Is it economical to buy new?

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I want to get a crossover SUV but I'm not sure if I'll buy used or new. If you get new, you to put on the most reliable of the vehicles miles, you get a warranty and you get better gas mileage. I can buy a brand new 2014 crossover for between 20 - 25k. Or I could buy a used 2004ish crossover with say 60k on the clock for maybe around 12k.

I put about 8 thousand miles on the odometer per year making almost exclusively short trips. I want to get a car that will last me with minimal maintenance for 7 - 10 years and it has to be reliable enough for me to trust it on long trips when I go traveling as well as be my only vehicle.

Any recommendations?
 
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Why not get something that's only a year or two old? Let someone else take the initial depreciation hit and you can save 20-30%. Many one or two-year old cars will be available as a certified pre-owned, which can give you a better warranty than what the original owner got.

Most modern cars will easily tick past 150k without needing any significant repairs, save for some very high end European ones.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Why not get something that's only a year or two old? Let someone else take the initial depreciation hit and you can save 20-30%. Many one or two-year old cars will be available as a certified pre-owned, which can give you a better warranty than what the original owner got.

Most modern cars will easily tick past 150k without needing any significant repairs, save for some very high end European ones.


I thought about that but the price doesn't seem to drop that much when you buy those cars. They might have 15,000 miles on it which is almost 2 years of driving for me. So for just a little extra I can get brand new and put those 15,000 miles on myself. I feel like those lightly used vehicles aren't that great of a deal.
 
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If you drive 8,000 miles a year, and vehicle bought with 50,000 will last you 10 years. That's less than 150,000.
 
Our last 2 vehicles were bought new with 0% financing. That made them cheaper than the 2-3 year olds with 4-6% financing charges. My Ford is used exactly as you described and is going on 8 years old. I still use it daily and as our vacation mobile. It had a few minor warranty issues the first year or so, it outlived the extended warranty with no use on it. The Caddy (our fun car) is going on 5. I still see some 0% financing out there and it makes buying new a lot closer to the price of a 2-3 year old. The newer GM's all carry 5 yr 100,000 mile power train warranties. I am a fanatic for breaking in a car right (enter the flamers) and maintaining it properly with the best fluids and filters, brakes, tires, etc. I can buy. I keep my cars a long time so the first part of it's life is important to me. Good luck on whatever you decide.
 
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If you plan to keep the car for long term like you say, buying new is a good choice. You might want to get an extended warranty like I did for 5 years and 100K. They will try to overcharge you on the ext warranty however. Act like you're not interested until the price of the warranty gets down closer to $1000.
 
Wait until November-December of 2014 and purchase a leftover 2014 when the 2015's are out.
Use used book for a 2014 as your pricing target.
Get a new year old car with no miles and full warranty for the same price (or less) than a year old used one.
Best of both worlds.
 
Cars also deteriorate with age. There are maintenance items and things that wear out after X months, not just with mileage. Don't assume that because you drive very little, you'll have less maintenance to do.
 
There's a lot of factors at play such as demand for the specific vehicle you want, resale values, if you can pay cash or if you have/want to finance.

Paying cash for a ~3yr old vehicle is pretty much always going to be a wiser financial move.

OTOH, if you want to finance and your credit is good, current car loan rates are 1-3% up to 72mo these days.
 
Can you comfortably afford a new SUV? If you can then get one.

The new vehicles are getting better mileage and are more comfortable.

I was looking at the new Chrysler 200 with the 3.6 and a 9 speed trans ... I did some rodding in the 60's and this thing would have left me in the dust.

Today's vehicles were not available 10 yrs ago and if you are going to keep it for a while I would start off as curent as possible.
 
Crossovers are booming. The Saturn VUE popularized the premise in 2002 and I was shopping a year ago for one and could not find a deal. The "buy here pay here" lots get top dollar. Because of the "population explosion" there are more options new or a couple-years old than there are used.

The flipside is if you want a 90's body-on-frame SUV they're dirt cheap.
lol.gif


PS I bought a chevy HHR instead as that fad has passed.
lol.gif
 
If you put 200k miles on it the price per mile should even out between a new car and a used car. It ends up depending on the car though, if you're cross shopping something like a five year old Altima versus a new one the fuel savings alone will make it worth going for a new car in a shorter period of time.
 
Buy new and keep until its shot. With some high end cars buying off lease makes a lot of sense but not with anything under $30k or $40k.


New only costs more if you play musical cars every couple of years.
 
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Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Buy new and keep until its shot. With some high end cars buying off lease makes a lot of sense but not with anything under $30k or $40k.


New only costs more if you play musical cars every couple of years.


+1
I've had lower costs with used cars that we've driven many miles, but buying new and keeping a car is by no means financially foolish.
You'll also have the car's history from day one, with no unreported accidents, repos, skipped maintenance or 20K on the FF oil.
 
Originally Posted By: johnachak
Our last 2 vehicles were bought new with 0% financing. That made them cheaper than the 2-3 year olds with 4-6% financing charges.


This. Either go used 5+ years old or go new.

We are looking to get a new Explorer in a few months. They are doing a "refresh" for 2015 models so the 2014s will be pretty cheap. The same is happening with the CX-9 (only a total redesign, not just refresh). But even the CX-5, now a few years old, can be had new for a pretty good price, as can the Escape.

I like to think of it cost per year. I you buy new it is about $2500 or so cost per year (for 10 years), vs. used would be maybe $1500, but then add in the likely $300 or so a year in extra repairs over new. So is it worth $700 a year for a new vehicle? Then if you are looking at financing it, you need to consider interest costs since new can be had with 0%.

And although you don't drive much, since you're looking at a crossover you need to consider gas mileage differences. Crossovers haven't started getting good mileage until the current "generation" of vehicles. 8000 miles a year at 19 mpg (realistic for an older crossover in mixed driving) is 421 gallons of fuel a year. At $3.50 a gallon that is $1473. At 25 mpg (realistic for a new 4 cyl. crossover, in mixed driving) for a newer crossover is 320 gallons, at $3.50 a gallon is $1120 a year. A newer vehicle with a V6 will bring that down a few mpg, but still not down to the mileage you'll get with an older vehicle.

If you go new be sure to check out Truecar.com for pricing. They also have a dealer network where it is no haggle and you're going to get at least a good price.
 
Around here used cars are more expensive than new cars.

Example: 2011 Aveo new $10000. 2011 Aveo with 50K miles $12000.

2011 focuses are selling for MORE than I paid for my 2011 focus new.
 
Fuel economy was the pits in 2004 compared to 2014. Fuel will either remain stable optimally or rise. I would consider that.

My hesitation on replacing our 07 MDX that is quite thirsty is the jump in MPG is not great given pricing on new stuff with better room.

Look for something recent enough that MPG is decent. For example Subaru Forester in 2004 was 19 and 25 and now is 24 and 32.
 
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
Originally Posted By: johnachak
Our last 2 vehicles were bought new with 0% financing. That made them cheaper than the 2-3 year olds with 4-6% financing charges.


I like to think of it cost per year. I you buy new it is about $2500 or so cost per year (for 10 years), vs. used would be maybe $1500, but then add in the likely $300 or so a year in extra repairs over new. So is it worth $700 a year for a new vehicle? Then if you are looking at financing it, you need to consider interest costs since new can be had with 0%.



Does this take into account resale value when you're done driving it? The new car will be able to be sold for more money than a used car when it's time to move on
 
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