Buying My First New Car

[COCKYTALKIN]

I've become a Certified Pre-Owned guy. You can get comparable or better warranties, and significantly better prices than new cars. The best part about Certified Pre-Owned is that everything has to work on the vehicle. They also have standards on brake pads and tire tread. I believe the regulations may differ between manufacturers so do your research.

[sc455]

Originally Posted by ColaCock

My advice is don't buy new. Take advantage of someone else who made that mistake.

Buying a new car is simply a bad investment, although I know there are many people who can't resist and "need" the new feeling.

not always true.

[b381l]

Buy used 95% of the time unless there are extra warranties, etc with a new car. Be sure to buy a car that will last 150-200K miles. Check the NADA or Kelly Blue Book numbers on resale.....and last, make sure to pay it off sooner rather than later. Interest rates are low, so now should be a fairly good time to buy.

[RGHoskins]

New vs used, there is no right answer. Do what's right for your personal situation. The only advice I will give (no offense to anyone) is do not buy a Hyundai or Kia. I got suckered into that "Americas best warranty" and "JD powers top initial quality" bullshit in 04 and bought the biggest POS I've ever owned, brand new off the lot. Oh and that warranty is completely worthless, so not much selling point there.

[JNGolf]

Originally Posted by johnnyb

Of course you will see a huge difference there, you are comparing apples and oranges...

Originally Posted by ColaCock

Because I was comparing used versus new...which...is apples versus oranges.

Don't forget lemons...

[MEL]

I've always felt that it's better for me to buy used. You can find a car that's practically new with low miles for alot less than if you buy brand new. I have an Acura MDX and love it, but it's not great on gas. My brother bought his Acura TL brand new and has had it for probably ten years and it's still working great. I tend to lean towards Acura, Nissan & Toyota because, in my experience, they seem to have less problems.

[uscJustin06]

It depends on how "NEW" the car is. If it's a 2012 when the 2013's are coming in you might be able to get the "new" 2012 at the same price of a used 2012 of that same make. Happened for me last year. Now if you're jumping on the 2014's in 2013. They are usually inflated from the beginning.

It also depends on how much of that NEW PRICE is discounted from a rebate. Driving a Kia off the lot with rebates is much different then driving off the lot with a mazda.

[gamecock88]

Toyota/Honda are one level. Hyundai/Nissan and SOME of the Kias are close behind now. Hyundai and Kia are the same company now but I think Kia still pumps out a ton of their low end junk. Mom has an Optima with all the options and it has been a good car for a couple years now. I'd look at any of those for economy, features, reliability. The Camry & Accord are great cars. We have 2 Accords in our family. The new 2013 4cyl with all the safety features and a 2007 V6 with 130k miles and no issues. I think the Toyotas and Hondas will have a better resale value down the road but if you plan to drive it untill the wheels fall off, that shouldn't matter. I've heard some nightmare stories about VWs and the costs to repair them. Don't know much about Mazda. I would consider the V6 as most of them don't get much worse MPG than the 4 Cyl and they help you get up to speed with a car load of people much easier.

[Acockolypse Now]

Let me give you a for instance.

Let's say you want to buy a Ford Edge (maybe you do, maybe you don't, work with me here).

So let's say you want to get something a little nicer and decide to go with the Limited edition. MSRP is around $34,950 for it (source: http://www.edumnds.com GREAT RESOURCE), but let's assume you have mad haggling skills and get a decent dealership. You charm them out of their socks and manage to get the price down to $32,000 give or take.

Well done.

Now, if you were willing to go used, let's see what you could get.

Doing just a quick, cursory search on Edmunds (I didn't even try cars.com or scout the dealerships) I found a 2013 Ford Edge Limited in my neighborhood for $26,000. That's nearly $8,000 off MSRP even before I begin negotiating. If I'm willing to walk out I can probably snag it for $23,000.

All I'd need to accept mentally is the second one has 20,000 miles on it. With CarFax and detailed maintenance reports I can be reassured the car's in great shape and it's still under warranty.

Plus, if you're worried about what a car might look like or hold up after 20,000 miles, you're buying the wrong car.

During my lifetime I've bought 2 new cars and 4 used ones, I've been just as happy (if not happier) with the used ones than the new and they've held up just as well if not better.

I will NEVER buy new again, so when I finally have my mid-life crisis and buy my Dodge Viper I'll buy a used one.

[Captain9Dragons]

we buy new, but drive them for years and years

still have our 97 Camry (wheels fail to fall off)

[The Yancey]

I have a Toyota Camry and a Hyundai Elantra. Both have been very reliable. While the Camry is more comfortable the Elantra is a bit smaller and has more of a sports car feel and look to it. It is fun to drive.

[johnnyb]

Originally Posted by Acockolypse Now

Let me give you a for instance.

Let's say you want to buy a Ford Edge (maybe you do, maybe you don't, work with me here).

So let's say you want to get something a little nicer and decide to go with the Limited edition. MSRP is around $34,950 for it (source: http://www.edumnds.com GREAT RESOURCE), but let's assume you have mad haggling skills and get a decent dealership. You charm them out of their socks and manage to get the price down to $32,000 give or take then you take advantage of fords current manufacturer rebate and take another $3500 off of the price, bringing it down to $28,500.

