Car Buying Question

I was all ready to go car shopping with the proceeds from selling the orange Element, but decided to pay off about $2K in debt, contribute to my Roth IRA and save the rest for this winter instead. Modern cars are just getting broken in at 100K miles these days and 250K is well within reasonable expectations for the more reliable models. My 8 year old pickup has 124K on the ticker and runs perfect, still looks sharp as well. I would have no hesitation in taking off tomorrow for a cross country road trip with no worries about my vehicle.

I'm seeing a ton of vehicles for sale with 80-100K miles, 5-8 years old for $4K-8K. When figuring the value of a vehicle, look at what it will be worth in 5 years by comparing prices of that model five years older. Then figure out how much value you will lose per year. Those 'great deals' at $15-$20K aren't such good deals when you do the math.
 
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  • #53
Thanks guys. I didn't plan on spending 15k, it was just a thought. I have the same feelings about money in the bank, so I'm not looking to spend a fortune on a new one. Just want something more reliable than my jeep and something that's not slowly falling apart for bring so far away from home, and something a bit more fuel efficient. Like a civic or element or some other small car.
 
I've played with the idea of "upgrading" my Civic to something else next May when I turn 25 and hit the lower insurance rate bracket. The insurance for it is twice what my F550 is. :whine:
 
My Ranger has 230k on it, and I'd drive it to Brian's tomorrow without a care. And yes... it's 4 wheel drive, and so is the missus' Escape.
 
Wow, lots of good advice here. Wish I had listened to such when I was younger. I tried the new bimmer, with payments, and here's what I learned:

1. it's a really nice car
2. the girls will think you are loaded, and those kind will want you to buy them a bimmer, too
3. the repair shops will think you are loaded, and will charge accordingly
4. your customers will think you are loaded, and must be charging them too much for the job
5. you will need another reliable car anyway, to drive while your bimmer is in the shop
 
Oh, I suggest checking Craigslist and try focusing on cars for sale by owner. You may find a nice car for a couple thousand less than any dealer would sell it for. Dealers have lots of nice cars but they get top dollar for them.

And the first thing to check before contacting the seller is to find the blue book value at www.kbb.com
 
If I was you I would either go with the bounce option (leave the car at home), or just keep the car you have. Neither of my girls took a car to college. Too much trouble to park it.
 
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  • #69
Don't know. Anytime between now and May 2011 I guess. Would have to check with my parents on that.
 
My car is the same body style as that one although it's a 2002 with a manual transmission and without a CD player.

It currently has 126k miles; I figure I could put another 125k on it without issue.

I'd sell it for $5000 after Pittsburgh/November, fwiw.

It got new front struts and front pads, replaced the trans oil and spark plugs on 3/30/2010 @ 117,949, new O2 sensor 11/16/2009 @ 109,115 miles. I replaced the tires last year I think it was, before I started tracking things like a nutter. Also not listed is an air filter change, back with the O2 sensor I believe. The only work, aside from body work, that I've had done was a rotate and alignment on 4/7/2010 @ 118,478. I have receipts for all the body work (3 incidences), all the work was done by a single local shop with a lifetime warranty, although I've never needed it. They've done all the body work I've ever needed, starting with when I hit a deer in my Jeep when I was 18 or 19.


It's basically time for another oil change (~20% life remaining) and timing belt change, which I will take care of. The timing belt, water pump, power steering belt, alternator belt, oil (and filter), coolant and radiator hoses, headlights and the parking/running/turning lights, and battery are getting changed out then. I've had the parts for a while (excluding the battery), been waiting for cooler weather since it's all preventative (excluding oil). I'll check the air filter then, and swap if required of course.

My last long trip was MS-VA-IL-WI-MS and excluding the ethanol I received in your state, I averaged 39-40mpg. The worse was 34mpg (ethanol) and the best was 42mpg.

Anywho, it's just an idea. It's not usual for us to sell vehicles, but variety is the spice of life, they say. I've had it since Dec 2nd, 2007, and have put just shy of 60k miles on it. Before me it was in California, and before that, Hawaii, according to the Carfax I ran when I bought it.
 
Part of being young is doing all sorts of absurd road trips in beater cars held together with baling wire and chewing gum.

So the car breaks on the road to Mass. so what? Get it fixed and drive on. Cars break down, new ones, used ones, you can't predict a car's reliability by price or mileage. Manufacturer seems to be the best indicator and you've ruled out the most reliable manufacturer in history. The Toyota accelerator issue is isolated ad utterly overblown by the media. I've driven them since 1989 and every one gave me more than 200K miles and still had lots of resale value. I had one of the 4Runners with the head gasket problem, my engine blew when it was 3 years old and Toyota REPLACED it for no charge. Toyota makes great vehicles.

Get something simple and reliable you can learn to work on yourself. That Cherokee sounds better than any car I had before I was 22 by a wide margin. It's just a car, a tool you use to go places and carry stuff. Paying $15K cash for a car at your age? That's just stupid.

If you plan to drive anywhere around Boston I recommend something armored with gun ports... like a Bradley maybe. You haven't driven until you've done Boston. Cybergeek is understating if anything. If it's a nice car when you get there, it won't be for long.

There are so many reasons why you should back off on your budget it's impossible to list them all. I know that's not what you want to hear but you need to think about saving every penny so when you get out of school you can make moves and take opportunities. The less money you have in reserve, the less options you'll have. The key to being comfortable is to know how much 'enough' is and have reserves. Cash is King, conserve it, make it work for you rather than the other way around, think at least twice and sleep on it before parting with any.

Carl's Civic sounds really good to me, it's amazing what you can pack into one of those. Plus, you know where it came from and who maintained it... with used cars, that's priceless.
 
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  • #73
That sounds awesome Carl. Like Blinky said, I really like the idea of knowing where it came from and that it was well maintained. The only problem is I'm still learning to drive a manual transmission, but I guess now is as good a time to learn as any.
 
The Honda manuals are as easy as they come. My 1984 Prelude was a piece of cake, the easiest shifting vehicle I've ever had.
 
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