth if you're the only registered owner. Is it worth 20% more than book value? 15%? 10%?

Thats the canundrum. Either you buy new and know the history of the car but have to make payments or you buy used, pay less and are never quite sure of the car's history, how it was cared for and how it was driven.
To be fair though, even buying new you never know because someone at the factory could have messed something up with it was built.

 

[avacado11]

What does original owner even mean these days though?

unless you are meticulous with maintenance being the “original” owner doesn’t mean anything. I know plenty of one owner cars that are ridden hard and put away wet. All I got to say is very few people sell their cars because it didn’t have issues

 

[avacado11]

False. They are often extremely smart.
I bought a "used" $60,000 car for 1/2 price because it was a decade old. It had less than 10k miles. It was in mint condition. I paid cash. So I'm neither poor nor a cheapskate. It's called being intelligent and not wasting money. Most of the wealthy financially smart people I know do not lease nor buy new, they buy used and get a "new" car for 1/2 the money.

we all value cars differently, there’s really no right or wrong answer. If you want a new car, buy a new car. If you want a used car, buy a used car. I may value spending the extra $30k for modern tech where as you don’t mind having older tech. Wouldn’t say it’s money wasted or unintelligent if I enjoyed it.

if you truly wanted to be intelligent with your money you’d ride the bus and never pay for maintenance or insurance, but sometimes we all got to live a little. what’s the point in making money if you don’t get to enjoy it?

 

[avacado11]

Yeah, I’d also add that I think people make mistakes when they buy “certified pre owned” and pay a premium for THAT. Sometimes a certified pre owned will cost you an extra $3,000 and for what? So, that that 30,000 mile car has been gone through by a tech at a dealer? Meanwhile the private owner sale with the same mileage Has also been serviced accordingly.

$3,000 is a lot to overcome for piece of mind on a lower mileage vehicle still under factory warranty. And depending on the vehicle itself, an extended warranty “protecting“ you up to 100,000 miles may not be necessary either.

CPO is just a money grab for dealers. All it really gets is a factory extended warranty, which most of the time you can buy with any 2-3 year old car. but the nice part is they tend to filter out the rougher examples from the get go.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

we all value cars differently, there’s really no right or wrong answer. If you want a new car, buy a new car. If you want a used car, buy a used car. I may value spending the extra $30k for modern tech where as you don’t mind having older tech. Wouldn’t say it’s money wasted or unintelligent if I enjoyed it.

if you truly wanted to be intelligent with your money you’d ride the bus and never pay for maintenance or insurance, but sometimes we all got to live a little. what’s the point in making money if you don’t get to enjoy it?

I'm responding to Dishdude who called everyone poor or cheapskates, who would dare buy a used car...

 

[avacado11]

Thats the canundrum. Either you buy new and know the history of the car but have to make payments or you buy used, pay less and are never quite sure of the car's history, how it was cared for and how it was driven.
To be fair though, even buying new you never know because someone at the factory could have messed something up with it was built.

even new cars will eventually develop issues so it’s never a safe bet. IMO the most efficient way is to buy a 3-4 year old off lease car, drive it for another 3-4 years, sell it when it’s 6-8 years old or before the “high mileage” threshold, and repeat. This is all based off pre-covid prices. These days used cars are going for more then they used to.

back in 2015 it wasn’t uncommon to see 3-4 year old Accords going for half of their new MSRP. These days they still go for 70%, which would wipe out any long term savings. This is probably the worse time to buy any used car.

 

[dishdude]

I'm responding to Dishdude who called everyone poor or cheapskates, who would dare buy a used car...

The topic of this thread was if being an original owner added value to a used car's price. My point was someone buying used is looking to save a buck, if they wanted a perfect example they'd buy new.

Of course this is assuming we're talking about mainstream cars, if we're talking about specialty, classic or exotic cars that's out the window.

I stand by my statement that folks buying used mainstream cars are on a tight budget or cheapskates that won't pay extra for intangibles like an "original owner".

 

[CharlesInCharge]

The topic of this thread was if being an original owner added value to a used car's price. My point was someone buying used is looking to save a buck, if they wanted a perfect example they'd buy new.

Of course this is a generalization, if we're talking about specialty, classic or exotic cars that's out the window.

I stand by my statement that folks buying used mainstream cars are on a tight budget or cheapskates and won't pay extra for intangibles like an "original owner".

Yet, you've been given multiple examples proving you to be wrong. Trust me, I have plenty of assets and cash. The reason, is BECAUSE I mostly buy used durable goods b/c retail is almost always for suckers. I could pay cash right now for most common new cars but that is economically foolish because you normally lose 1/5th the value in year 1, and you pay high taxes and about double insurance premiums, etc.

And I'm thoroughly unimpressed with most of the features found on new cars, or at least not impressed enough to pay the new-car-tax that comes with it. I don't need most of the driver distraction junk, nanny technology buzzers and beepers, the very cheaply made materials, and owner-frustrating designs like no dipsticks or drain plugs which aggravates me to no end.

You can retain your opinion, but it's not correct nor based in reality.

 

[dishdude]

Yet, you've been given multiple examples proving you to be wrong. Trust me, I have plenty of assets and cash. The reason, is BECAUSE I mostly buy used durable goods b/c retail is almost always for suckers. I could pay cash right now for most common new cars but that is economically foolish because you normally lose 1/5th the value in year 1, and you pay high taxes and about double insurance premiums, etc.

