Comments on: How I Squash the New Car Bug

By: Paula

Paula — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 04:05:11 +0000

I have never owned a new vehicle. My husband and I are both currently driving fuel efficient vehicles that are over ten years old. Not only do we not want to make car payments, but we can’t afford to. I know eventually, and probably relatively soon, we will need to replace these cars with newer ones and that is something that I dread doing.

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:32:21 +0000

I have two cars, a 1972 Mercedes sedan and a 1992 Pontiac Bonneville. The total mileage on both cars is around 100K. Right now I’m not working as I’m bound up taking care of an elderly mother. Nonetheless, my old jobs were 2-3 miles away and I did have an 1980 Saab that I put 50K miles over 15 years. The Pontiac has had very little done to it besides 2 master cylinders and a water pump. I don’t intend on getting another car until one of these dies. By then there should be plenty of good choices of more fuel efficient cars.

By: Alan M

Alan M — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:48:17 +0000

Are we still discussing this topic. I’m all over it if we are.

By: amb

amb — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:49:52 +0000

thanks joel
amb

By: Chicago Gal

Chicago Gal — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:37:34 +0000

I think you have the right car to last 10 years. Buicks are great for reliability long term. I have had several and am very happy with their quality, comfort and reliability.

I too see people around me buying new cars every 2 or 3 years and I do feel a bit left behind sometimes. Luckilly I enjoy not having car payments and having lower car insurance payments more.

In theory, if you can stretch out each car you own by a few extra years, you will save yourself the price of 1 or 2 cars over the course of your lifetime and that could be 20-40K saved.

I am currently on year 7 with my car and the goal is to get it through 3 more years to the 10 year point too.

By: Joel

Joel — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:24:24 +0000

#21 amb – I think you have a great option in front of you: sell the truck (I assume it’s paid for) and buy the newest used car you can with the money. There are lots of Hondas, Subarus, and similar vehicles out there for less than $5,000. Just take your time, be patient and look around a little and you should be able to find something that runs well, looks good, and won’t break the bank.

Better MPG can certainly be beneficial, but alone it is not enough of a justification to pay a crazy amount of depreciation on a new car. Instead, find an older one that fits your current needs. If you have a $400 per month payment, thats $4,800 per year just in payments. You could replace your $5,000 car every two years and still come out way ahead, and the longer you drive it the better your return.

Upon hearing this, most people will focus on the “unreliability” of used cars, but not all older cars are unreliable. You may pay more for maintenance, but I think that usually that can be offset by decreased insurance. And repairing an older vehicle is usually a lot less expensive than purchasing a new one. And finally, because you OWN your car, you can sell it an trade out at will without worrying about loan values, payoffs, trade ins, etc.

By: Rzrshrp

Rzrshrp — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:49:33 +0000

Wow, maybe it’s because I’m at a less financially evolved place in life. I’m only a year or so in my first decently paying job and I’m about to have my first home and mortgage payments but I’ve never had any intention of getting rid of my car until the maintenance costs push me to do so and I don’t think that will change with more money. My car is an almost 10 year old Cavalier that I bought used. I don’t particularly care for it. It doesn’t even have power windows but I know that the longer that I can hold on to each car I buy, the better it will be for me financially. I’d keep it for 10 more years if it would hold up (tough chance).

By: amb

amb — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:15:01 +0000

Good points…
What about the case where an older car no longer fits your needs? I used to have a big dog and a short commute. Now I have neither.
My truck’s MPG is bad and it doesn’t work well in the city. On the plus side, it has relatively low miles (115k at 10 years old), no major problems, and good bad weather/hauling performance when these things come up.
I figure I could easily get 10-12 more MPG with a smaller/newer vehicle. Given how far I drive, this translates into ~18 gallons/month or $72 @ $4 a gallon.

any suggestions?

By: BobDole

BobDole — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:05:10 +0000

I have been bitten by the car bug lately too. I have a 2002 BMW 330i with 100K miles on it. I bought it used in 2004 and it’s completely paid off. I absolutely love how the BMW’s ride. I’ve been looking at a 2-seater lately, the Z4. I have the cash to buy one out right, but I can’t seem to get myself to write the check for it since the 330i still runs fine. It’s a struggle for me everyday and certainly looking at the car listings on the internet don’t help either.

But for me, I just think about that huge check I’ll have to write (~40K) and possibly higher insurance and gas cost makes me close the browser window when I’m looking.

By: JLP

JLP — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:37:51 +0000

HC,

I’ll admit that it’s not the prettiest vehicle on the road but it does ride nice and is well-appointed. I don’t think it’s “one of the absolutely ugliest vehicles on the road.”