Am I THAT much of a sucker if I buy a new car?

[The Saltman]

But the Op says he has a beater with problems.

Put a transmission in most cars and you've just made 8-10 months of payments on a new car and are waiting for the next component to fail. Hard to save for a newer car when the beater is bleeding you dry.

Move from a car that gets 22 MPG average to one that gets 32 MPG and the savings can be substantial there as well.

that still doesn't mean you go out and get a loan on a 20000 car. The gas savings would still be less than the interest of the loan if you don't pay anything extra. I'm not saying to pay cash for something expensive.

[Donald LaFell]

I've been going through quit a bit of a reasoning process lately myself asking the same question, I am right now making decent money and could afford the payment (spending what could be a payment for a Personal trainer right now) but I'm wondering if the advantages of me owning a nice car out weight the benefits of not having the financial obligations related and being able to spend the money on things I'd rather have/do then just drive around in a nicer vehicle.

 

yeah that's the deal for me. I want to be in control of my money. I'm graduating school a lot later than planned, even though I'm doing better than a lot of people I know I'm still a good 3-4 years behind on making a "big-boy" job salary and I want to make up for lost time. 

[Donald LaFell]

 Depends on if you're majoring in Psychology. All the psych majors I know can't get a job in their own field.

 

I'm in Web Development so I'm very fortunate in that regard. 

 

Doc Holiday kind of touched on this but I'm trying to be very aware of not going crazy, just because I'm making more than minimum wage finally I don't want to suddenly raise my standard of living for no good reason. 

[Donald LaFell]

Also as far as vehicles I'm looking at it's a little limited since I want a cheap commuter car but I'm also 6'6".

 

Honda Fit

Honda Element

Hyundai Elantra

Dodge Dart

Chevy Cruze

 

Also, so far when I've gone to the dealers I've had the exact opposite experience of getting swarmed by salesmen. I don't mind aggressive salesmen, it's their job to sale cars. 

[Kevin Greene]

Fit or Elantra off that list.

[thefuzz]

Not necessarily the smartest thing to do....depends on the interest rate you can get.

 

If you can get 1-2% on your car loan, you are actually better off getting the longer loan (5 years).  The value of money is greater than the rate you would be paying.

 

 

I agree, for someone like you or I who have bought multiple cars, and know how much they want to spend.

 

He is questioning new, and that means that the salesman is going to try to talk to him about monthly payments, not price and terms.

 

It's easy for inexperienced buyers to only look at $$$ out of pocket per month, and not think about total amount paid, or depreciation being faster than you can pay.

 

My point, is to go to a bank, and find out what you will spend per month on a car and only calculating on a 36 or 48 month term, then do whatever you want after that.

[MadHatter]

I agree, for someone like you or I who have bought multiple cars, and know how much they want to spend.

 

He is questioning new, and that means that the salesman is going to try to talk to him about monthly payments, not price and terms.

 

It's easy for inexperienced buyers to only look at $$$ out of pocket per month, and not think about total amount paid, or depreciation being faster than you can pay.

 

My point, is to go to a bank, and find out what you will spend per month on a car and only calculating on a 36 or 48 month term, then do whatever you want after that.

 

Yep.

 

NEVER talk payments with the salemen. Once you give them a number, they will lengthen the loan term to get you close.

 

Only things to be concerned with:

 

1.  Trade in they will give you - if you are trading in

2.  Price you are paying for the car

3.  Interest rate they are offering.

 

Payment is a factor of these.  Do NOT fall into their traps of talking payment amount.

[panther4life]

LOL at the paranoia regarding car salesmen....

[ladypanther]

I had a preowned and it sucked... Previous owner never took care of it... I bought it with 47k miles on it and around 100k my car was having issues after issues. I bought a new Toyota Camry right out of college... Sticker price was $27k but after 3 hours of negotiating they agreed to drop sticker price to $23.5k and do blind trade in on my old car (offered $3.5k) that required $3k in fixing and was priced at $400 by Carmax. So I got a brand new Camry for pretty much $20k interest free... Kelly Blue Book on my car was $26k. I drove my car for 60,000 before my first major maintenance.

You have to be smart when you buy a car... Preowned doesn't mean a better deal, you have no idea what kind of person drove this car before you and if this person maintained this vehicle.

My friend purchased 3 year old BMW with 42k miles... That car spend more time at the shop than his garage.

 

One reason I recommended a Certified pre-owned car.  Also, do not buy a BMW unless you have a lot of money to spend on repairs.  Also, if you buy used...important where you buy it.  Dealerships who also sell new cars, usually go through the used cars thoroughly in their service departments and have some sort of waranty.  I do not buy a used ca without consulting Consumer Reports.  I have an online account.  Feel free to PM me if you are looking at a car..I will be happy to look it up.

Yep.

 

NEVER talk payments with the salemen. Once you give them a number, they will lengthen the loan term to get you close.

 

Payment is a factor of these.  Do NOT fall into their traps of talking payment amount.

 LOL....I sell cars.  I ask the payment question for a reason that is different than you stated.  Most people are very unrealistic about payment.  They will be looking at a $30,000 car and say they want a $300 payment...tops.(with no down payment)   It is a waste of time...and cruel...to show someone the $30,000 car...and let them fall in love with it, then go thru the finance process and find out that it is a $600 payment car.  So....do not be so paranoid.  You get to choose the length of the term.  It will not be imposed on you by some salesperson with super powers.

[Kevin Greene]

LOL at the paranoia regarding car salesmen....

 

 

It ain't the salesman, it's the finance people.

[Kevin Greene]

https://www.alg.com/residual-value-awards/

[R0CKnR0LLA]

it depends a lot on the model. some cars are seriously overpriced new and buying one just a couple years old will save you a ton of money. other cars will hold their value so well that it seems pointless to buy one used. the car I'm looking at buying goes for around 14K 4-5 years old with 70-100K miles on it, while I could buy a brand new one for a little over 18K. in comparison the car I have now sold for 22K new though I bought it used for $3,500 with about 70K miles

[thefuzz]

it depends a lot on the model. some cars are seriously overpriced new and buying one just a couple years old will save you a ton of money. other cars will hold their value so well that it seems pointless to buy one used. the car I'm looking at buying goes for around 14K 4-5 years old with 70-100K miles on it, while I could buy a brand new one for a little over 18K. in comparison the car I have now sold for 22K new though I bought it used for $3,500 with about 70K miles

 

Never heard of such.

 

What kind of car?

[panther4life]

Never heard of such.

 

What kind of car?

 

my thoughts exactly..Had to be a typo.