New car

[nick__45]

Absolutely. I prefer it, in fact.

I've only owned 3 cars... 2 used (including current), 1 new. The new car was an '07 Civic Si (bought June '07), which I mournfully had to sell in '10 when I moved overseas. I bought it with every intention of keeping it for as long as it lasted me... at least 7-10+ years. I sold it to a friend, and he mentioned to me in November that it was still doing great, running perfectly, with zero problems since I sold it to him. I really wish I could have kept it...

My problem with used cars is that in most cases, I can never trust the previous owner to have cared for it properly. When you pick up a used car, you also pick up the previous owner's problems and accept potentially spotty car care that can be extremely hard to detect, like abusing the engine, transmission, or brakes. Even mechanics can't always see over-worn parts without opening up the engine or tranny entirely. Plus, as mentioned, you get a good warranty on a new car. I hugely prefer to buy new, break it in myself, keep it well maintained, and enjoy a quality car that I make last.

My next car will also be new. I'm expecting to move back to the states this summer, and I'm going to be buying a 2012 VW GTI. Yes, I'm going to be paying alot for it ($30k), but I've saved up the cash for it since July '11, and by Aug '12 I'll have the full $30k to buy it outright. It's a slight stretch and admittedly a part-luxury purchase on my part, but I'm also going to enjoy it tremendously and keep it for years on end (next time, if I have to move overseas again, I'm getting the car into storage).

Am I willing to buy used? Sure. But I will always prefer new.

I have the same problem not feeling comfortable about how previous owner(s) take care of such cars. I have seen people treat their cars. To many, washing a car is the most important aspect of car care and everything else can wait. Most people don't even use parking brake and if they do, they tend to forget to take it off when driving. The people who take good care of their cars tend to not sell them and not easily get bored with their cars. If someone only keep a car for 1-3 years, how much care can they really put into it. Unless maintenance was done as required to keep a lease agreement, I find it hard to trust a car without proof of maintenance. And people who lease their vehicles tend to not care much beside how the car looks. They are not in for the long haul so they have no incentive to do the right things.

[kork13]

My first vehicle in my driving career is a brand new vehicle with every option possible. It did cost me pretty pennies but I still have it. It is more than 10 years old and the engine, transmission, drive-train, and many mechanical parts are as good as new. I give myself an A for this purchase as it falls into a "cry once" category. I am thinking of making another such purchase and just buy new to avoid any possible problem. For these brands, buying new actually makes more sense as their used vehicles are pretty high. Financially, I can purchase vehicles up to $30k outright; therefore, I am only thinking about making the right purchase decision by knowing what vehicle that would fit all the things I want.

For me, buying new makes a little more sense as I get good price via USAA buying new versus a slightly used vehicle.

^^^ All of that basically hits my thoughts (and hopes) on the head for my upcoming new car purchase. I'm a little nervous to buy a car as expensive and nice as I'm looking at, but it really has everything I'm looking for in a car. And the USAA car buying service... awesome. The one I want is listed for $100 above invoice, so I'm happy with that... Thankfully, Oregon doesn't charge sales tax, so when I come back stateside, I'm gonna swing through Portland, take advantage of my Oregon residency, and drive off to wherever my next assignment is, whether cross-country or down the street.

I have the same problem not feeling comfortable about how previous owner(s) take care of such cars. I have seen people treat their cars. ... I find it hard to trust a car without proof of maintenance. They are not in for the long haul so they have no incentive to do the right things.

Exactly. A used car with good maintenance records makes all the difference in my opinion. I'd happily go for a used car with good maintenance records that had been driven responsibly and treated well.

[Like2Plan]

For me, buying new makes a little more sense as I get good price via USAA buying new ....

I have a new car purchase coming up in the next 3-6 months. I've always wondered how good these car buying services are. I've never tried one.
When you used USAA, did you also compare other deals you might have negotiated yourself at the dealership (or over the Internet)? Negotiating the deal is the part I least like about buying a new car.

[disneysteve]

If someone only keep a car for 1-3 years, how much care can they really put into it.

I don't think you can assume a lightly used car wasn't cared for. If anything, just the opposite is often true. The people I know who trade their cars in every 2-3 years insist on having pristine cars. Once they get a few years old, they don't want them anymore. They are very well cared for during that time. Also, a lot of those 2-3 year old cars are leases and the person leasing knows that if they don't take care of it, they'll get hosed with excess wear charges when they turn it in.

[bjl584]

I don't have an issue with buying new. As long as you can afford it. If you are saving enough for retirement and have your EF fully funded, and you still have a good amount of disposable income leftover after everything is said and done, then i don't see a problem with buying a new car.

What is a problem is when people buy a new car thinking about nothing other than the montly payment. Or when they aren't saving enough or anything at all because most of their paycheck is being eaten by a car payment and insurance.

[riverwed070707]

I don't buy the arguement that you never know how the previous owner cared for the car so its better to buy new. Sure, if you're looking at an 8-10 year old car that might be an issue, but there is little an owner could do to distroy a car's integrity in 2-3 years if you're looking at barely used. Additionally, I think *in general* people selling barely used cars who presumably bought them new are going to be more mature and responsible and probably arent taking the car out for joy rides and beating the life out of them. Not to say its never happened, I just think its pretty unlikely that there is going to be internal damage that is more costly to fix than the difference in buying new. JMO

To answer the question, the only time I would consider buying new is if it made more financial sense to buy new than used because as DS mentioned the market has changed and I do agree that in come cases $2-3k would be worth the newer model.

