My question is, what is the advantage of buying a brand new car? It loses 20% of its value when they hand you the keys.
I don’t know about you people but I can’t afford to take a $10,000 hit on a $50,000 purchase the instant I make the purchase, and anyone who can afford that isn’t buying a $50,000 car
I bought a new car earlier this year. I got a Toyota. I intend on being its only owner (I will drive it until it is totaled). With the reliability I expect to get out of the car, that means I could be driving it for 15-20 years if I treat it right. Since I figure I’m going to be owning it that long 1) I wanted to get a specific configuration that I like 2) I was okay with spending a little bit extra (when you consider the intended lifetime of the car) to get it brand new.
Since I don’t ever plan on reselling it, I don’t care about the value of the car decreasing after I buy it personally.
They are out there, but few and far between. I’ve bought 3 dealer loaners of the previous years model year with an average mileage around 5k. 2 of them were a while ago. The most recent was a 3 row KIA sorrento and it was nearly 30% off MSRP. Hard to find those kind of deals though, and warranties are shorter.
Brand new previous year models go on sale for that cheap every year when new models are released. If you want a killer deal on a brand new car, start looking at the handful of 2023 models still sitting on lots now that 2024 models are out.
Unless your get certified pre owned with a full warranty, the warranty on a new car is quite valued in my eyes.
I’ve had two different bought new cars with their original warranties that have both needed major work done just before or right after the warranty expired (just after was handled anyways).
But that was also when new car prices were much more reasonable.
Buying used is just a better deal all around. The amount of 2 year old sub 20k mile cars available is huge and that’s such a small amount of their life. Most anything can last to about 150k miles these days. You can get even more out of them, but bigger maintenance costs are going to be more likely.
My current main driver is a 2020 Malibu. It’s fast, it’s sporty, it gets great fuel mileage, and I bought it secondhand. I let somebody else put the first 30,000 miles on the car and in exchange for that I paid like $12,000 less than the cost of a brand new one.
It was also like a year and a half old when I got it so it wasn’t even that old of a car. This is the first car I’ve ever had payments on, all of my other cars were bought with cash, and I still have the pickup that I got in 2008 in the middle of the crisis for $3,000 cash with 350,000 miles on the odometer and she runs great.
The only reason I don’t drive the pickup instead of this car is because it is slow and clunky and doesn’t get good fuel mileage and it’s an old beat-up pickup truck.
I also have an old jeep that is a project car that I’m working on. Paid cash for it, it cranks and runs.
I’ve been looking to replace my car this year. The used cars I’m looking at (2-3 years old) are almost as expensive as the new cars. Maybe I will save $5000-7000 on it. So why buy a used car with dubious history?
I’ve bought at least a couple of 1-2 year old cars before.
In the 2 I can remember off the top of my head the only thing wrong with either of them was higher than average miles… Everything else basically felt like a brand new car for significantly cheaper.
Although, the last time I did that was 20 years ago when I bought a 2 year old pickup truck for way less than a new one would’ve been.
These days it would make more sense to go new since the pricing on used vehicles that are still that new is so close in comparison to the new vehicle, particularly since you can often get lower rate financing and other incentives when purchasing new that you don’t get on used.
So for GM cars, they have a standard 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty. People would trade in their cars when the warranty expires. They’re might not be anything wrong with it, but they have the income to buy another new car and don’t want to deal with out of warranty repairs.
Ever since covid it’s made sense most of the time to buy brand new for exactly the reason you state. I sure wouldn’t buy a 2-3 year old car to save 10%. If someone treated it poorly it may require expensive repairs or not last as long.
I bought a car that was 6 years old three years ago because it was 30% of the price of a brand new car end first major service is due. If it’s too much I’ll just sell it and buy another used car and have a decent trade for it. My father taught me this method from his father before him, and the only time I deviated from it the car was recalled due to dieselgate.
The only benefit I can think of is being able to get something with all the features (and none of the pointless add-ons) that you want. Unfortunately 99% of dealers will want you to buy from the lot, which negates that pretty effectively.
They all also come with touchscreen infotainment systems and track everything you do. I’ll sell you a 2023 Subaru Legacy. I’m looking to buy something pre-2010.
My question is, what is the advantage of buying a brand new car? It loses 20% of its value when they hand you the keys.
