Another +1. Bought my last car with about 1,800 miles and 3.5 years of the warranty still on it. Buying used or previous year's model is the way to go. Let someone else take that big first year hit.
This used to by my go-to rule...but then the market changed. Of the new cars we've bought, there either was no used equivalent, or the new version was so heavily discounted that it was a small difference between 2yrs old -w- 15-25K on the ODO or drop an extra $1500-2000 and get one brand new.
Our '13 Impreza was only $1800 more than a used one. My '14 RAM was about $2K more than most 3 year used trucks on the lot.
Smokes you buy new cars fairly regularly... how do you do it, big tymer?
Not sure...I guess I've just resigned myself to the fact that I will always have 2 car payments. Ready for the long? Giddyup.
-#1, I will NEVER take a loss on a car. If the numbers do not work, I will walk away.
-All of my vehicles are well cared for and low mileage, I always get a really solid trade in. Example: '14 RAM was $30K, with the $1500 down I paid + my equity on my '09 Accord, I walked out the door with a $24K note at 0% financing. So $24K owed on a brand new, $38K truck. I've owned that truck now for 2yr, 3mo and only have 19K miles on it.
-I view my cars as the only item I own that enables me to make $$. No car = can't get to work. I do not mind paying $$ for that security.
-Modern car maint is getting out of control and the vehicles are having more and more expensive problems. I know many people trying to keep early 2000's cars running and when they break, you're broke. Shit costs so much to replace and the replacement is getting more and more difficult. This isn't my 1972 Maverick, I could work on that.
-Long story short, I will not put my family in the poor house buying expensive cars...but I do consider them a necessary expense.