Interesting car info

[jeb]

From Edmonds on TV.

They are reporting that almost every NEW car is selling for less than the same model USED!

Sounds totally crazy but they gave some prices of used cars and what the same new one could be bought for. - jb

[justbroke]

Now I think Edmunds is in bed with the card dealerships, and here's why. Tell everyone to buy a new car because it's the same price as a used car of the same make and model. Whoops... I thought the value decreased when you drove it off the lot?

Strange, but a nice way to push new cars.

So I did look it up and there are "some", but not most and certainly not all. Of the 10 vehicles (alphabetically) at the top of the list, not one "new" car was cheaper then the used model.

What they are doing is comparing the interest rate and payment because, as they write, used car loans typically have higher interest rates. So the savings, is over time.

Nice analysis though.

[JRScott]

Yeah but the new car will depreciate more when you drive it off the lot than the used car .

I just put a thousand dollars cash into car repairs the last month, was cheaper than getting a new car (brake drums, radiator, tires etc).

If you want to buy the cheapest new car possible then learn to drive a manual, they are generally as much as half the price of an automatic.

[OhioFiler]

Yeah but the new car will depreciate more when you drive it off the lot than the used car .

I just put a thousand dollars cash into car repairs the last month, was cheaper than getting a new car (brake drums, radiator, tires etc).

If you want to buy the cheapest new car possible then learn to drive a manual, they are generally as much as half the price of an automatic.

Repairing an older car is usually a good idea. However, if I spend most of the money on non-routine repairs then investing in a newer car may well be a better option. If I spend $1,000 to repair a car in January and then another $1,000 in May I've spent $2,000 over 5 months($400 per month average). If that car then dies completely in July, I've got nothing for it and spent a lot of money on a useless asset.

[jeb]

What they are doing is comparing the interest rate and payment because, as they write, used car loans typically have higher interest rates. So the savings, is over time.

Nice analysis though.

Well, I think most people think of the cost of a car as being "how much I pay ever month" and not the loan amount and this is were the savings come in.

A small payment on a larger amount makes it cheaper.

In my younger days, I have several times gone "car shopping" thinking of buying a used car and found that the payments were about the same on a new one. - jb

[BK2008]

Yeah but the new car will depreciate more when you drive it off the lot than the used car .

I just put a thousand dollars cash into car repairs the last month, was cheaper than getting a new car (brake drums, radiator, tires etc).

If you want to buy the cheapest new car possible then learn to drive a manual, they are generally as much as half the price of an automatic.

I'm with you on this. I just went thru the 100K maintenance (belt, water pump, plugs, tranny fluid, fuel filters, etc), I split it over a few months, and put tires on it earlier this month. Total for all of the repairs/tires: $2500.00
About 5 months worth of new car payments.

I thought about replacing the car, but am really hard pressed to find something I am going to like that doesn't put my payment sky high, increase insurance and registration costs, gets as good if not better fuel efficiency, and just can't come up to buying a new vehicle when there is really nothing wrong with the car I have now that everything is done. Now if the tranny actually goes, I will have to revisit the issue again, that's will be a 3K bill, no doubt.