New car vs used cars (long)

[C-CMom]

Couple of quick thoughts;
Does the new vehicle of choice have better gas mileage than the older version? Some of the new models, actually especially Nissan, have significantly better MPG ratings. Depending on how much you drive, the fuel cost difference may be enough to justify "new".

For what it is worth, Consumer Reports car issue 4/12 "recommends" the Rogue in the Small SUV category, but it is 7th on the list after 2 versions Subaru Foresters, 2 versions Toyota RAV4s, Honda CRV, and Mitsubishi Outlander. They rank 5th in "who makes the best cars", after Subaru, Mazda, Toyota, and Honda. Not bad.

 

[JessB320]

In defense of Nissans I have a Nissan rogue, best car I have EVER had!! I hate having to drive anything else now. It a GREAT car in the winter too. As far as new vs. used, look at the options offered as well. I've had my rogue for about 1 1/2 years now. It was about a year old and had 14,000 miles on it. While it was about the same a a new rogue would have been it had WAY more options than the new ones. All leather, really nice BOSE stero system, on and on. While some of the extra options I never would have ordered on a new car, I felt like I was getting a great deal getting all of them and the car only being a year old with only 14,000. Anyway worked out well for me and I'm very very happy with the rogue.

 

[arthuruscg]

Alright budget boarders, I really need some advice. I am going to admit upfront that I am committing what seems to be a budget board sin and going to finance a car.
​

Financing a car is not a sin. The sin is not sitting down and doing the math.

The Economy has over inflated the used car values (flipped the usual thought). If you qualify for the special financing offers, it usually works out cheaper to go new.

Also, when you have extra $ to pay off loans (auto, mortgage, ect) put the extra $ towards the loan with the highest APR.

The economy has flipped financing as well, now you can find short term loans for less APR then long term loans.

 

[hops&dreams]

In my experience, uying new is the way to go unless you're getting a car you're going to be beating up (commuter only car) for a heck of a deal (we would not spend more than $3,000.

We have bought both new and used, and we have been burned on the used unless we were buying it from someone we knew beforehand. In addition, if that person is a close friend, it puts you and he in a sticky situation, as there can easily be hard feelings if the car breaks soonafter, etc.

I, personally, would go with new. How much will you really be saving getting a potentially 5 year old car with an unknown history? To me, I'd pay up to $100/month for the peace of mind. But for me, that's within my budget.

I think it also depends on the car's resale value. One of the reasons I bought my car (Honda Civic) is because the car has consistently, over the last 20 years, kept a great resale value. If you buy new, remember to research when your car's value will take a nosedive and be sure to consider keeping/selling at that time so that you can get the most out of your investment. For example, Civic values take a nose dive between 4-5 years, or 100,000 miles. I just passed 5 years, and 90,000 miles, and DH and I discussed trading it in about 8 months ago, before the hit. I decided to keep it, mainly because there's nothing wrong with it, still looks great, meets my needs, and I like not having a car payment - more $ to get us to WDW!

Good luck with your decision.

 

[crjack]

We had always bought "newer" used cars but our last two we bought new for all of the reasons listed already.

We have had several Honda's over the years that I have really liked but again they can hold their value to the point where it just didn't make sense to not get new - especially with the financing deals available.

We got our CRV as a new leftover at the start of the next model year and we got our Pilot last year during a promo that offered 0.9% financing and some great new pricing. We also got a fantastic deal on our Honda trades so it was worth it for us.

Good luck.

 

[Anastasia]

I am finding this really interesting. I fully expected everyone to say buy used!

Every time I have bought a car, I have considered used. I have never been able to make the math work. It may save a few thousand dollars to buy a used car over a new car, but you are buying a USED car. It is not a NEW car. It is not comparing apples to apples.

Also, we drive our cars until they die. If I buy a three year old car, I have to replace it three years sooner.

 

[DawnM]

I am amazed your car has so few miles on it for an 11 year old car!

I love my Rav4. It's 11 years old (65,000 miles) and I bought it about 3 and 1/2 years ago (with 37,000 miles) and still going strong! Honestly, I've had 3 Nissons and you're lucky to get past 100,000 miles on them! I'm sticking with Toyota's from now on! I've never had anything except routine maintenance, tires and belt replacements.

 

[nowellsl]

I am amazed your car has so few miles on it for an 11 year old car!

Yeah, I just lucked up on a GREAT used car! I'm not opposed to buying new, I just didn't want a car payment, so I went with one I could pay cash for.

 

[kt_mom]

I'm biased because DH works for Nissan. But we love them and have owned many. Way more than I would care to admit actually, but that's what happens when your DH works there. We've bought new but more often than not used. We've never had any problems with any of them. Most of our families drive them now too and have not had any problems either except routine maintenance. We've also had lots of other cars too, so we've had experience with other brands.

Years ago we bought a maxima with probably 150,000 miles on it. We put at least 40,000 more on it before our friends bought it from us and I know they put at least 50,000 on it.

