Car window shopping this weekend

[Omega1217]

I think It's important to remember that vehicles can last a lot longer nowadays even with a lot of mileage. I remember when 100k was pretty much the end of a vehicles usefullness and you were left with a rusted heap of junk. You now see cars in excess of 150k without a spot of rust on them and it seems to get better every year.

It makes the new vs. used debate a lot tougher than it used to be.

I agree!

I'm driving a 1999 Acura TL that has no rust and close to 190K miles on it.

It's not as "pretty" as it once was, but still looks pretty good and feels good to drive.

(Hope I haven't jinxed it by posting!)

Omega

[creditcardfree]

How about newer used? We bought our 2007 Honda Odyssey this past May...only had 4500 miles on it. We love our van...leather seats, DVD, plenty of room for two kids, their toys, and friends. No regrets.

The nice thing about your situation is that you are not in a hurry to find a vehicle. Take your time and find the best deal!!

[disneysteve]

How about newer used? We bought our 2007 Honda Odyssey this past May...only had 4500 miles on it.

I bought my current car, a 1998 Camry, in August 1998. It was a dealer demo and had about 11,000 miles on it. I saved about $5,000 by buying slightly used.

Jim, what is it about a used car that your wife doesn't like? Is she afraid of getting unknown problems? Does she want the new car smell (which is toxic, by the way)? Will she buy other things used - clothing, household items, etc., or is she all new, all the time?

[MomofFour]

How about newer used? We bought our 2007 Honda Odyssey this past May...only had 4500 miles on it. We love our van...leather seats, DVD, plenty of room for two kids, their toys, and friends. No regrets.

The nice thing about your situation is that you are not in a hurry to find a vehicle. Take your time and find the best deal!!

Ahhh, exactly the type of vehicle I would love to find a great deal on right now. My DH and I are by no means shopping for a new vehicle but if we stumbled on a great deal we would definately be interested!

Jim, I do agree that the smartest financial move would be to try to avoid buying new if at all possible, but maybe you can score some really good deal right now with all the trouble to auto industry is having! May be worth it to keep the peace at home!

[GREENBACK]

Part of the issue is talking the wife into the used car. I pick my battles. Wife let me increase 401k for her 3 percent with no raise to make up for income loss in 2009... so if the 3 percent 401k raise costs me a new car every 10 years, I am OK with that.

The plan is for wife to get new car.
When my 2004 ridgeline dies around 2014 I get wife's old car
she gets the replacement.

I doubt she'll want used, we will see.

As the old saying goes....."If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".

[jIM_Ohio]

I bought my current car, a 1998 Camry, in August 1998. It was a dealer demo and had about 11,000 miles on it. I saved about $5,000 by buying slightly used.

Jim, what is it about a used car that your wife doesn't like? Is she afraid of getting unknown problems? Does she want the new car smell (which is toxic, by the way)? Will she buy other things used - clothing, household items, etc., or is she all new, all the time?

The only new clothes my wife gets are usually the ones she gets at xmas, or the ones I buy her for b-day or anniversary gifts.

We really don't buy much household items (we received enough at our wedding). When we need a new blender or something we get it, usually at a wal mart, and get middle of the line types.

We will finance the car over 2 or 3 years regardless. So in some ways I can acquire more money for a car fund if the car is new (difference in payment might be $200/mo or $2400 total). That is $200/mo she gets used to not spending now, and then gets added to savings in 2 years.

[jIM_Ohio]

My wife has decided a used pilot is acceptable which will save us around $300/mo on the payments.

We were able to negotiate a new 2009 Pilot EX-L (fully loaded with leather, dvd and similar) down to $31,995 (MSRP is 37k+). We could not negotiate the lease turn in very well (we owe another $4000 right now- $2200 in payments and $1850 in milage).

[disneysteve]

My wife has decided a used pilot is acceptable which will save us around $300/mo on the payments.

That's great. $300/month is a lot of money.

[jIM_Ohio]

This is where new vs used confuses me.

$300/mo over 36 months is 10800.

Pilot is 37k
in 3 years I could sell it for more than 27k maybe (the used ones we are looking at are between 20k and 29k)

If I look at 32k price I negotiated, I know the 10k I spent would be worth it (car would be worth more than 22k 3 years later I think unless we blew milage out of the world).

If I look only at the $3600 per year, maybe year 1 car is worth less than loan, but by year 2 or 3, I would think the extra 10k I spent got me an extra 3 years of using the car.

Where is my math bad?

[Russell]

Pilot's nice, it's big in 2009, bigger than your Ridgeline. My wife will never go for a van but if she did I'd get the Odyssey. They're just a nice family car/van to take on road-trips and easy to live with everyday.

I'm a car nut and have had everything from an exotic car to what we have now. I drive a 97 BMW 3 series, wife has a 2004 Accord (our family car), we also have an old pickup truck, a full-blown race car and an old motorcycle. The latter three usually just sit there unfortunatley...and yeah I need help...I know

[disneysteve]

Pilot is 37k
in 3 years I could sell it for more than 27k maybe (the used ones we are looking at are between 20k and 29k)

Where is my math bad?

You mentioned that your wife drives 20K/year. Do the 3-year old ones in that price range have 60,000 or more miles on them? Even for a Honda, I'd expect mileage like that to lower the resale value.

[noppenbd]

This is where new vs used confuses me.

$300/mo over 36 months is 10800.

Pilot is 37k
in 3 years I could sell it for more than 27k maybe (the used ones we are looking at are between 20k and 29k)

If I look at 32k price I negotiated, I know the 10k I spent would be worth it (car would be worth more than 22k 3 years later I think unless we blew milage out of the world).

If I look only at the $3600 per year, maybe year 1 car is worth less than loan, but by year 2 or 3, I would think the extra 10k I spent got me an extra 3 years of using the car.

Where is my math bad?

Say the new car is 32K, you put 2K down, and get payments of $900 a month for 36 months. After 3 years it is worth 24K (which is generous). You have paid 900*36 + 2000 = 34,400, and after selling you lose approximately 10K on the whole deal.

The used car is 22K, you put 2K down, and get payments of $600 a month for 36 months. After 3 years it is worth 16K (estimating here). You have paid 600*36 + 2000 = 23,600, and after selling you lose only 7600 on the deal, plus you maybe pocket some interest on the 300 you got to hold on to each month.

[jIM_Ohio]

The new car might have been purchased for 32k, but it's depreciation starts from MSRP of 37k. The used ones we are looking at (2006) are 3 years old and worth more than 24k if they have less than 40k miles more or less.

The depreciation numbers look bad on 4 year or longer payment plans that have high interest rates. I would pay 10k more to get 3 more years out of the car is my point.

Pay $600/mo for 36 months to get 9 years use
or
Pay $900/mo for 36 months to get 12 years use
The extra $10000 for 3 years looks OK to me.

[disneysteve]

Jim, I think there are instances (and this may be one of them) where the new car works out to be the better deal. If you can get a really good price on the new vehicle and the interest rate is better on the new car loan and you plan to keep the car long term it can make sense.