[impatient95]

Well it seems an obvious choice.
But, could it be argued that buying something used with more miles would be a better choice because:
A brand new car is gonna have some recalls and things that may go bad, where a used car is much more thoroughly worked in.

I have never had a car with less than 58,000 miles when i got it. Sometimes i would like brand new, but then think of stories where something happened after only a few thousand miles. I just feel that by the time I get them, all the unpredictable stuff has gone wrong and been fixed.

what you think?

 

[cincyses]

Well there are a lot of factors, let's say you're looking at a Cadillac Deville that's 3 years old, it will have lost about 35% of it's value, so that might be a good buy used. But let's take another example, like a Honda Odyssey, after three years, they've only lost about 11%, so why buy used there? With new Tauruss going for the low to mid teens, I could make the argument that it's ridiculous not to buy a new one....untill you see 2 year old Tauruss going for less than 10 thousand....there it gets a little tougher

In the end, I'll always go new if I can afford it because you know the car from day one. Oh and don't forget the new car warranty!

 

[saerandy]

I always thought used was better. Let some other poor schmoe pay for the depreciation. Recently however, with low to zero financing on new vehicles, the equation has changed a bit.

Keep in mind that while financing for used is as low as it's been in a while, zero to 2% financing can make a used car almost as expensive as a new one.

A good rate for a used car is 5.8%. At that rate, a $20000 car would run you about $385.00 a month on a 60 month loan. At 0% interest, you could buy a $23000 car for the same monthly payment.

In other words, for cars that don't depreciate that much, like the Odessey or any Honda or Toyota for that matter, you are better off buying new if you can get the low financing.

On cars that depreciate horribly (like the Taurus) you are better off buying used. There's just no question about that. Of course, I'm talking about used as in 1-2 years old, not 5-10 years old!!

 

[joe5.0]

Buy a one or two at most year old vehicle with less than 20k but more than 10k miles on it and you'll get the best deal. The first year is killer for new car depreciation, and the used car market is horrid right now for sellers. So many people are buying new & leasing there is a glut of slightly used 1-3 yr old cars that are at rock bottom prices. You could find a loaded 2003 taurus for probably low/mid teens if you look hard enough, wheras it was probably a 25k car brand new. The low financing does make a difference and the warranty is nice, but if you're shopping for price buying new isnt that smart. Take it from me, I bought 2 brand new cars and if I had made all my payments as the bank scheduled, my Taurus would be worth much less than what I would owe right now.

If the warranty thing bothers you, spend the grand or so and get an extended warranty. Its usually not worth the money, but its nice to have the peace of mind, and if you use it once for something major it will pay for itself. As long as the car has less than 36k on it, you can buy the extended warranty, and a factory certified car usually has a very decent powertrain warranty.

 

[Imacarbuff]

I agree, with zero percent money out there....and nice fat rebates-I went with a new '03 Taurus last year.
But, DO NOT buy a used former rental car-they've been beat and those "low" miles are hard miles.

 

[Guest]

I would recommend going with Ford Certified Preowned and buying an ESP (Extended Service Plan) Warranty. I think the Ford certified preowned actually does weed out most of the mistreated and bad cars. I got my 2001 as a Ford Certified Preowned and bought an ESP that covers everything (the PremiumCare plan) and is good at any Ford Dealership nationwide and I have just a $100 deductible per visit. So if your engine blows up, you pay $100 and it's replaced.

Anyways, that's what I recommend - good luck with your search and/or decision!

 

[SableOHC]

I bought my 96 Sable used in 1998 with approximately 20,000 miles. It still had 1 year of the original warranty and was cheap enough that I paid with cash, so no interest at all

 

[93taurusSX]

I'm seeing like, 2002 Taurus SES's being advertised at delears for around $10k. That is pretty dam good.

Actually, I've been trying to persued everyone else in my family that the best deal is to buy a 1-2 year old car. But they just don't seem to get it; I guess they REALLY want the new car smell <_<

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by 93taurusSX@Mar 3 2004, 11:11 PM
I guess they REALLY want the new car smell <_<

They make febreze that smells like that.

 

[Guest]

IIRC I was reading somethign which said the new car smell is toxic. Dont remember exactly though.

CincySES took the words right out of my mouth, I would definitly go new if possible so that I know the car since day 1.

ESP is a great warranty, but unless the problem is painfully obvious, the dealer will be reluctant to do anything. I have had to authorize $800 tear downs before being covered under esp warranty. But the piece of mind knowing that if your car blows up, its only going to cost you $100 to repair

I own a used car and quite frankly, I never thought I would learn soo much.