ETA: I would buy the new one before the used one with 45,000 though.

 

[crisi]

There is another place where used makes sense - luxury cars. A certain type of person needs a new Mercedes or BMW every year or two, and therefore you can usually get good deals on those cars - i.e. $40k for a car that was $60k new. Assuming you can pay cash. And the service we've gotten on a used luxury car is better than the service we get on my Toyota.

In your case you are not saving that much money on the sale, and with the financing costs, probably none at all.

(I have a 4wd Subaru Forester that I really liked)

 

[mrodgers]

I ran numbers on financing, using numbers I would get from my credit union as well as estimating the mileage the same (I drive 20,000 miles/year). I drive for 200,000 typically before I get rid of a car. Using a comparable mileage of the first cars I found at a local dealership, brand new, 2009, and 2006 Honda Civic, I came up with the following $ per mile....

$0.10/mile - new....$0.12/mile - 2009....$0.14/mile - 2006

I've always bought 5 year old cars. I had to finance and we need 2 cars. Thus, I would have to finance one of them at a time so I would buy 5 years old and finance 5 years. At the end of 5 years it is 10 years old and car #2 is 15 years old, thus trade 15 yr old and pay on that for 5 years while car #1 is paid for.

Back in 2007, I broke down and bought a brand new car as I didn't like having a 15 year old car. Back then, huge mistake. I bought a brand new Ford because I couldn't afford brand new Honda or Toyota, thus got half the car I would have. I paid about what I would have paid for a 5 year old Honda or Toyota.

So, when comparing brand new of the same car vs. used, I would say new is the way to go. But, if you want to spend $X amount for a car and that puts you into a far lesser brand/type of car, I think it is better to buy used. I would have been far better off in a 5 year old Toyota RAV4 for $18,000 than I am with a brand new Ford Escape for $18,000 (even with considering it was stickered at $29,000.)

As for the needing 4WD because you drive in snow, after 15 years of driving 4WD and ending up in a car with snow tires for 1 winter, needing 4WD for snow driving is far from reality. My old Honda Civic with winter tires did just as good in snow as any previously owned 4x4 with really good tires and better even than my Ford Escape (and the Ford Escape does fantastic in snow, about the only single thing I can say nice about that POS.)

Also you folks can finance all you want if you make that kind of money. I've reworked the budget so that I will be saving up about $10,000 for a car and will spend $10,000 cash on a used car as opposed to financing a $20-25,000 new car any day. I don't care if it's 0% financing, that is still a payment forced out of the budget every month as opposed to the ability to not finance a "future car fund" for a month if the need arises.

 

[tomi]

We are a Toyota family. I have a 2011 RAV4, my daughter has a 2004 RAV 4 and my husband drives a 2007 Highlander. They were all bought used (mine was only a year old) and we have never had any trouble whatsoever with any of them. Before this we have owned several other Toyotas and can say the same for them. They also hold their value extremely well. I would buy a used Toyota or Honda before a new American car any day.

 

[timmac]

It sounds like in your case buying new may be a better deal overall. You mention it's the same monthly payment (due to differences in finance rate), but do keep in mind that with the new car, you're paying that "same payment" for five years instead of four. I would agree with PP who said that financing a car isn't necessarily a sin, it seems you've done some homework on it.

One other thing to consider; not sure it would change your decision at all, but you should at least keep in mind. Does your state/locality charge for vehicle registration based upon model year? If so, then the used car could be considerably cheaper to register. Also, may want to evaulate what your insurance rates may be. A newer (e.g. more valuable) car may be higher insurance cost, and that may play into the decision a bit as well.

I don't necessarily agree with any form of logic about buying new or used being inherently good or bad. The whole "you lose a lot of money when you
drive it off the lot" line really only comes into play if you're someone who'd be likely to trade in (or sell privately) within a fairly short timeframe (less than a few years). If you're looking to get another vehicle that you can keep as long as possible (which is something I would absolutely recommend), then the important calculation is the vehicle life expectancy vs total cost, which can give you an idea about total cost per mile for instance.

 

[puffkin]

You sound EXACTLY like my boss. He also had a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder he bought used. He was sinking money into it constantly over the last 2 years or so. He ended up just replacing it with a NEW Toyota Highlander.

We also buy NEW for the same reasons listed on this thread. We both have longer commutes and we need reliable cars. We are not good at car stuff outside of normal maintenance. We also only want 1 car payment at a time. So we buy New. When that car is paid off we usually start the process to replace the other car. So basically we get one NEW car every 4-5 years but drive our cars 9-10 years.

My parents have always criticized our choice to buy new cars. They used lots of the old arguments. But we cannot afford to have a car let us sit and I do not tolerate huge unexpected car bills especially towards the end of a cars life. I would rather pay a set car payment every month. Funny thing is, my Dad just bought his first NEW car ever this summer (although they paid cash for it). He said when all was said and done, he basically only spent $2000 more for a brand new car over one with 30,000 miles on it. Yup....exactly what we have been saying for years

 

[bettymae1121]

Great...now I'm feeling crapy about the used '08 Altima I bought last spring...

