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thejucheidea
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Cars
Okay, ladies. I need opinions from those of you who have bought new cars.
I have had the same car since my 16th birthday: a 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle. It's served me massively well through the years and I have a lot of memories regarding that car. It drove me back and forth to four colleges and has been on many a road trip. I always think back to the times I sped outrageously in upstate New York and Vermont with my roommate and a friend in the dark of night when I went to Bennington; I remember my friend Bre cutting summer sausage on the absurdly huge dashboard as we headed to Albany for the oh-so-exciting mall there.
But I digress. In 2010, my Berry had a bunch of mechanical problems to the tune of $1500. I didn't have a good job then, so it was a massive financial hit. This Friday, I'm looking at another $1000 of work for the suspension. I was willing to do that and then this morning, it took five or six tries to get the car started. Add to that a possible electrical short that causes the passenger tail light to go out every time I brake, and we're looking at repairs that are going to end up being more than the trade-in value of my poor little car.
I lust after Honda Fits. Lust. I see them and stare as they drive by. They are a grand total of like $17,000. Is it worth going ahead and looking into buying a 2012 Fit and being under the auspices of the warranty for repairs? I have a good, steady income, so car payments won't be the biggest issue ever, but damn are unexpected car repairs a bitchslap to the bank when we're wanting to do other things
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Opinions? I've heard awesome things about Honda, but I've never had a new car, had to make a car payment or shopped for a car.
I have had the same car since my 16th birthday: a 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle. It's served me massively well through the years and I have a lot of memories regarding that car. It drove me back and forth to four colleges and has been on many a road trip. I always think back to the times I sped outrageously in upstate New York and Vermont with my roommate and a friend in the dark of night when I went to Bennington; I remember my friend Bre cutting summer sausage on the absurdly huge dashboard as we headed to Albany for the oh-so-exciting mall there.
But I digress. In 2010, my Berry had a bunch of mechanical problems to the tune of $1500. I didn't have a good job then, so it was a massive financial hit. This Friday, I'm looking at another $1000 of work for the suspension. I was willing to do that and then this morning, it took five or six tries to get the car started. Add to that a possible electrical short that causes the passenger tail light to go out every time I brake, and we're looking at repairs that are going to end up being more than the trade-in value of my poor little car.
I lust after Honda Fits. Lust. I see them and stare as they drive by. They are a grand total of like $17,000. Is it worth going ahead and looking into buying a 2012 Fit and being under the auspices of the warranty for repairs? I have a good, steady income, so car payments won't be the biggest issue ever, but damn are unexpected car repairs a bitchslap to the bank when we're wanting to do other things
.Opinions? I've heard awesome things about Honda, but I've never had a new car, had to make a car payment or shopped for a car.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Cars
Id say new just because I had two cars that were used and were pieces of crap.
I have a Toyota Matrix now, but I had a Honda Accord in college. Hondas are great cars and aren't crazy expensive to repair like VWs are.
I purchased my car new and purchased the extended warranty for peace of mind. You can usually purchase an extended warranty on a used car as well.
Go and test drive a few different cars that you're interested in. Then weigh the options. Kia has a great warranty (5 years, 100k miles I think).
[QUOTE]I had a VW before my current car. I LOVED my Jetta, but I will never purchase a VW again. They just cost way to much to repair.
Posted by SKP82[/QUOTE]
Ugh, yes. YES. I love my sweet car, but when it costs $400 because a piece of the window broke and everything is one huge piece so you have to replace it all, it's insane. Or when my hood latch broke and it was $250 to replace it :|.
I worked with someone who was determined to have their car die before he bought a new one. His 1980 Honda Accord had over 300,000 miles on it...and was still running like a champ.
A honda is probably one of the cards I would feel darn confident buying a certified used...
I had to lease my first car out of college (it's a VW jetta), and with the repair costs (a little over $1000 in the last month or so), I can't wait to get rid of it. Truthfully, car payments aren't that bad, but try building online some of the cars and use the payment calculator to get an idea how much you'd be looking at with various options (lower interest rate, higher intrest rate, range of the amount of money you look to put down, etc.).
Repairs/maintenance being covered for a few years definately saves you some money in the long run.
New car payments suck. But other than mileage maintenance, you don't usually deal with other major payments towards your car, so I'm told it balances out.
"His farts smell like Satan's asshole mixed with a skunk's vagina. But it's okay, because I love him." -CSousa
I would buy new or certified pre-owned. My current car sells for $34,000 brand new. We bought it with 36,000 miles on it and got it for $21,000. That's a HUGE savings for only 36,000 miles. We also put the 100,000 mile warranty on it just in case.
I definitely think that going to your car dealer and looking at lease trade ins (which is what mine is) and then comparing the savings to see if it's worth it.
I love my car, I love having it brand new and under warranty. I don't even have to worry about making sure no dash lights come on, or listening for weird little noises, etc. Even the lease made good financial sense when I did it (I wouldn't do it again at this point in my life, but it worked well for me 2 years ago).
When my lease is up next year, however, I am planning to look for cars that are about 1 - 2 years old because that's when you get the best value from a car. A brand new car loses value as soon as you drive it off the lot, so you might as well let someone else take that loss, but you get to keep the benefit of the warranty.
