New or Used

[Anonymous]

I know this question might have been asked a lot and I tried to research as much as possible but I'm a planner and I like to plan ahead.

I just financed my first car. We are a large family with quite a few young kids we bought the car on 3/17/15. We bought a 2011 VW Routan (minivan) with 45K miles. It's fully loaded with heated seats, 2 rear DVD players, Bluetooth, Sirius, navigation, etc. it's pretty amazing and i love it. One of the reason we decided on used was because we wanted to keep the payment as low as possible so we can get use to 2 extra bills a month and because of our young kids. At the time I bought it I added the extended warranty which I have cancelled

I just have a bad feeling I can't get rid of. Based on Carfax the car was very well taken care of with only 1 owner and no accidents. The van seems perfect now but now becuase we have no extended warranty and very little Powertrain left (1 year) Im scared of what the future might hold. I'm scared that in about 2-3 years something will happen with the car (no matter how well we took care of it) and it will cost to much to get fixed. We started a savings just in case but it still scares me. Our loan is for 72 months but we are paying extra every month to get it paid off 4-5 years (maybe even sooner then that because we also plan to put 70% of our tax refund on the car every year)

Like I said we just bought the car on 3/17 and I'm starting to second guess myself on buying used. I keep getting this feeling that I should of bought new. I couldn't justify a new car payment right now but I feel if we would of bought new it would of been more reliable and we wouldn't have to worry so much about the car breaking down. And fear that we will pay more in repairs over the years then just buying new. It even crossed my mind to trade in the car we just bought for something new (but no way will I do so with negative equity) I was told we could use rebates to even out the negative equity but we just bought the car and only paid our first car payment (we made it 2 months early and more then the amount so we can stay ahead) would you guys recommend trading it in so early to buy something new?

I wanted to come here and ask you guys what your experience was on buying used vs new? I researched as much as I could on used cars before buying but just can't shake this feeling now since we bought it. Also what would you guys recommend as far as trading in a used car for new (Im not talking about now but in the future) but if something bad did happen and we had to trade it in with negative equity what would the best way to handle that. Also I know new cars cost more so is it harder to be approved for a new car or used (or is it just the amount vs your income they look at) I just like to plan and just want to be ready no matter what. I read into leasing as well and don't think that would be such a good idea with having young kids (they are not allowed to eat or drink in our car but kids will always find a way to break something with nothing lol)

Thanks in advance everyone and sorry if this is a little long.

[TRC_WA]

I bought a used 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser in 2009 with 38k miles...  I traded it in May 2013 with 103k miles for a 2012 Dodge Charger with 28k miles.  The only maintenance costs I had on the PT outside of routine maintenance was about $350 spent on a radiator fan and a sensor.  That's it... over 60k miles.

I drove the Charger for 18 months or so and traded it in January with 50k miles.  No issues with car... just routine maintenance.

I always bought used because I wanted to not lose money driving it off the lot.

That's the car I traded the Charger in for... a 2015 Dodge Challenger... 5.7L V8.

I bought new... because it's my dream car and I won't be trading it in.  So losing a bit driving off the lot isn't a big deal.  I'll eventually get into positive equity.

Cars today are built much better than in years past... I wouldn't worry about your used vehicle.  Enjoy it... It will probably get you over 200,000 miles easy.

[StartingOver10]

I am a big fan of used vehicles. I have purchased more than 15+ vehicles over the last 40 years and only one was new. I still feel guilty for spending all that unnecessary extra money on the new one. I don't regret any of the used vehicles. You get more for your money and if you take care of the vehicle you reap the rewards with lower payments (or no payments).  Plus in all the used vehicles I have purchased the vehicles always had more stuff than I would have put in at the time of purchase - but I didn't have to pay extra for it! I also buy the vehicle loaded: I have a sunroof, moonroof, heated seats, electric everything, blue tooth etc etc.  Note:  when I say used, it is usually one or two model years off the current year. I don't buy 'old' vehicles. I buy well maintained nearly new vehicles.