 

[4HppyCamprs]

We bought a used 2008 Toyota sienna in September and bought the extended warranty gold plan "bumper to bumper" 0 deductible warranty with coverage for a full 5 years. It covers everything a new car warranty does and even with the warranty we got the used van for significantly less than new. I previously would only buy new after a bad used car because of the warranty but we just or rid of a lemon that left me stranded on the highway and new didn't save me. Whatever we buy will have lots of warranty!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[pinkxray]

I spent a good portion of my morning running numbers and researching all of my options.

I had such a good arguement for a new Nissan Rogue that when I presented my case to DH that he finally just agreed and said to go for it. He is on board to go check out the dealerships tomorrow.

However after reading some negative Nissan comments on here I decided to research the Rogue a bit more. I had researched most small SUVS a few months ago including the CRV, RAV4, Rogue, Hyundai Tuscon, Kia Sportage and Chevy Transverse. Consumer reports, kbb, and edmunds all rated the Rogue pretty good but I happened to find to find a few forums online about the Nissan Rogue having some transmission problems. Now I don't know what to do. I feel like I am back to square one.

I think DH and I will check out a few different models this weekend and hold off on a purchase until the last week of Dec which I have heard is a good time to buy a new car. Part of me would love a Rogue and have many coworkers with different Nissans but don't want to have to deal with another car with issues and certainly want the safest car to drive around DD.

 

[ilovemk76]

Alright budget boarders, I really need some advice. I am going to admit upfront that I am committing what seems to be a budget board sin and going to finance a car.


A little past info.-

Right now I have a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. I bought it used when it was about 6 years old and it just seems like I have done nothing but put money into it. Now, I need about $1300 of work to fix some rear suspension problem. I have really just had it with this car and do not want to put any more money into it. It has really soured my experience with used cars.


Before the Pathfinder I had a brand new Honda Civic that I LOVED and kept for 10 years. I loved that I knew everything about the car and never had any issues with it but routine maintence. I only got rid of it b/c I got a job in a hospital a few towns away and need 4wd or awd for the snow. Plus it was two doors that didn't really work with having kids.


I am currently looking to purchase a Nissan Rogue. I've been looking at used back to 2008 and new 2012 models. DH is very anti new cars. Always says things about how once you drive of the lot you lose so much money. However from what I have seen when pricing used Rogues is that they don't lose much value in the first couple years which is why I haven't been even looking at 2011-2009, they are not much cheaper. Even many 2008s are still high in price.


I have been looking for about 2 months since I am not in a hurry and it has been tough to find a used Rogue with a low miles at a decent price.


I found one a few days ago that is a 2008 with less than 45000 miles on it. We are going to look at it tomorrow.


Here is my dilemma.

I have already been preapproved for a used car for 48 months with 3.9%apr.
But I have figured out that if I get a good deal on the 2012 models that are being cleared out I can get a 1.9%apr for 60 months and have the same payment.

If I get the 2008 it will already be almost 5 years old and by the time I pay it off it will be 9 years old. (although I will most likely pay off the loan in 2-3 years) I'm worried that in 5 years I'll have a 10 year old car that has problems and need a new car again which leaves not much time between cars with no car loan.

If I get a 2012, I will have a a 5 year loan (most likely paid off in less than 3). So in 5 years I will have no car loan and a car than is only 5 years old. I would still keep another 5 years at least so that would be 5 years of no car loans.


I have tried asking DH but all I hear is "getting a brand new car is stupid, you just want a new car to have a new car, but it's your money do whatever you want" Not very helpful.

I really don't know what to do. To be honest the 2012 sounds like a better idea but I'm worried maybe I am just distracted by the new car like DH says. ​

12 months of the same payment for a 4 year older cars seems like a no brainer. Buy the new car.

Right now I would be cautious of any used cars as many of the cars from Sandy will be in the used car market.

 

[cvjw]

We currently own a 10 year old Nissan Maxima, a 6 year old Toyota Sienna, and a 1 year old Subaru Forrester. I really, really, really want to buy the new Nissan Pathfinder, but after reading all of these posts about trouble with Nissans, it is making me reconsider.

I will say that we have had only 2 small problems (a couple hundred dollars to fix) on our Nissan Maxima. We have done all the maintenance on it, and it is still running like a charm - our 16 year old son drives it. We would not put him into it if we didn't feel confident that it is safe.

I have driven Toyotas or Hondas my whole life, and the Toyota that I have now does not have the same quality that the earlier models had. My van has a leak in the power steering fluid that will be a couple of thousand dollars to fix. Our mechanic says that he has seen several of my year vans with the same problem. He has a Toyota 4 Runner that needs it's 2nd new transmission, and it isn't that old. Go figure - the Toyotas of old just seemed to hold up better.

 

[sookie]

I would go with a Honda or a Toyota - brand new.

With a credit union, financing is as low as 1.9% - go for it!