Cars: New Or Old?

DigitalMcScrapper

DigitalMcScrapper

Active member
I have been fortunate to always buy new cars. I know a lot of people think its crazy to do so because they lose value when you drive them off the lot but there is just something so fantastic about getting a car with 10 miles and knowing that everything thats happened to it as happened with you. What about everyone else? I love my 2017 Kia Soul. Its SO fun to drive! <3
 
I bought one brand new car, my Toyota Sienna. It was too new of a model and there were no used ones available. Two weeks after owning it my nephew drove the handle bars of his scooter all the way down the side of my brand new paint. I CRIED for weeks about. I vowed then and there that we would NEVER own another new car ever again because I didn't like crying over a material possession. Not to mention I can buy a one year old car for thousands and thousands less.
 
We are now both in our 70's and have only recently purchased our very first brand new car...a Mitsubishi Lancer..automatic. We took it on its first long journey(12 hours) to Melbourne a couple of weeks after the purchase, parked it outside our son's home where we have parked our other OLD cars heaps of times over the years with no issues...came back from a walk to find a big scratch and black marks down the side!!! A note and ph number was left to say that a child on a bike had run into it and scratched it with the handlebars..good on that Dad for leaving a message!!! What a great example to that child!!! We came back to our town to get repairs and it was able to be buffed back to new...we rang the phone number that was left to let them know there would be no follow up with them and that we were very appreciative of their honesty. The man said as a result of this, his son now had a suitable insurance coverage for such incidents:D
 
I have only bought 1 new car in my lifetime, back about 20 years ago (and it was actually a truck) and the only reason I bought new was it was an incredible bargain. I usually buy a car that is about 1 year old and has less than 15K miles on it; such a better price point and lots of miles left on it.
 
We used to buy new, but for some reason that ended in 1999. We purchased a car for me at a dealership that was driven by the owner's wife for 6 months. Full warranty and the price was about $15,000 less that a new version of the same car. Plus, it was loaded with every imaginable extra that you could want or only dreamed about having in your car.

Since then, we have only bought used. We try to find one that the owner's or salesman drove. You can save thousands. A few years ago, (well, maybe 5 or 6 years ago) we purchased a car from my neighbor. He was leasing it and the 2-year lease was up. He only wanted what was owed. $14,000 on a loaded Eddie Bauer Explorer that was listed on Kelly Blue Book for #35,000!
 
We have never bought a used car, but with car prices the way it is right now, I'm really tempted to try it out for our next car purchase!
 
We've always bought new, but we buy cars rarely - we drive them forever! The one exception was the car we bought when we lived for four years in Germany. It was gently used - had been the dealership's loaner car, so had very few kilometres on it. All of our new cars were bought on sale, however, frequently as the last of that model on the lot (i.e. buying a 2010 when the new 2011s are out). So we aren't paying full sticker price.

I've had a 1991 Honda Civic (my first car), and as a couple we've had a 1999 Honda Civic, and a 2010 Honda Fit. We had a 2006 Four-Door Smart the four years we lived in Germany (2006-2010) - the '99 Civic was in storage those years. Also, we didn't get rid of the '99 Civic when we bought the Fit - for a while we needed two cars, so we had the '99 Civic until 2014.
 
I currently have a 'hand me down' car. My mother-in-law bought new. I had an unfortunate event in mine so she gave me her 1 year old car and I took over payments. I've not ever owned a new car myself. I work retail so I'm always looking for the better deal haha! I do have my eye on a beautiful 2017 Ford Explorer though.. I'm crushing hard on it. Maybe next year.
 
Traded my car in for $4K, the dealer is trying to get $7990. It kind of sucks but I guess it doesnt mean they will get it... Plus I love my new car. The Toyota that I traded in is 9 years old and has over $170K miles on it.
 
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