[disneysteve]

most of their paycheck is being eaten by a car payment and insurance.

That's another factor we haven't mentioned. The newer the car, the higher the insurance cost. That's an additional savings from buying used. If the car is worth less, it costs less to insure it.

[bjl584]

It's a strang time for car buying right now. There are cases that it makes sense to buy new. Used car prices are inflated to the point that sometimes buying new for certain models makes more sense from a financial perspective. Something else to consider in this discussion.

[disneysteve]

It's a strang time for car buying right now. There are cases that it makes sense to buy new. Used car prices are inflated to the point that sometimes buying new for certain models makes more sense from a financial perspective. Something else to consider in this discussion.

True. There have been several articles on that topic as well as some anecdotal stories posted here. In some cases, the new car with incentives was actually less than the 1-2 year old model of the same car. In that case, it's pretty much a no-brainer to buy new.

The weird economy has played into this. Detroit especially, but the foreign companies too, had seen sales drop dramatically. Selling new cars helped the dealers but did nothing for the manufacturers so major incentives were being pushed to move new cars and keep the factories operating.

[kork13]

I have a new car purchase coming up in the next 3-6 months. I've always wondered how good these car buying services are. I've never tried one.
When you used USAA, did you also compare other deals you might have negotiated yourself at the dealership (or over the Internet)? Negotiating the deal is the part I least like about buying a new car.

I'm planning to use USAA's car buying service, and it basically sets a price, and they have pre-coordinated dealerships that agree to honor that pricing. From shopping around on it, it seems that most models are offered within $100-$300 of the invoice price...some even below invoice. I think PenFed also uses the (exact) same service -- PenFed just came out with it within the last couple months, USAA's had it for at least a year or two.

It seems to be pretty similar to most similar car-buying services... When I bought my '07 Civic Si new, I used Costco's car buying service. They set the price, and you go to specifically coordinated dealerships to sign the paperwork and pick up the keys. Literally, it was that easy. At the time, before I actually went to sign paperwork with the Costco-selected dealer, I did go out to try negotiating a better price. I went to 3 or 4 different dealers, played them off eachother and also the Costco price... About Costco's price, one dealer even told me flat out: "If you have a real offer like that, I'd recommend you take it. I can't approach that." I did finally manage to get one dealer down to match Costco's price......as I was driving out of his parking lot.

So that entire buying experience sold me pretty well on using pre-negotiated car buying services. As long as the price is reasonable (I've never seen one not to be), I'd say you can't go wrong. I personally agree -- while the negotiations were entertaining, if not a bit exciting at times, I really hated the hassle of it.

ETA: Come to think of it, I believe there's also an option to buy used cars at pre-negotiated prices... I've seen on USAA/PenFed's car buying site stuff for looking at used cars. I've not looked into it as much, but it may be a decent option as well. I assume it focuses on offering "certified pre-owned" vehicles. The option may also exist with other services.

[Ima saver]

Well, even tho I am the oldest on this forum, I am also a "car" person as is my dear husband. His motto is, "life is too short to drive an ugly car" That being said, we have driven corvettes during most of our marriage.
He has a yellow 2008 corvette with 12,000 miles. I drive a 2010 red corvette with almost 8,000 miles. We still have our original 1978 tue toned blue corvette we bought new. We also have a 1933 ford victoria and a work van. We take very good care of our cars and have NEVER had a scratch on any of them, except my 2004 corvette.(someone pushed a grocery cart into it on purpose, we are assuming) We had it fixed. We buy all of our vehicles new, except the 1933 ford.
However, we can afford it. All of our cars are paid for. Our house is paid for. We have no debt. My husband even enjoys washing the cars. He keeps them detailed too.

[nick__45]

kork13 - Thank you for your service. Ya'll have done a fine job over there keeping that mess in someone else backyard. We don't set the policy and just pick up the rifle or wrench or laptop and go wherever they send us. It is a job that has meaning and we don't get bogged down with the politics of it all just like employees of other major corporation.

Iam-saver - USAA pricing is probably the best and it is straight forward with no hassle. The only thing you have to do is to make sure that the dealerships actually have the vehicle(s) you want before showing up. Most places will say they have it but don't and will try to sell you something else as USAA pricing is only valid for vehicle in the inventory and selected in the USAA pricing service. Just to show how good USAA price is, a new Tundra Crew Max spec-ed out with standard equipment cost less new with USAA versus a similar equipped 2-years old Tundra with 19k miles from Carmax. Granted, used cars' price is artificially inflated lately due to C4C, which should only affected clunkers, but the rebates USAA finds is something most people miss and most car buyers don't know about a lot of rebates when they do buy cars as a majority of car purchases are partially impulse-shopping.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I was looking at used car and they were pricey this weekend. Not much discount if any one "gently" used cars. The car guy told me that looking at 1-2 year old cars isn't the deal it used to be. He said that he is selling more used cars than ever, but that to really get a deal people need to look at older models more like 3-5 year range to get the same saving they could see before. He commented it's because of the economy he felt people were trying to be frugal with cars but it was getting hard.

Mind you I was looking at 5 year old cars and they had dropped quite a bit but 1 year old models were $2k less than new. Yuck, for that I'd buy new. Now dropping like 40% in 5 years? I can live with that.

I think for a used car that's a good sweet spot maybe years 5 to 10. Having driven a new car, past year 10 it's definitely when things get run down.