I take care of my vehicles because I put on a lot of miles annually. It makes no sense to me to buy new - you are spending more money and yet not getting anything other than a warranty. I don't purchase warranties either because for the most part they are also unnecessarily expensive and have many exclusions (if you read the policy). I do maintain the vehicle and pay for my own maintenance with an excellent mechanic. If you follow a regular schedule, there should be no issues with your vehicle. Having a AAA card and a savings is all I need for peace of mind.

You may feel differently. Some people love new cars. I really don't understand that perspective so I will have to let others jump in with their POV.

[TRC_WA]

I agree with the above.  ^

My first new car was also my dream car... and I'm 40.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for the encouragement and the advice!! Wow what a nice car!! Congrats!! That was another thing I was scared of when deciding on new or used was the big depreciation that new cars have but like you said if you plan on keeping it for the life of the loan then eventually you will have positive equity and if we bought new I couldn't see us trading in until we absolutely had to. i also would just like a vehicle that I didn't have to worry about trading in for a long time especially when there is negative equity involved. When you traded in your old car for that Amazing car that you have now was there any negative equity involved? If so how did you handle it?

We will be driving minivans for awhile and I love our van! It's just sad that VW doesn't make them anymore so we wouldn't be able to buy a Routan new I had one dealership that we were looking at find out we bought a Routan and called me telling me he also owns a VW dealership and he is always lookig for Routans because they are so hard to find and offered me top dollar even if I don't buy another car from them he just cared about buying the routan lol Its sad but I think my dream minivan that I can buy new is a Honda odessey and I know they are not cheap but they are worth it. They hold their value well and #1 in safety plus they look pretty amazing. I just want to be able to sit back and enjoy our "new to us" car and haven't been able to because I'm scared something will happen and we will be in a hole that we can't get out of. Soo reading your story makes me feel better. Thank You

Congrats again on your amazing car! Our minivan has nothing on your car lol one day when the kids are older and out of the house I will have a car like that lol!

[TRC_WA]

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@Anonymous wrote:


Congrats again on your amazing car! Our minivan has nothing on your car lol one day when the kids are older and out of the house I will have a car like that lol!

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Yeah it's funny because when people see it a lot of them have said "You aren't married are you?" 

Nope.  I'm single.

The married guys here at work all drive beat up Toyotas...

[Anonymous]

StartingOver10- I agree! If we would of bought a new car with everything in it that our car had it would of been easily 30K+ Town and Country's base model (which our minivan is made after) is going for about 30K without some of the features we have. If you want one that has everything that we have then it's about 35K and we were able to get it all for less then half of that price. So I def agree but since this is the first car I have bought I wasn't sure and starting to scare myself. Ours is 4 years old but the amount of miles wasnt bad for a 4 year old van. I kept finding 2014 town and country's but they already had 30K-40K miles on it and didn't have everything our van came with and was priced 5-6K more (I guess bc it was a 2014) so we decided on the 2011 with more features and not to many miles compared to some of the newer models we seen but that is a good idea buying 1-2 years old with few miles something I will probably do when we buy our next car.

I just have to stop worrying, take great care if the car, and enjoy it. When the time comes that we need to buy another car (hopefully well past the point of paying it off) Thanks so much for your advice

* I am also a AAA member with a membership card! I just became a member when we bought the car.

[Anonymous]

I have never bought a 0 mile car.. and will never do it, unless I become so well off that I literally do not have to worry about money in my life ever again. Buying a brand new car is such a bad investment of your money, imo. 

Modern cars' engines nowdays are so much better, efficient and reliable. 

A used car, especially from a reliable brand, can last you 200,000+ miles, easily.

[Anonymous]

TRC- haha!! We are a one car family and my husband has to drive the minivan as well. He does it without complaining but I know he probably hates every second of it. i have to say our minivan does have somewhat of a sporty look to it (it has the word sport in its name) but it's still a minivan lol your car is def hot!!

[Anonymous]

Here she is!