Car Buying- There's No Cheap Lunch
I'm in the market for a new car. My 13 year old Toyota 4Runner has three idiot lights glowing on the dashboard and there's a rubbing-squeeling sound emanating from the vicinity of the front, driver's side axle that sounds as though the wheel may fall off (my local service station reports that they don't know what is causing this). I've also used Bondo and spray paint on rust holes over the wheel wells. I've loved this car, but it will cost much more to fix than it's worth. The Grim Car Reaper has appeared and announced: "It's time."
I've been researching an inexpensive way to drive and have found that the only great deals are expensive. I'm looking for a cheap payment and reliability.
Leasing The once-good lease deals are pretty much dried up. Apparently the lease companies took a hit in the 90s and have gotten much tougher with offers. Those $20,000 cars for $199 per month for 48 payment deals? Forget it. They want huge down payments (e.g. $3500) and you will have spent over $13,000 in two years and will have nothing to show for it.
Used cars are intriguing, because they seem affordable and they definitely do cost less. But dealers seem to prey upon customers with shallow pockets. It's hard to get a lot of car with the slight reduction in the monthly payment. You can often see some overlapping in prices between year-old cars with 16,000 miles and their brand new counterparts. I did find a really good site that can provide a listing of offers for the model you're looking for in a radius up to 200 miles.
http://www.carsdirect.com/home Good luck with this. I think some dealers may be making offers for cars that don't even exist, as a few have not returned my emails over specific requests.
I am sad to say that New cars cost the most, but seem to be the best deals. If I wanted to spend $18,000 (that's $400 per month for 5 years!) I could get something I'd be really happy with, but I don't. I could get a reliable sedan for a little less than $14, 000 (Honda Civic), but that would be closing in on the price of something I'd really like. You can also get a great new car price offer here: http://www.carsdirect.com/home
So I'm slogging through this process until I can convince myself to either spend more or find the good deal on the used car of my dreams. I may soon be driving on three wheels.
I've been researching an inexpensive way to drive and have found that the only great deals are expensive. I'm looking for a cheap payment and reliability.
Leasing The once-good lease deals are pretty much dried up. Apparently the lease companies took a hit in the 90s and have gotten much tougher with offers. Those $20,000 cars for $199 per month for 48 payment deals? Forget it. They want huge down payments (e.g. $3500) and you will have spent over $13,000 in two years and will have nothing to show for it.
Used cars are intriguing, because they seem affordable and they definitely do cost less. But dealers seem to prey upon customers with shallow pockets. It's hard to get a lot of car with the slight reduction in the monthly payment. You can often see some overlapping in prices between year-old cars with 16,000 miles and their brand new counterparts. I did find a really good site that can provide a listing of offers for the model you're looking for in a radius up to 200 miles.
http://www.carsdirect.com/home Good luck with this. I think some dealers may be making offers for cars that don't even exist, as a few have not returned my emails over specific requests.
I am sad to say that New cars cost the most, but seem to be the best deals. If I wanted to spend $18,000 (that's $400 per month for 5 years!) I could get something I'd be really happy with, but I don't. I could get a reliable sedan for a little less than $14, 000 (Honda Civic), but that would be closing in on the price of something I'd really like. You can also get a great new car price offer here: http://www.carsdirect.com/home
So I'm slogging through this process until I can convince myself to either spend more or find the good deal on the used car of my dreams. I may soon be driving on three wheels.
posted by Man of Ages at 2:15 PM
7 Comments:
You are sooo wrong - new cars are the absolutely WORST deal. In the past two years, I have assisted three friends in finding used cars and all three LOVE their purchases. I have had good luck with the truck I bought at CarMax too. There are TONS of great deals on used cars - it just takes a lot more legwork and some homework. (But it will save you thousands of dollars to do it)
Good luck.
Chris-
I hope you're right about this. I'm still looking at used cars, but haven't found the kind of deal I want. I know that my problem is that I want it all: great price; low monthly payments; nice, reliable car. Something may have to give.
Just spend the $300 and get an Impala, drive it a couple of months until the engine seizes up, push it into the local lake, and spend another $300 on something like an El Dorado. Make sure you don't change the oil or anything else- maintenance ruins the economic value of such brilliant purchase decisions.
sixlegged-
Sounds like a plan, but if I can't get a $300 junker to last more than a couple of months, then I'm driving a crapper for $150 a month and having to register, get plates, insurance, etc. For $150 a month I could do a little better. If I can find a $300 car that drives for a year, then I'm in business. One reason my pride is intact while driving a 13 year-old truck is that many recall me having it when it was fairly new. I'm not so shallow as to tie any significant measure of my identity to the car I drive, but I don't want to look like a total loser, either.
Oh- and pushing a car into a lake is not ecologically sound. I'll park it on the Cross-Bronx Expressway, remove the plates, run and report it as stolen. It'll get totally stripped and maybe I can even get my $300 back from the insurance company.
You have a point. You could also sell it for parts and get a down payment on your next $300 klunker!
First off, go to My Product Adviser to find out which make and model of car is right for you. Then go hunting your local dealerships -- and do your work. Try to Google those dealerships or search 'em through Epinions or some consumer service like that to check their reputation. Solicit help from friends. And head to leaseguide.com to make sure you're up to speed on lease vs. financing vs. purchasing stuff.
I may be speaking too soon but I lucked out with a new Honda Civic that I got for $1,000 down and $200ish a month... and trust me, I had a 14-year-old clunker myself. Just keep at it.
secret trade
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