Anyone get a new car every year or two?

[Phaedrus]

Originally Posted by wesley_w

I disagree with that. Like I posted earlier, I keep my car for a long time and take care of it right from the start. I could not care less what it's resale value is either. I will agree that to make it cost effective you have to keep the car as long as you can. In my case they've all been with me at least 12 years.
I haven't figured out the total because I can't remember what I paid for each of my cars but I bet my total amount spent on car payments through my lifetime is quite small.

You mean, something like what Bob Sikorsky does?



http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Forever-Secrets-Long-Automobile/dp/0965757706

[isuno1fan]

I do this...1st of all, one of my cars is a company car for which I get a new one every two years.

Because I don't have that much of a choice on the company car side, I have a loaded F150 Supercrew Lariat for my other vehicle. Started with a 2001, then got a 2004, and last July got a 2007. With each purchase, my monthly payment went down even though I was getting a new vehicle.

[mramseyISU]

Originally Posted by jtaconutz

Here is what you do:

Buy a car that is 2 years old and plan on driving it until the wheels fall off. If you were making payments on it, make sure to continue to make payments to yourself after the loan expires.

When the wheels finally fall off you will have enough money to pay cash for the next 2 year old vehicle.

Then repeat.

This way the MAN isn't making any $$$$ off of you and you become your own MAN.

That's a damn good idea.

[jumbopackage]

Originally Posted by dmclone

I could say this with about every product. It almost always makes more sense financially to buy a used item over a new one. Of course you don't want to buy used food.

Cars are different, though, in that there really ISN'T a difference between a brand new one and one that's been driven for a year, really.

Originally Posted by wesley_w

I disagree with that. Like I posted earlier, I keep my car for a long time and take care of it right from the start. I could not care less what it's resale value is either. I will agree that to make it cost effective you have to keep the car as long as you can. In my case they've all been with me at least 12 years.
I haven't figured out the total because I can't remember what I paid for each of my cars but I bet my total amount spent on car payments through my lifetime is quite small.

I agree with you mostly Wesley, but you can buy a year or two old car and save thousands of dollars and still get a vehicle that's in just as good of shape. You're still better off buying gently used than you are new, even if you keep it for 20 years.

Originally Posted by cycloneworld

Then why doesn't everyone buy Hy-Vee or Wal-Mart brand groceries? They are basically the same product but one cost more than the other. It's all about personal taste.

No, there is actually an appreciable difference between generic groceries and name brand ones, for the most part. I can tell Kraft from Crap Mac and cheese.

All you "gotta have a new car" people go to a rental car company and drive 5 different models of the same car. One brand new all the way up to one with, say, 20k miles on it (when they generally ditch them) and tell me if you can tell a difference. I drive quite a few rentals and I've had cars with under 100 miles all the way up to cars in the 30-50k range. The difference between them is unnoticeable.

[redrocker]

I always buy new and keep them a minimum 10 years or 200,000 miles. I am VERY particular on doing all the propper maintenance myself (thanks Jiffy Lube for teaching me that), and keeping them in the very best condition.

[wesley_w]

Originally Posted by jumbopackage

I agree with you mostly Wesley, but you can buy a year or two old car and save thousands of dollars and still get a vehicle that's in just as good of shape. You're still better off buying gently used than you are new, even if you keep it for 20 years.

Yeah, you are right about the cost Jumbo, in fact I know I could get a BETTER car than the ones I buy if I did it that way. The thing with me is I want to know the oil was changed and stuff like that so to me personally it is worth it to get new. My mechanic told me that how you treat a car in the first 10,000 miles is extremely important...moreso than how you treat it after that.

A similar thing is I bought a lense recently that was very high dollar. I could have gotten the same lense used and even refurbished by Canon and it would have been just as good and I would have saved quite a bit. But for this lense which I will have for many years it's important to me to be the original owner. That's kind of how I treat big ticket items but like it's been said before in this thread it's a matter of personal taste.

[dmclone]

Originally Posted by jumbopackage

All you "gotta have a new car" people go to a rental car company and drive 5 different models of the same car. One brand new all the way up to one with, say, 20k miles on it (when they generally ditch them) and tell me if you can tell a difference. I drive quite a few rentals and I've had cars with under 100 miles all the way up to cars in the 30-50k range. The difference between them is unnoticeable.

True sometime but it's not always the case. Automakers usually change models every 3-4 years. Next time you're at the rental company compare a 2004 Chevy Malibu and then drive a 2008 Chevy Malibu.

[ISUFan22]

Who am I or anyone else to judge what others do or don't do?

Not breaking a law? Not impacting my day/life?

Do what makes ya happy...

[ColoradoClone]

Originally Posted by ISUFan22

Who am I or anyone else to judge what others do or don't do?

