New car time. Do you buy new and plan on keeping them a long time?

[shavefan]

How about lease vs buying?
I'm in the market for a new car, but not sure if I should plan on keeping it as long as I did my older ones.
These new ones have way too much (unneeded in my opinion) stuff on them that will probably cost an arm and a leg after warranty is out.
Anyway, do you lease or trade them off within a few years?

You're wise to think this. IMO, current modern vehicles are like cell phones or computers. That is, they might well be obsolete in a few years what with all their electronic gadgetry.

 

[Brompton]

I'm also in the drive it till it dies camp. I have a 2002 Toyota minivan that still works perfectly fine.

I mean, the AC is broken and the rear window defrost is broken, and there is no heat in the back, can't roll down the passenger side door.... but besides that it's fine.

 

[Lightcs1776]

This is what we would do consistently if we were not too lazy to seek out solid used cars 2 to 4 years old. What we mostly end up doing--at least for me, my wife may get a new car more often--is buying new for cash, no extended warranties, maintaining the car very well, and driving it into the ground. Never buy a used car from me. There is not going to be much left.

The last car I had was a 2004 Nissan Murano. I put about 180k miles on it, before giving it away to a guy I think of as something along the continuum of a "son." (I do not want to overstate that. If he is really a "son," I am a terrible father to him!) I would expect cars like that one and my wife's Lexus ES--at least Japanese and Korean cars--to go for a very long time cost effectively.

Leases seem to me to inherently be paying someone relatively high interest costs, and I am able to self-finance. Turning over new cars every few years seems like a high-priced luxury, that does not excite me. But for those whom it does, more power to them. I am also driving highly reliable, not too expensive to repair cars. If I was driving a Jag, I might have different considerations.

I guess another reason I bought new last time, was I wanted full, cutting edge electronics as far as crash and pedestrian avoidance, parking assistance, 360 dash view and the like, and no used car was going to have all that! So I guess each of us has what they are willing to shell out for!

I don't see anything wrong if you can purchase a new car in cash. We like to pay cash for our vehicles, but aren't at the place where we can purchase a new one in cash. Plus, I am not really into cars, unless it's a 65 Mustang or the current 718 Porsche Boxster S (I normally don't go for expensive cars, but this one is just special, and will never be driven by me).

Sent from my DROID Turbo using Tapatalk

 

[BigD]

Here's how I purchase a vehicle, especially a new one.

1. Find out how much the monthly payment is
2. How long the payment is (24 months, 48 months, so on, and so forth)
   
3. Put that amount away per month into a separate savings/money market account
4. After the amount of time you save the money that would be equivalent to the payment period go buy your new car outright.
5. Research what you want your next vehicle would be
6. Find out how much the monthly payment is
7. How long the payment period is
8. Put that amount away per month in the same separate savings/money market account which will have the leftovers from your prior car purchase
9. After that amount of time trade in your current car and pay the difference off
10. Repeat steps 5 through 9

 

[BigD]

Another way of doing it, find out how much the monthly payment is. Buy enough Ford/GM/Chrysler/such and such stock that the dividends cover the monthly payment. Wait a few dividend cycles to cover the down payment. Pay for the vehicle with your dividends.

 

[yellowgiallo]

I bought a pretty uncool car for a younger guy, a new 2015 Honda Fit. Put a lot down, paid it off in a little over a year and plan on keeping it until it is no longer cost effective to repair. Perfect little every day car in the city but does great on road trips and camping.

 

[musicman1951]

We pay cash for our cars - never had a car payment. I've had mostly used cars, but I have had 3 new cars over the years (including my current car). The new cars have to last a minimum of ten years, but that's no problem for us at 6,000 miles per year.

The best financial deal was my last car. It was a lease return and I got it with 29,000 miles for nearly half price compared with new. It was an Audi A6, and most people have them serviced at the dealer.

You really take a bath trading them in at the three year mark and they are still great cars.

 

[cw62803]

I buy brand new cars and drive them until the wheels fall off. After the wheels fall off, I drive them some more until the wheels fall off again. Then I buy another brand new car, if I'm still alive.

 

[Canadian Mountain Man]

Motorcycles are purchased new and are usually kept for 5-7 years. Had a couple of very bad experiences buying used.

Primary personal vehicle (has always been a 1/2 ton or SUV) purchase 2 to 4 years old and keep for about 4 year. I consistently put 40,000km (25,000 miles) a year and after 4 years usually facing some serious maintenance.

 

[FarmerTan]

Here's how I purchase a vehicle, especially a new one.

1. Find out how much the monthly payment is
2. How long the payment is (24 months, 48 months, so on, and so forth)
   
3. Put that amount away per month into a separate savings/money market account
4. After the amount of time you save the money that would be equivalent to the payment period go buy your new car outright.
5. Research what you want your next vehicle would be
6. Find out how much the monthly payment is
7. How long the payment period is
8. Put that amount away per month in the same separate savings/money market account which will have the leftovers from your prior car purchase
9. After that amount of time trade in your current car and pay the difference off
10. Repeat steps 5 through 9

Been doing mostly this for 30 years.