As for cars... I would go brand new. Like others have said, if you know what your car payment is, you just have to adjust your budget for that - it's much harder to budget for unexpected repairs.
I have bought my last three cars brand new, and traded the first two in at the 3-year mark (I get bored easily)... but I think the car I have now will be around for a while. I had a Mazda 3 back in 2005, then traded that in in 2009 for a Mitsubishi Lancer. The Lancer was fun, but impractical, so I traded her in last April and got my Subaru Legacy - I wanted AWD (damn Albany winters) and a manual transmission, so Subaru was pretty much the only way to go.
Hondas are great - buy one new, and they have ridiculous warrenties, and some of the best resale value around, which I found is VERY important. (My Lancer was worth $13,000, but I had to fight to get them to give me 10k.) If I could have gotten an AWD Honda with a stick, I probably would have gone that way, although I don't think I will ever regret my Scooby :-)
I just looked up the value of my car and I am actually only $500.00 up side down from what I owe compared to what it is worth. So in one month I will be even with what I owe and the value of it. Depending on the car its worth the new.
I bought a brand new Saturn, right before I decided I wanted to trade it in for a different car, they announced Saturns were no longer going to be made, that dropped the value significantly and I ended up being $2500 up side down. But with Hondas I think you are fine and don't really see them having an issue unless there ends up being a big problem with the FIT. Ive never heard of them so Im guessing they are pretty new?
New car with a warranty is the way to go, unless you know someone who is a great mechanic and will get you parts cheaper and do work for less than a shop.
ExH and I had a fit when they first came out. They are pretty nice, a whole lot mroe room than a beetle.
[QUOTE]ahstillwell - tell me you're talking about Crossgates?! haha!! I remember being so in awe of the mall when I first moved here... and now I avoid it at all costs ;-)
Posted by BriSox81[/QUOTE]
lol yes! What were we supposed to do in Bennington? Manchester Center was about the same distance away, but if we wanted to actually be able to afford anything, we had to head West to Crossgates. I played that DDR machine in the theater way too damn much.
Daddy, Tyler and I are going to go to the big Honda dealership this weekend. I've talked to some of my coworkers and they are all for buying new cars, especially Honda. According to one of the pharmacy techs, our credit union has great auto loans, so this may end up going pretty well.
A few tips: join a forum. I'm sure there's a Fit equivalent of 8thcivic.com (which is what I joined before buying my car). A quick search yielded fitfreak.net and hondafitforums.com. Then you can see what actual owners are saying about their cars. You can also find out what other people are paying on the forum.
Shop around. I don't like negotiating, so instead, I emailed the internet sales department of every dealership in my area. I went with the one who gave me the lowest out the door price and could get one in red.
I haz a planning bio
I still have my first car, a 2001 Honda Civic, which I bought used and I haven't had any problems with it but I still don't plan on keeping it for much longer. It really would be nice to have a new car with a warranty. I think that's the best bet, especially if what you want is a car make/model for which parts are expensive or hard to find. FI's uncle had a Volvo and ran into that issue... he had to put it on a trailer and tow it with FI's old truck over 200 miles to a specialized shop just to have the work done on it. It ended up costing him several thousand, that trip alone. After hearing of all the hell he went through with that car, FI and I will never own a Volvo, even if bought new with a warranty.
But anyways... You mentioned a Honda Fit? Honda parts are a dime a dozen. If you do have maintenance issues, you won't have a hard time finding parts or mechanics who know the ins and outs of your car.
My first car was a 1996 Lexus ES 300 (made by Toyota), that car had 300,000 miles on it when I got it and 320,000 when it became my sisters. The only reason she isn't driving it now is that she rolled it and had it totalled. Even with that car totalled with 320,000+ miles on it, we entered it in a demo derby, where my cousin drove it and won. So, if that doesn't speak to the quality of the foreign car, I don't know what will.
I now drive a 2006 Nissan Altima. It has 96,000 miles on it and I have not encountered one issue with it. It's an extremely reliable car.
I feel like I am in the minority and I would advise against getting a brand new car. It's almost like throwing money away. Financial and car experts both agree that buying a 2-4 year old car is the best time. Most often the warranty is still good on it, the car is still the most current model, but you aren't paying the outrageous prices you would for a new car.
For example, my parents just bought a 2009 Lexus ES 350 with 60,000 miles on it. With the included features that car is ~$42,000 new, they bought it for $18,000. Used saves a lot of money, and you can still get a damn good car, especially if you buy foreign.
Training to be the next companion.
I think it just depends on your particular situation as to whether it's better to go new or with a good used car. My family has always bought used, and we've driven almost all of our cars to around 200,000 miles. My car before this one was a '99 Chevy Malibu that my parents bought for me (used) in 2002 when I was 16. I drove it until last year, when it was totaled.
It's definitely possible to get a used car that isn't going to cost you a ton in repairs, and it can save you a lot of money.
Your parents' Lexus sounds like a good deal, though.
I haz a planning bio
I love Hondas. My 1st 3 cars were Hondas. The 1st one was old when I got it and I drove it to over 200,000. My 2nd one (a '95) is STILL going but resides at my parents' house for my little bro. We sold my 3rd one in order to get a truck.
(I didn't read any replies. So yeah...)