Not breaking a law? Not impacting my day/life?

Do what makes ya happy...

Exactly! There are so many different things that people choose to spend there money on where others may think it's unnecessary. I don't understand why people get so worked up about others choosing to spend their money on cars. It's one of many financial decisions. It's not like these people don't know there are cheaper ways to get transportation. I could look down on someone or tell someone their making a bad financial decision if they buy a used car and drives it into the ground instead of riding their bike or taking public transportation, but I don't. It's not my decision to make or my money to manage.

[redrocker]

Originally Posted by jumbopackage

All you "gotta have a new car" people go to a rental car company and drive 5 different models of the same car. One brand new all the way up to one with, say, 20k miles on it (when they generally ditch them) and tell me if you can tell a difference. I drive quite a few rentals and I've had cars with under 100 miles all the way up to cars in the 30-50k range. The difference between them is unnoticeable.

You must be way different than people I know, or myself. I have never treated a rental car good. I beat the heck out of em, with no worries, because,... It Ain't Mine.

[4429 mcc]

Has any one considered buying a car from a salvage dealer? I've considered it many time but the risk was never worth the reward to me.

Heres a link to a place I look at a lot. I've talked to the owner there and he said the best cars are the "stolen cars" most of them taken for joy-rides. Then found a month or two later with no damage. By then the insurance company has started and finished the claim process and these type of places buy them.

Here the link. "Repairable Cars Pickups SUV's MotorCycles HeavyTrucks and Vans Sam's Riverside Inc." select cars

[msbcr4isu]

My family once had a pontiac trasnport in the 90s and it would still be running if the axel hadn't broken. It had 300,000 miles on it! They got their money out of it im pretty sure...

[Cydkar]

Originally Posted by isuno1fan

I do this...1st of all, one of my cars is a company car for which I get a new one every two years.

Because I don't have that much of a choice on the company car side, I have a loaded F150 Supercrew Lariat for my other vehicle. Started with a 2001, then got a 2004, and last July got a 2007. With each purchase, my monthly payment went down even though I was getting a new vehicle.

But every month you have a payment.:)

[jumbopackage]

Originally Posted by wesley_w

Yeah, you are right about the cost Jumbo, in fact I know I could get a BETTER car than the ones I buy if I did it that way. The thing with me is I want to know the oil was changed and stuff like that so to me personally it is worth it to get new. My mechanic told me that how you treat a car in the first 10,000 miles is extremely important...moreso than how you treat it after that.

A similar thing is I bought a lense recently that was very high dollar. I could have gotten the same lense used and even refurbished by Canon and it would have been just as good and I would have saved quite a bit. But for this lense which I will have for many years it's important to me to be the original owner. That's kind of how I treat big ticket items but like it's been said before in this thread it's a matter of personal taste.

I can understand about the Lens. I'm mostly that way with golf clubs too. 10k miles in a car is only 2 oil changes. On top of that, engines aren't as finnicky as they used to be when it comes to that stuff. Synthetic oil makes a huge difference too. I'm not saying it's always bad to buy new, just that there isn't really a logical reason not to buy used. I have never owned a new vehicle. In fact, in my 14 years of driving I've owned precisely three vehicles. I bought a used 91 Chevy pickup with 100k miles on it and put another 100k miles on it before selling it to my dad for a buck. The engine was clean as a whistle inside when he got it rebuilt (even though it really didnt' need it...dad was just that way). I've put 100k miles on my current car, though it's got some bits and pieces that need work at the moment. I've also got a van with 120k miles on it.

I haven't ever bought a vehicle with fewer than 60k miles on it, and I've never had problems with anything mechanical inside the engine on any of them.

Originally Posted by dmclone

True sometime but it's not always the case. Automakers usually change models every 3-4 years. Next time you're at the rental company compare a 2004 Chevy Malibu and then drive a 2008 Chevy Malibu.

Oh I know this. I'm talking about within the same model year. So far this year I've had two 2008 Malibus and an Aveo. I actually liked the Aveo better, except that it had all the cajones of a neutered housecat. I don't get all the hype on the Malibu. It still drives like a Chevy.

Originally Posted by redrocker

You must be way different than people I know, or myself. I have never treated a rental car good. I beat the heck out of em, with no worries, because,... It Ain't Mine.

Oh don't get me wrong. I recreated the race to the top of Pike's Peak recently in a Saturn Ion (one of the worst vehicles I've driven in recent memory). I'm just saying I can't tell the difference between a brand spanking new car and a "slightly" used one.
I had an 07 Toyota RAV4 recently with 20k miles on it I could have sworn was brand new.

[redrocker]

Originally Posted by Cydkar

But every month you have a payment.:)

Someone finally said it. I love not having a car payment. I will put money into keeping it running longer and not having the payment to the bank.