 

[REV579]

I prefer not to buy someone else's problem. My daughter is driving our 2004 Sequoia(we bought it in '06 from someone we knew). Replaced our 2002 Suburban with a 2011 Camry(still driving it). I'm driving a 2016 Silverado and my son's working on his Driver's License. He will get the Sequoia when he's legitimate and our daughter should get a nice surprise to take to college next year.
If I can't count on it lasting 10 years(not to say I want to drive it 10 years), I'm really not interested in it. A four year note and driving it for 8 years is kind of sweet.

 

[Frozenshades]

Brought home a brand new 2018 GTI last Sunday to replace the 2007 model I had
I feel like a kid in a candy store with all the new tech. Weird switching back to an automatic, but the DSG is pretty spiffy. With the financial beating VW has taken from all the diesel nonsense I think they really want to move cars, so can't complain to a good price deal and a 6 year 72k mile warranty. If I can get minimum of 8-10 good years out of it that's good with me!

 

[Rhody]

Recently i found the used market "stuck" with the internet dealers across two states all had very similar pricing for 2015-2016 models no one would negotiate more than a few hundred dollars i ended up getting a better deal going new 2018 the process took such a long time and sales people really just suck the life out of the process

 

[StillShaving]

Agree that current models have too much high-tech. My environment is fairly controlled and I do not need a mandatory backup camera for example. And I do not want some audible warning that it is a bright sunny day and there is a child seat fastened in the car, so check to make sure that some child has not sneaked into your backseat before locking the door with the windows rolled up.

Nightly Business Report (2018/10/25) had a segment noting that many of the domestic makers are having reliability issues (starting at 21 minutes).

 

[REV579]

You go in on the 28-29 and ask to drive the car for 2-days. On the last day of the month they want to close it all out. Now is the time. Drive it Fri-Sun. You’ve also removed it from inventory. Monday they are ready to do something. Be ready too. Know your credit score. Know what interest rates you can get before the offer you 2pts higher. Do some math about monthly note, ext warranties, early pay-off, etc. most importantly, know the market.

 

[njpaddy]

My wife and I buy new and keep them until:

1 - repairs start costing more than the car is worth and it's junkyard ready, or
2 - the car has problems during the warranty period (will never buy another Dodge or car built in Mexico) and we trade it in before the warranty expires.

I've had a few cars that barely made that last trip to the junkyard or were towed from my driveway.

 

[FarmerTan]

My wife and I buy new and keep them until:

1 - repairs start costing more than the car is worth and it's junkyard ready, or
2 - the car has problems during the warranty period (will never buy another Dodge or car built in Mexico) and we trade it in before the warranty expires.

I've had a few cars that barely made that last trip to the junkyard or were towed from my driveway.

It is a good feeling when it feels good to have money put in your hand from Fred Sanford knowing that you squeezed every mile out of that automobile.

 

[ColtRevolver]

I have bought both new and used. Regardless I keep them a very long time. Right now, I have 7 that I have owned more than ten years. Four of those I have had greater than 20....The one that I drive the most frequently I bought new 25 years ago.

 

[McNasty]

New or a couple years old, depending on the valuation. And then drive em. Both cars are now iffy. Of course, they are 20 and 14 years old. They don't owe us anything.

I am gonna test drive a Chevy Spark one of
these days. If the Honda Fit had higher seats I would buy one of em.

Leasing or frequent trading is costly. Any decent car, well maintained, should last ten + years.

For not much more and definitely a longer life look at the basic Civic.

 

[The Knize]

Recently i found the used market "stuck" with the internet dealers across two states all had very similar pricing for 2015-2016 models no one would negotiate more than a few hundred dollars i ended up getting a better deal going new 2018 the process took such a long time and sales people really just suck the life out of the process

That is interesting. I said I was lazy in buying new rather than used. I suppose also risk adverse. That is no matter how careful one is in buying used, there is still some additional risk over new. So I am paying a premium to avoid the additional hassle of buying used and the risk of a whole lot of hassle and expense if I end up buying someone else's problems. That premium is probably bigger than I should be paying some level. But I consider my time and energy fairly valuable and competed for these days.

I suppose I am walking kind of north and south though in that I am willing to put in quite a bit of time and effort, and risks of more of the same, on the other end of a car's life.

Re major service costs: <I buy brand new cars and drive them until the wheels fall off. After the wheels fall off, I drive them some more until the wheels fall off again. Then I buy another brand new car, if I'm still alive.> That seems about right to me. One can incur some substantial expenses and still have those expenses be way less than the expenses of acquiring, operating, and depreciating a new car over a year. I have repeatedly fixed cars where a mechanic or more likely a dealer was suggesting to me that the repair was not worth it given the worth of the car, and I have had that car keep going for years. But I am willing and able to absorb that financial risk.

For that matter, if I were driving a lot and really relying on having my car not break down on the road, it might be another calculation. I drive about 15 miles to work in what is essentially the city. Not a big deal to have my car break down and get towed to the shop or whatever and me Uber to work!

Again, I am talking about highly reliable, relatively reasonable to fix cars here. I understand that higher end cars are so expensive to fix that getting new ones every few years is the way to go. We are apparently a long way from Mercedes bragging about how many owners have them for 100s and 100s of thousands of miles.