New vs. Used

[Anonymous]

Which car would you buy? 2015 new Dodge Journey for 19200 inclusive of dealer fees(before taxes ect), or a used 2014 Journey in great condition with 18.5K miles on it for 16100 inclusive dealer fees(exl taxes ect). Int rate is 5% on new and 7% on used. Cars are identical in features. Of course I am going to try and negotiate out the dealer fees. Thanks.

[StartingOver10]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Which car would you buy? 2015 new Dodge Journey for 19200 inclusive of dealer fees(before taxes ect), or a used 2014 Journey in great condition with 18.5K miles on it for 16100 inclusive dealer fees(exl taxes ect). Int rate is 5% on new and 7% on used. Cars are identical in features. Of course I am going to try and negotiate out the dealer fees. Thanks.

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Without knowing more information (CARFAX info and other items) I would go for the used and negotiate the interest rate. No reason a 2014 should be at 7% interest rate. The finance guy always starts high. You need to walk out if you can't get him to a better rate. Or, get your financing some from a CU and take that part out of the equation. To me the difference in one model year is negligible.

PS:  I always buy my vehicles 1 to 2 years old and let the previous buyer take the hit for depreciation.

[Anonymous]

Carfax is clean and shows regular oil changes at a local garage,non smoker vehicle.  In my credit situation these rates are better than credit union one's for me. If I go for used I agree int rates should be the same and will try for that. I guess its worth 3100 dollars for 18K miles?

[StartingOver10]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Carfax is clean and shows regular oil changes at a local garage,non smoker vehicle.  In my credit situation these rates are better than credit union one's for me. If I go for used I agree int rates should be the same and will try for that. I guess its worth 3100 dollars for 18K miles?

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Sure beats paying more and not getting more (really, 18k is a small amount of miles on the vehicle). Have it checked out by an independent mechanic to make sure it wasn't abused. Sounds like it was maintained well but only an inspection will tell you.  That $3100 is better in your pocket rather than their pocket! 

[Anonymous]

Which car would you buy? 2015 new Dodge Journey for 19200 inclusive of dealer fees(before taxes ect), or a used 2014 Journey in great condition with 18.5K miles on it for 16100 inclusive dealer fees(exl taxes ect). Int rate is 5% on new and 7% on used. Cars are identical in features. Of course I am going to try and negotiate out the dealer fees. Thanks.

Most likely you will get a better warranty with the new, you will save 2% on the interest buying new (how much will this save you over the life of the loan?) Just because the carfax is clean that in no way indicates that the previous owner drove it responsibly. You have no idea how hard they were on the car. Granted buying new doesn't always mean that you will be free of faulty equipment, but for rate difference even accounting for some extra taxes paid for the new car, the actual price difference should not be that much. If it were me I would not hestitate a bit to buy the new one here, however I personally would never suggest buying a dodge.

[Ragelog]

I would say used is the smarter way to go. You can get bascially the same rate on a late model used car as new with exception to like 0% or .9%. 

I recently purchased a 2013 Infiniti G37x Sedan with 11500 miles. I paid 26,998 if I were to look at a new Q40(same car new name) with the same options it would cost me 39,195.

So by letting someone drive the car for under 12k miles I saved over 30% for the same car. The savings also increase as I only paid sales tax on the lesser amount property taxes are less etc etc. 

The only time I would possibly suggest new is if you are buying a collectible car or a dream type of car that you plan to keep for life.

My advice is set a budget and buy the best used car that meets your needs under that budget. 

If that is the Dodge you chose great then look around for the best deal. 

In my scenario I get a really nice car for the price of a new loaded Ford Focus ST.

The choice seems obvious a lot of people get hung up on buying new. Then they trade in their upsdie down new car for another new car where they likely would at least be closer to no negative and maybe positive equity if they went used.

Don't accept a higher rate from the Dodge dealer on the used car you should be able to get both for the same 5%.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for their input. I am going to attempt to buy the new one; extended warranty is too costly on used, about 2K through AAA , and I can buy extended through GEICO for about $500 spread out over 7 years on the new one only. Besides, I double checked the carfax and the used one was driven 2k miles a month over 9 months and has been sitting on the dealer lot for 2 months.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 however I personally would never suggest buying a dodge.

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Sounder adice was never given 

I always worry when looking at a fairly new car and have to wonder what happened. This is actually a case where seeing the Carfax list 'sold at auction' is actually a good sign. It usually means it was a repo. But if it was just traded in, there has to be a reason. Yea, you save a lot of money buying a 1 year old used car. But someone didn't like that vehicle enough to want to take a major loss to get rid of it.