Here's what I learned. You may not agree with it, you may not like it, but this is what has happened. It is not intended to down play any car at all, it is jsut the results of what a simple assumption could end up costing in the long run. My dad wanted to purchase me a new nissan after my 95se was totalled in 2000. Instead I went with a loaded used car which cost about $5400 less (difference of estimated out the door prices). I convinced myself, that even if I have to spend around $1k-$2k in repairs, I still have a better deal. Two years later, I realized my assumptions were incorrect from multiple perspectives. Initially it may have seemed like a great deal buying used. I just compared the average retail values of the car my dad wanted to buy me and my taurus. Assuming I put exactly 38000 miles on each car, the difference between the values is $7120. Subtract that with the initial difference I get $1720. If I add in any costs of maintainance/repairs which woudl come up on a used car quicker than a new car (tires, brakes, belt, fluids, etc) and cost of repairs on my car, I'm looking at a difference of at least $4500. Ofcourse buying a used car is always a gamble. Given my car is an extreme case and I practically lost that gambe, I'll go back to using the number $1720 assuming that I had no extra costs to maintain/repar the vehicle. Since I could have had $1720 extra if I had bought the new car at the time, that only leaves me with a very simple question: are the extra things I got in my used car (larger size, larger engine, leather, power seats, cd changer, chrome wheels, etc) worth the $1720? Whether or not it is worth it, is it worth any possible headaches not knowing how the car was treated before hand (I dont know, my repairs were all due to factory defects).

You be the judge

 

[henrysel]

QUOTE

Here's what I learned. You may not agree with it, you may not like it, but this is what has happened. It is not intended to down play any car at all, it is jsut the results of what a simple assumption could end up costing in the long run. My dad wanted to purchase me a new nissan after my 95se was totalled in 2000. Instead I went with a loaded used car which cost about $5400 less (difference of estimated out the door prices). I convinced myself, that even if I have to spend around $1k-$2k in repairs, I still have a better deal. Two years later, I realized my assumptions were incorrect from multiple perspectives. Initially it may have seemed like a great deal buying used. I just compared the average retail values of the car my dad wanted to buy me and my taurus. Assuming I put exactly 38000 miles on each car, the difference between the values is $7120. Subtract that with the initial difference I get $1720. If I add in any costs of maintainance/repairs which woudl come up on a used car quicker than a new car (tires, brakes, belt, fluids, etc) and cost of repairs on my car, I'm looking at a difference of at least $4500. Ofcourse buying a used car is always a gamble. Given my car is an extreme case and I practically lost that gambe, I'll go back to using the number $1720 assuming that I had no extra costs to maintain/repar the vehicle. Since I could have had $1720 extra if I had bought the new car at the time, that only leaves me with a very simple question: are the extra things I got in my used car (larger size, larger engine, leather, power seats, cd changer, chrome wheels, etc) worth the $1720? Whether or not it is worth it, is it worth any possible headaches not knowing how the car was treated before hand (I dont know, my repairs were all due to factory defects).[/b]

I'm not really sure I follow your math on this. The other thing you have to keep in mind is the $5400 that you didn't spend. If you had it in the stock market and it did about 20% last year, you'd have an extra $1080 in your pocket. The flip side is also paying interest to borrow that $5400 on the new car. I'm not sure why you subtracted the two numbers and how you can conclude that you'd have $1720 extra if you bought the new car but yet it would have cost you an extra $5400 for the new car to begin with. Typically the math always works out that buying a used 2-3 year old car is cheaper than buying new. That's when it depreciate about 40-60% in that range. An example would be those 25k new Tauruses. They go out the door at around 19-20K (foreign cars go pretty close to sticker) and you can get them used in the 10-$12k range.

 

[Guest]

If I had paid $5400 more for the other car, it would be worth $7120 more than my current car. $1720 is just the difference.

 

[BF2001SES]

As the car salesperson, what Jason8225 said is correct. You can get a 02 or 03 SES or SEL with 10-20K on it for between $10 and 15k. Most will be fleet or rental units. Get one that is Ford Certified Used. That means it has:
New Brakes on all 4 corners
New Tires on all 4 corners
128 point complete engine/tranny diagnostic
ETC ETC ETC
The guidelines for a certified used car are STRICT! On most used cars, if it looks ok, they leave it. On a Certified used, when in doubt, there is none. When I traded my 01 in, they put rubber on all 4 corners, they didnt do the brakes (I dropped 750 to have them done the day I traded it) put a new intake on it, new muffler, and a bunch of other stuff.
If you get a Certified Used, you really dont need an ESP plan, as a Certified carries a 6 year/75K powertrain warrantee, so all you can do is make it bumper to bumper for that or an extended period. Also, most Cert Used are going to be still under factory warrantee.
Dont bother getting a new 04 if you can find a nice used 02 or 03. 90 minutes with a saw, a wrench and a screwdriver and you can easily make up the extra pony and 7 foot pounds the 04 develops (hiflow filter, yank silencer, jam a 2" pipe thru the #3 cat, chop off the resonator replace with straight pipe or cherry bomb).