I don’t know about you people but I can’t afford to take a $10,000 hit on a $50,000 purchase the instant I make the purchase, and anyone who can afford that isn’t buying a $50,000 car
I bought a new car earlier this year. I got a Toyota. I intend on being its only owner (I will drive it until it is totaled). With the reliability I expect to get out of the car, that means I could be driving it for 15-20 years if I treat it right. Since I figure I’m going to be owning it that long 1) I wanted to get a specific configuration that I like 2) I was okay with spending a little bit extra (when you consider the intended lifetime of the car) to get it brand new.
Since I don’t ever plan on reselling it, I don’t care about the value of the car decreasing after I buy it personally.
That is accounting value and not real life resale value. If you could buy a car with 500 miles for 20% of the price, no one would buy new cars
They are out there, but few and far between. I’ve bought 3 dealer loaners of the previous years model year with an average mileage around 5k. 2 of them were a while ago. The most recent was a 3 row KIA sorrento and it was nearly 30% off MSRP. Hard to find those kind of deals though, and warranties are shorter.
Brand new previous year models go on sale for that cheap every year when new models are released. If you want a killer deal on a brand new car, start looking at the handful of 2023 models still sitting on lots now that 2024 models are out.
Unless your get certified pre owned with a full warranty, the warranty on a new car is quite valued in my eyes.
I’ve had two different bought new cars with their original warranties that have both needed major work done just before or right after the warranty expired (just after was handled anyways).
But that was also when new car prices were much more reasonable.
Buying used is just a better deal all around. The amount of 2 year old sub 20k mile cars available is huge and that’s such a small amount of their life. Most anything can last to about 150k miles these days. You can get even more out of them, but bigger maintenance costs are going to be more likely.
My current main driver is a 2020 Malibu. It’s fast, it’s sporty, it gets great fuel mileage, and I bought it secondhand. I let somebody else put the first 30,000 miles on the car and in exchange for that I paid like $12,000 less than the cost of a brand new one.
It was also like a year and a half old when I got it so it wasn’t even that old of a car. This is the first car I’ve ever had payments on, all of my other cars were bought with cash, and I still have the pickup that I got in 2008 in the middle of the crisis for $3,000 cash with 350,000 miles on the odometer and she runs great.
The only reason I don’t drive the pickup instead of this car is because it is slow and clunky and doesn’t get good fuel mileage and it’s an old beat-up pickup truck.
I also have an old jeep that is a project car that I’m working on. Paid cash for it, it cranks and runs.
There weren’t even any new cars 2 years ago
I’ve been looking to replace my car this year. The used cars I’m looking at (2-3 years old) are almost as expensive as the new cars. Maybe I will save $5000-7000 on it. So why buy a used car with dubious history?
This is something I ask frequently. Who’s buying 2 or 3 year old used cars? If the previous owner didn’t like them after 2 years why will you?
The 10 year old used cars for $3000 total is where it’s at.
I’ve bought at least a couple of 1-2 year old cars before.
In the 2 I can remember off the top of my head the only thing wrong with either of them was higher than average miles… Everything else basically felt like a brand new car for significantly cheaper.
Although, the last time I did that was 20 years ago when I bought a 2 year old pickup truck for way less than a new one would’ve been.
These days it would make more sense to go new since the pricing on used vehicles that are still that new is so close in comparison to the new vehicle, particularly since you can often get lower rate financing and other incentives when purchasing new that you don’t get on used.
So for GM cars, they have a standard 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty. People would trade in their cars when the warranty expires. They’re might not be anything wrong with it, but they have the income to buy another new car and don’t want to deal with out of warranty repairs.
Tons of those 2-3 year used cars were a lease. It’s possible to find great deals with them.
Ever since covid it’s made sense most of the time to buy brand new for exactly the reason you state. I sure wouldn’t buy a 2-3 year old car to save 10%. If someone treated it poorly it may require expensive repairs or not last as long.
I bought a car that was 6 years old three years ago because it was 30% of the price of a brand new car end first major service is due. If it’s too much I’ll just sell it and buy another used car and have a decent trade for it. My father taught me this method from his father before him, and the only time I deviated from it the car was recalled due to dieselgate.
The only benefit I can think of is being able to get something with all the features (and none of the pointless add-ons) that you want. Unfortunately 99% of dealers will want you to buy from the lot, which negates that pretty effectively.
They all also come with touchscreen infotainment systems and track everything you do. I’ll sell you a 2023 Subaru Legacy. I’m looking to buy something pre-2010.