You can retain your opinion, but it's not correct nor based in reality.

You just described a cheapskate.

 

[avacado11]

someone buying used is looking to save a buck, if they wanted a perfect example they'd buy new.

This right here. Nobody buys a used car wanting it to be brand new unless they have a hard time separating from their money. But that’s a different
issue.

If they want it to be brand new they will buy brand new. Nothing worse then a person coming onto my lot complaining about wear n tear on a 9 year old car that’s 1/5 of the original msrp. I tell them the new car dealer is down the road.

does a one owner help me move a car off the lot? Yes. But I’ve never had someone come to the lot specifically looking for a one owner car. The one owner stuff usually comes rougher than the ones that have seen 2-3 owners.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

You just described a cheapskate.

Says the guy with a 16 year old Corolla. lol. You're calling me, and others here, a cheapskate.

Sure bud. If you're not a cheapskate, let's see your 8 car garage filled with brand new cars and trucks. lol.

Spare us. You've already been explained that WEALTHY people buy used cars because there are often practically new cars available at 1/2 price. I know. I have one, that I paid cash for.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

This right here. Nobody buys a used car wanting it to be brand new unless they have a hard time separating from their money. But that’s a different
issue.

If they want it to be brand new they will buy brand new. Nothing worse then a person coming onto my lot complaining about wear n tear on a 9 year old car that’s 1/5 of the original msrp. I tell them the new car dealer is down the road.

does a one owner help me move a car off the lot? Yes. But I’ve never had someone come to the lot specifically looking for a one owner car. The one owner stuff usually comes rougher than the ones that have seen 2-3 owners.

Must be nice doing business with a used-car salesman who detests and looks down on his customers who buy his used cars. lol.

 

[dishdude]

Says the guy with a 16 year old Corolla. lol. You're calling me, and others here, a cheapskate.

Sure bud. If you're not a cheapskate, let's see your 8 car garage filled with brand new cars and trucks. lol.

Spare us. You've already been explained that WEALTHY people buy used cars because there are often practically new cars available at 1/2 price. I know. I have one, that I paid cash for.

Please show me where these new cars for 1/2 price are.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

Please show me where these new cars for 1/2 price are.

Please show me where these new cars for 1/2 price are.

Reading comprehension. "...WEALTHY people buy used cars because there are often practically new cars available at 1/2 price..."

This means, well maintained, low miles, lightly used, etc. The market was flooded with them as recently as 18 months ago. Apparently you missed it.

 

[dishdude]

Reading comprehension. "...WEALTHY people buy used cars because there are often practically new cars available at 1/2 price..."

This means, well maintained, low miles, lightly used, etc. The market was flooded with them as recently as 18 months ago. Apparently you missed it.

They never existed.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

They never existed.

I'm tapping of this pointless exercise. You're right, everyone else in the world is wrong including wealthy people who literally do this.

 

[Skippy722]

Reading comprehension. "...WEALTHY people buy used cars because there are often practically new cars available at 1/2 price..."

This means, well maintained, low miles, lightly used, etc. The market was flooded with them as recently as 18 months ago. Apparently you missed it.

You can be wealthy and still be a cheapskate.

But… you’re not wrong. When we bought our 2016 Chrysler 300 in 2018 it was about 1/2 price of MSRP of a new one even at Carmax.

 

[TiGeo]

There is zero value in the trade-in market to being a 1-owner car...dealers don't care. In the private sale market *maybe*. Depends on what kind of vehicle this is really...is this a run-of-the-mill everyday vehicle? Is this a somewhat special/rare vehicle?

 

[OVERKILL]

Reading comprehension. "...WEALTHY people buy used cars because there are often practically new cars available at 1/2 price..."

This means, well maintained, low miles, lightly used, etc. The market was flooded with them as recently as 18 months ago. Apparently you missed it.

You are making gross generalizations here and then accusing him of doing the same. Take a step back, take a breath, you can both be technically right because there isn't a "right" or "wrong" answer on this.

My parents are reasonably wealthy, they bought used when I was a kid (like 30 years ago) but more recently, have gone with buying new, and then holding onto the vehicles until they are no longer serviceable. They are currently shopping and will buy new again. My employer, who is extremely wealthy, buys a brand new truck every few years and his wife gets a brand new SUV.

I've historically bought used, but our last few vehicles have been new due, in large part, to huge discounts I receive because my friend owns the dealership. If we are speaking of depreciation, my Jeep is currently worth more on trade than I paid for it. If you have a decent trade, that wipes the taxes out on the new purchase for the most part, and insurance rates are highly vehicle dependent. It's no more expensive for me to insure my SRT than it was for me to insure our 2002 Expedition for example.

Most of the wealthy/very wealthy I deal with tend to drive vehicles they bought new. But that certainly doesn't mean that they all do.

Wealth is also relative, if you are spending millions on a new yacht every few years, the price of a new car isn't overly significant in the grand scheme of things.

 

[demarpaint]

The short answer: The value is knowing how the vehicle was maintained, cared for, and driven. Some people prefer to buy cars from the original owner where the maintenance history can be documented, others don't care at all.