 

[Reinhart]

Originally posted by XLSuruaT@Mar 4 2004, 12:01 AM
IIRC I was reading somethign which said the new car smell is toxic. Dont remember exactly though.

The new car smell is supposedly due to the carcinogens from the interior materials, particularly those composed of polymers.

Some people actually think of the new car smell, along with engine odors, gasoline odors, and diesel odors nauseating.

Curiously enough, I actually like those odors! I like the smell of gasoline, diesel, the inside of an engine compartment, motor oil both new and used, and of course, that new car smell.

I never inhale to get high (I don't want to poison myself). I just enjoy the odor of the things mentioned and can't understand how people can become sick from those odors. - Reinhart

 

[qwertz9586]

Originally posted by Reinhart+Mar 5 2004, 10:51 PM-->QUOTE (Reinhart @ Mar 5 2004, 10:51 PM)

<!--QuoteBegin-XLSuruaT

@Mar 4 2004, 12:01 AM
IIRC I was reading somethign which said the new car smell is toxic.  Dont remember exactly though.

The new car smell is supposedly due to the carcinogens from the interior materials, particularly those composed of polymers.

Some people actually think of the new car smell, along with engine odors, gasoline odors, and diesel odors nauseating.

Curiously enough, I actually like those odors! I like the smell of gasoline, diesel, the inside of an engine compartment, motor oil both new and used, and of course, that new car smell.

I never inhale to get high (I don't want to poison myself). I just enjoy the odor of the things mentioned and can't understand how people can become sick from those odors. - Reinhart [/b]

I so agree with you. I don't mind the smell of gas, oil, or the new car smell, but don't know why people hate the smell of gas and oil.

 

[TheGreatZambini]

CASH CASH CASH!!!!

If you can't get it with cash, you can't afford it! lol, yes I know a 0% interest rate is monumentally tempting, but you are still playing their game by their rules. You can get a barely used car on a lot of a different make (ie a Ford on a Toyota lot) for WAY less than sticker price if you bring in cash. Plus, with a little patience and planning, you can go through used cars, paying with cash and work your way up to something reeeeally nice! Just buy cheap, save money, sell the car, add that money to what you've saved, get a nicer used car, keep saving, sell the nicer car, get a better one, etc.


I mean, hey, if I had financed a new car, I wouldn't have gotten my cheap but reliable Taurus, and would have never learned anything about Taurii. I never would have known about the TCCA!!! Horror of horrors!

 

[secstate]

^^
What he said! You should never finance a depreciating asset. I have never bought a new car in my life and don't intend too even though I could afford one. I only financed one (used) car and it was right after grad school and I just had bought a condo and so had no cash when my 5.0 stang went balls up. Still I paid off the entire loan in less than 11 months. Taurues have a huge depreciation in the first 1-4 years. I got (for my wife) a 2000 SE Wagon in 2003 for $5000 bucks. The miles were on the high side for the age (77k) but it was in great shape well maintained and I have no doubts my wife and I will be driving it for the next ten years. My primary ride is an 93 Crown Vic (made 12/92) that I bought used in 97. It has 143k miles on it now and I still expect to get another 5-8 years out of it.

 

[93taurusSX]

I agree; unless the car that you're buying holds its value extremely well (like a Lexus or one of the luxury brands...Honda's and Toyota's hold their value pretty well too, but it depends on the model) you're better off in the long run to pay in cash. The financing will end up making you pay more over time, even though you might not notice it.

 

[gokudapimp]

I bought my Taurus certified pre-owned with 28,000 miles. It is paid off and the only problem it has ever given me was the water pump and timing chain cover. I bought it alot less than a new Taurus and it was still just as clean. I always recommend that people purchase pre-owned, especially with low miles. it is just the same as buying a new car but not as pricey.

 

[secstate]

Agreed, some Japanese and some luxury brands do not depreciate as fast so buying used may not make sense. Sports cars are sometimes more of a gamble used as well. However, I concentrate on buying used cars that depreciate significantly. When I bought my wife the Taurus I eliminated SUVs due to the fact they held their value better and they were not worth it to me. Of course not everybody is flexible as I am. Also the risks of buying used go up if you don't have some knowledge of car repairs and know what to look for in a used car.