I feel like I need a tutorial, lol. I am actually really good at buying new cars-I haggle well and get great deals. BUT we have been talking about buying used this time around, once the passat sells (we just had it inspected).
Except now God, I mean Bill's dad, lol, has spoken and we are all confused.
So...the plan is to buy a minivan and drive it until we 1) don't need a family vehicle like that anymore or 2) it dies. Unless I get a lemon, I have no plans on getting another car for a loooong time. And that is ok with me. I had the jetta for 10 years, and have had this one for 6-and it feels like I am getting rid of it really quickly to me, lmao. So I have no problems committing to a car.
My plan was to take what we get for the Passat (book on it is about $8K, and that is what I *hope* we will get for it), add enough to get to maybe $15K tops and buy a used car. We figured we would take out a home equity line of credit (which IHNI how to even do, but I guess we will figure it out) so that we have it as a deduction. I mean, I know that won't get us a Honda or Toyota, but I figured we could find something decent for that.
But then Bill's dad says with as little as I drive (45K in 6 years), buying used is a good idea, but if I plan on keeping it for basically its life span, I would be better off buying new. Or leasing-which I have never even considered doing.
Don't get me wrong, I love having a new car, and there are MUCH better financing deals out there on new cars, but then it depreciates soooooooo much at first, I really kind of hate to take that hit, kwim? Not to mention, I don't relish the idea of having a car payment for the next 3 years.
So now I am just confused. I want to do what makes the most sense to do-and yes, I am probably overthinking the entire thing. Are any of you a bit more car savvy than myself? (I know that isn't saying much, lmao-I have owned 2 cars in the past 16 years-3 in my entire life thus far-the first was a used one that didn't last too long and my dad had actually bought for me) I would love some input and thoughts as to what is the best thing-new, used or lease?
Thank you for your thoughts!! (and sorry I have been a ghost-I was running all day long today! I am trying to cram in all of my appts and errands this week so me and the girls can chill next week when they are off...)
I think a little research might help you. I know when we were considering a new van/car before we looked into a few things. Surprisingly we found some toyota vans that were around that price range with a reasonable amount of miles on them. Look on cars.com and it has a search engine that will tell you what's available within a distance you put. Just because someone is asking 20 k doesn't mean that they won't go down in price.
laura, knowing you, i completely disagree with god.
you want cheap. that equals quality used.
leasing = not fun. i've done it a few times and that's designed for people who want new often. that's not you.
buying new = instant depreciation. that's not you either.
sorry, but i completely disagree with god tonight.
lmao!!
ftr, I have been pouring over Edmunds.com tonight, and I have to say, I agree with you. I mean, just looking at the true cost to own, the depreciation is CRAZY for year one. Certainly less with some models than others, but omg!!!
and even accounting for interest on used loans (we could get a 0% with a new loan) and cash back incentives, our payments would be like half on a used car that is around $15K-which could get us a late model used in some brands. (and Kia's rating are awesome-they have great warranties and fab crash test ratings-but they depreciate a TON the first year, so buying last year's model saves money fo sho.)
I'm glad you said that about leasing too-ITA. It isn't really the right fit for me, and I don't want any additional hassle.
Sometimes I think God just likes to hear himself talk and wants everyone to know his opinion. Funny...God's son is an *awful* lot like that too, lmao...
I think a little research might help you. I know when we were considering a new van/car before we looked into a few things. Surprisingly we found some toyota vans that were around that price range with a reasonable amount of miles on them. Look on cars.com and it has a search engine that will tell you what's available within a distance you put. Just because someone is asking 20 k doesn't mean that they won't go down in price.
True-IHNI where people are willing to go on car prices. And IDK if you get your best deals with dealers or private party sales-though I would think private party.
I will definitely look at cars.com
Ok-so another question. How many miles do you think I should be looking for? I mean, what is too much for a model that is a year or 2 old?
laura, i think mileage really depends on the make.
honda, volvo, etc i'd buy up to 40k b/c i expect them to go at least 150k.
other brands, i'd probably want to stay in the 20k.
that's just me though.
another thought would be to see if any companies are offering special pre-owned financing right now. some of them do the certified pre-owned specials and that might be better than finding something cheap on cl or something.
I hadn't even thought of that, April! Thank you for the link!!! See...this is why I have bought new before. It is so easy to me. Pick what you want, haggle on price and incentives, done.
Used is good, but I think it is going to take a while and a Loooooot more research.
And ITA-from everything I have heard, the honda and toyota should go for a long time-and I think that is one of the reasons they are so hard to find used!!
We bought a new sienna, mostly because the used prices for mini-vans here are awfully close to the new prices and you don't get the same financing deals. We also knew we wouldnt' put a lot of miles on and that we'd keep it forever. And we liked the service we got from our toyota dealer so that was a known. Also, it's almost impossible to find a used minivan here with decent age/kms. People buy them for the long term.
I know that Dodge Grand Caravans here are often used as fleet cars (businesses). There were a lot of return leases with 20K KM-40K KM (1 year old) on them being sold for ~15K - 18K here (28K new).
I'm a bit leery of that as people normally drive those rentals/leased cars fairly roughly but if you have a good mechanic to look it over, you get an almost new for a decentish price.