Well done.

Now, if you were willing to go used, let's see what you could get.

Doing just a quick, cursory search on Edmunds (I didn't even try cars.com or scout the dealerships) I found a 2013 Ford Edge Limited in my neighborhood for $26,000. That's nearly $2,500 off MSRP even before I begin negotiating. If I'm willing to walk out I can probably snag it for $23,000.

All I'd need to accept mentally is the second one has 20,000 miles on it. With CarFax and detailed maintenance reports I can be reassured the car's in great shape and it's still under warranty.

Plus, if you're worried about what a car might look like or hold up after 20,000 miles, you're buying the wrong car.

During my lifetime I've bought 2 new cars and 4 used ones, I've been just as happy (if not happier) with the used ones than the new and they've held up just as well if not better.

I will NEVER buy new again, so when I finally have my mid-life crisis and buy my Dodge Viper I'll buy a used one.

personally I am seeing prices between 28-32 for used 2013 ford edges (limited) doing a search of 100 miles around rock hill on edmunds, all of these have between 20-25k miles on them...but we may have used slightly different search critera. All that being said, TO ME PERSONALLY, I would pay more for 3 miles vs 20,000 miles, however 2500-3000 is more than than I would be willing to pay in this instance, that being the only difference in the vehicles. The vans we were looking at were actually cheaper (new than used) because of the rebates offered by the maker...plus in 2012 chrysler "beefed up" the base package on that model, it added a built in tv/dvd player for the back two rows and went to a standard 17 in wheel from 16...neither of which was included in the prices of the 2011s we looked at...once you decide on a vehicle you need to really research the available rebates and incentives, and they change monthly, you can actualy use edmunds and other sources to find out other recent rebates they have offered

[nicstockman]

Originally Posted by RGHoskins

New vs used, there is no right answer. Do what's right for your personal situation. The only advice I will give (no offense to anyone) is do not buy a Hyundai or Kia. I got suckered into that "Americas best warranty" and "JD powers top initial quality" bullshit in 04 and bought the biggest POS I've ever owned, brand new off the lot. Oh and that warranty is completely worthless, so not much selling point there.

Listen to this guy.

Also, cars coming off of a lease are generally good options.

Just please please please do not buy from Carmax.

[GamecockNeal]

Originally Posted by RGHoskins

New vs used, there is no right answer. Do what's right for your personal situation. The only advice I will give (no offense to anyone) is do not buy a Hyundai or Kia. I got suckered into that "Americas best warranty" and "JD powers top initial quality" bullshit in 04 and bought the biggest POS I've ever owned, brand new off the lot. Oh and that warranty is completely worthless, so not much selling point there.

Disagree.

I bought a new Sonata last year and love it and will stick to Hyundai. I always believed buying new was bad but when I looked at my price range, I found my Sonata was a much better deal than a used Camry or Accord with 60K miles. Hyundai resale values are now holding much better too.

I have driven to just above Miami from Columbia on one tank of gas multiple times. So if gas is something you are really concerned about, you wont find a better car.

Hyundai is great now and well worth the investment. I highly recommend test driving a Sonata or Elantra and learning more about them if you are looking solely at cars.

[MillerTime843]

Originally Posted by Acockolypse Now

Don't buy new.

You lose money the moment you turn out of the lot.

3,000 or more considering the car/truck and sticker price

[STEPHONGILMOREFAN!]

im 19 and have a 2013 ford mustang.. all the miles on it are from me. I love my car

[Mr.101]

Originally Posted by STEPHONGILMOREFAN!

im 19 and have a 2013 ford mustang.. all the miles on it are from me. I love my car

eh.....mine's better.

[Acockolypse Now]

Originally Posted by johnnyb

personally I am seeing prices between 28-32 for used 2013 ford edges (limited) doing a search of 100 miles around rock hill on edmunds, all of these have between 20-25k miles on them...but we may have used slightly different search critera. All that being said, TO ME PERSONALLY, I would pay more for 3 miles vs 20,000 miles, however 2500-3000 is more than than I would be willing to pay in this instance, that being the only difference in the vehicles. The vans we were looking at were actually cheaper (new than used) because of the rebates offered by the maker...plus in 2012 chrysler "beefed up" the base package on that model, it added a built in tv/dvd player for the back two rows and went to a standard 17 in wheel from 16...neither of which was included in the prices of the 2011s we looked at...once you decide on a vehicle you need to really research the available rebates and incentives, and they change monthly, you can actualy use edmunds and other sources to find out other recent rebates they have offered

Good points, a lot of it is going to depend on the model. I have no idea why I picked a Ford Edge.

[1SCFanInPAUntilNow]

Originally Posted by STEPHONGILMOREFAN!

im 19 and have a 2013 ford mustang.. all the miles on it are from me. I love my car

Watch out Big Time is in the house.

[ColaCock]

Originally Posted by STEPHONGILMOREFAN!

im 19 and have a 2013 ford mustang.. all the miles on it are from me. I love my car

do you pay the car payment, insurance, and maintenance?