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The last time I drove more than 6000 miles in a year was 2014. That was because my dad had died, and my mom had dementia. Getting things in order required a lot of out-of-town trips. From my perspective, you pay a premium price for high-mileage used cars that are not cared for the way I care for my own vehicles. My current vehicle is 4 years old and has 16,000 miles. I am planning on keeping it a while. I paid cash for it, of course.
Fine, but if you buy any vehicle that does not have a significant warranty similar to what you get with a new vehicle, be prepared for things to break/go-wrong, and be prepared to pay for them out of pocket.
My friend and I are accountants. We were constantly talking about whether or not it was better to buy new or used. So, for the 20+ years, he would buy new and I would by cars with 60k miles and three years old and drive them until they died (major transmission or engine failure).
We learned one thing. If you buy the car and drive it forever, the difference is minimal. And in 2007, I bought my first new car for $14k and have been driving it since and I will hit 192k next month. I made my first AAA call yesterday in 16 years due to a flat tire ....
^^^^smartest response I've seen in any C/D car threads! Yes amortized cost over decades turns out to pennies difference in the end.
Flat tire could happen on any car new or used.
I prefer to buy new, run 10 yrs/100K miles and try to get 1/2 my money back upon private sale (fleet work trucks). Used trucks are crazy money so I'd rather get a deal on a new one then that means no repairs/maintenance like brakes/tires for atleast 3 years.
One consideration is updated safety features. There are so many things now on the new cars to make them safer. Cars even just a few years old don’t have them. My insurance company gives me a discount for collision detection, lane deviation and blind side detection.
^^^^smartest response I've seen in any C/D car threads! Yes amortized cost over decades turns out to pennies difference in the end.
Flat tire could happen on any car new or used.
I prefer to buy new, run 10 yrs/100K miles and try to get 1/2 my money back upon private sale (fleet work trucks). Used trucks are crazy money so I'd rather get a deal on a new one then that means no repairs/maintenance like brakes/tires for atleast 3 years.
I'd be interested to see that accounting. I don't see how those extra 3 years or so equals out to the same cost difference of the new car.
we just approached this again since my post 2 weeks ago, our older 2015 with 125k oil consumption issues and small accident damage needed a transmission, a used transmission with labor was going to be just under 3k , we paid 11k cash for the car 15 months ago, we declined spending 3k on the car so we needed to find something after some research I decided a new car was just not in the cards this time. we got lucky and found a unicorn and got 5k out of our 2015 , we got a better car but the downside is we now have a small car payment, but there is no way in good conscience I could have sold that car to a private party for 5k so...
2008 Toyota 4Runner purchased used from private seller off of craigslist: Had 175k miles at purchase and sold it with just under 300k miles. Not one single problem with that darn thing. We did basic fluid changes, tires, shocks but no real problems or mechanical failures.
2003 Chevy Silverado 1500 purchased used from private seller off of Autotrader.com: Had 80k miles at purchase and sold it with about 150k miles. In addition to tires, fluid changes etc. over the course of that mileage it needed a full tranny rebuild, 2 alternators, 1 starter and 1 fuel pump. That truck was the worst headache ever!! I finally gave up on it when the second alternator failed. It was my fault though for purchasing it since the chevy dealership mechanic that I took it to for a pre purchase inspection warned me against buying an American truck approaching 100k miles. But I didn't listen to him.
Also, your savings purchasing used over new is going to increase the older your purchase, at least to a point since eventually the cost of repairs will exceed a new car payment + interest. IMO the sweet spot on a used Honda or Toyota is on vehicles that are about 5-7 years old. For an American or German brand I wouldn't purchase anything older 1-2 years.
I get that this post was made several months ago.....
I'd like to have a talk with your mechanic. I own a couple ranches, a couple farms and a small oil business as such I've owned directly or indirectly at least 100, maybe 150, pick-ups. We tried a few Toyotas and Nissans and immediately gave up. When one of our Chevy, Ford of Dodges suffers a breakdown at least we can get parts and for real work (say 15,000 lbs. towing and heavy tongue weights) Toyota and Nissan don't offer anything.
I know with inflation today that the cost difference between a new car and used car is smaller than it used to be. However, dealerships make money from selling car loans and you can get used cars even cheaper if you go though a private seller. If I compare prices online for a 3 year used car is about 10k cheaper than new
I prefer high quality used toyotas that are at least 5 to 10 years old with 100,000 to 300,000 miles. I dont plan on ever buying a new car. I am always going to buy used.
Last edited by NewMexicoCowboy; 03-19-2024 at 06:55 AM..
I'd be interested to see that accounting. I don't see how those extra 3 years or so equals out to the same cost difference of the new car.
Ever consider the used car isn't much cheaper?
I bought a new F150 XL for 24,300 in 2019 (MSRP 31K). I sold it outright to a dealer for 20K 4 yrs/43K miles later.
It ended up on a local lot for 22,500 (ironically on the same block where I bought it new!). My dealer brags "no dealer fees" yet the used lot has a $899 dealer fee. I drove it about 3 years without spending a dollar in maintenance (2 yrs of oil changes/tire rotations included in sale).
Do you think the used buyer of my truck will drive it as cheap as I did? With the dealer fee and higher interest rate (used car remember) do you think the payment will be less buying used? Of course the answer is no. I lost $4300 driving it 4 years, about $90 a month. Do you think the buyer be able to duplicate that?
I did the same thing with a 2021 BMW M4 (my loss $1540 including interest on the loan, 14 months, 9700 miles). Dealer put it on their lot for 8K more than I paid for it. Then did the same with a 2022 Porsche 911. Dealer sold it in 2 days listing it for 5K more than MSRP.
The used buyers overpaid what I bought it for brand new. Please help me with the math on how buying used is a better deal.
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