Comments on: Decisions in Real Life: Purchasing a Car http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/decisions-in-real-life-purchasing-a-car/ A premier personal finance blog, established 2003. Within, Flexo discusses his own experiences with money, and he and other authors comment on a wide range of personal finance topics. Sat, 26 May 2012 03:47:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Da http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/decisions-in-real-life-purchasing-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-148364 Da Tue, 06 May 2008 23:06:30 +0000 http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/?p=3278#comment-148364 To expand on what I wrote, let me tell you what I would do in Aryn's situation: Buy a 9-year-old Subaru wagon. That's what I did 2 1/2 years ago. Still drives like a dream and looks great. Cargo space? Check. iPod? My used car came with an amp.. plugged in a headphone-to-RCA cable and I was good to go (you could get one installed pretty cheaply). Fuel? It only gets 27-28 on the highway. However, given the enormous premium you pay for a) a new car (price, insurance, registration) and b) a Prius, I come out way ahead. I did have some major engine repair recently (bent valves), but my annual maintenance still averages less than $1000. 165k miles and going strong. That said, a car is all utility for me. Having a "new" car does nothing for me. If it does for you, more power to you. Just be aware that it will be more expensive, and don't let the magical "MPG" fool you into believing that a Prius is cheaper in the long run. Just admit that you want a new car and are willing to pay more for it. To expand on what I wrote, let me tell you what I would do in Aryn’s situation: Buy a 9-year-old Subaru wagon. That’s what I did 2 1/2 years ago. Still drives like a dream and looks great. Cargo space? Check. iPod? My used car came with an amp.. plugged in a headphone-to-RCA cable and I was good to go (you could get one installed pretty cheaply). Fuel? It only gets 27-28 on the highway. However, given the enormous premium you pay for a) a new car (price, insurance, registration) and b) a Prius, I come out way ahead.

I did have some major engine repair recently (bent valves), but my annual maintenance still averages less than $1000. 165k miles and going strong.

That said, a car is all utility for me. Having a “new” car does nothing for me. If it does for you, more power to you. Just be aware that it will be more expensive, and don’t let the magical “MPG” fool you into believing that a Prius is cheaper in the long run. Just admit that you want a new car and are willing to pay more for it.

]]> By: Da http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/decisions-in-real-life-purchasing-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-148359 Da Tue, 06 May 2008 22:32:05 +0000 http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/?p=3278#comment-148359 Instead of just "buy new" or "buy slightly used" or "buy a junker", try this: Calculate your total cost-per-mile for each option. It's pretty easy.. Figure up the number of years the car will last, and the mileage for each year to get a lifetime mileage. Divide by MPG to get total gallons used, and find the lifetime gas cost. Do the same for registration, insurance, and maintenance. Some of these will be big guesses, but you get my point. Add everything together (including the cost to buy the car, and if applicable, subtract the ending trade-in value). That's your grand total you will spend on this car during its lifetime. Divide by lifetime mileage, and there's your cost per mile. You can also get your cost per month from this. My cost-per-mile on my current car is $0.33. Of course, this doesn't take anything subjective into account. But if the cheap car is going to run you $0.40 while the luxury one is $0.75, you might have to sit down and think about how much it's worth to you. Running a cost-per-mile estimate is also essential if you're trading in "to save on gas." Quite often it's not an overall savings at all! Instead of just “buy new” or “buy slightly used” or “buy a junker”, try this: Calculate your total cost-per-mile for each option. It’s pretty easy.. Figure up the number of years the car will last, and the mileage for each year to get a lifetime mileage. Divide by MPG to get total gallons used, and find the lifetime gas cost. Do the same for registration, insurance, and maintenance. Some of these will be big guesses, but you get my point. Add everything together (including the cost to buy the car, and if applicable, subtract the ending trade-in value). That’s your grand total you will spend on this car during its lifetime. Divide by lifetime mileage, and there’s your cost per mile. You can also get your cost per month from this.

My cost-per-mile on my current car is $0.33. Of course, this doesn’t take anything subjective into account. But if the cheap car is going to run you $0.40 while the luxury one is $0.75, you might have to sit down and think about how much it’s worth to you.

Running a cost-per-mile estimate is also essential if you’re trading in “to save on gas.” Quite often it’s not an overall savings at all!

]]> By: baldzac http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/decisions-in-real-life-purchasing-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-148311 baldzac Tue, 06 May 2008 17:24:09 +0000 http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/?p=3278#comment-148311 For most of us, driving is probably the riskiest thing we do (in terms of death) on a daily basis. I always like to have a reasonably new car in order to have the latest safety features. It seems like every five years or so, the industry comes out with a new technology that can really impact your chance of getting in a crash and/or your chance of surviving if you do. First it was airbags, then electronic stability control, now side impact head protection airbags will soon be standard on all vehicles. Of course driving safely is the most important thing, but you can't control all the loonies out there and somehow 40,000 Americans do manage to get killed every year. To me, I find the impact to my net worth of replacing my car every 5-7 years vs. waiting till it falls apart to be worth it. For most of us, driving is probably the riskiest thing we do (in terms of death) on a daily basis. I always like to have a reasonably new car in order to have the latest safety features. It seems like every five years or so, the industry comes out with a new technology that can really impact your chance of getting in a crash and/or your chance of surviving if you do. First it was airbags, then electronic stability control, now side impact head protection airbags will soon be standard on all vehicles.

Of course driving safely is the most important thing, but you can’t control all the loonies out there and somehow 40,000 Americans do manage to get killed every year. To me, I find the impact to my net worth of replacing my car every 5-7 years vs. waiting till it falls apart to be worth it.

]]> By: Aryn http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/decisions-in-real-life-purchasing-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-148297 Aryn Tue, 06 May 2008 16:20:35 +0000 http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/?p=3278#comment-148297 I completely agree. I will soon be in the market for a new car, and I've pretty much decided against used. The biggest deciding factors for me will be fuel efficiency, cargo space, and iPod jack. Right now it's looking a Prius offers all three, but it certainly does come with a slightly larger price tag! I think it's a fair trade-off. I completely agree. I will soon be in the market for a new car, and I’ve pretty much decided against used. The biggest deciding factors for me will be fuel efficiency, cargo space, and iPod jack. Right now it’s looking a Prius offers all three, but it certainly does come with a slightly larger price tag! I think it’s a fair trade-off.

]]> By: UH2L http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/decisions-in-real-life-purchasing-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-148292 UH2L Tue, 06 May 2008 16:11:56 +0000 http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/?p=3278#comment-148292 As a car fanatic, I would say that it's not the automotive companies that have just convinced us that cars are more than just trasnportation from point A to point B. They create experiences and feelings that we enjoy. Whether it's driving them, looking at them, or appreciating how others consider you because of which car you own, these are all worth money to many people. To add to your list I would put... - length and coverage of warranty for hassle-free ownership - buy versus lease then buy (surprisingly, the lease then buy idea can work in your favor very well) - cashing in equity on a car you own at the right time to buy or lease your next vehicle - looking at products that will become available in the next few years to decide if you should wait to buy, (as in more fuel efficient alternatives) - true resale value that factors in rebates instead of what the magazines tell you - cost of repairs - ease of doing your own maintenance / service - likelihood that you'll like the car you buy enough that you won't want to buy another car for a longer period of time UH2L http://www.thingsivenoticed.com As a car fanatic, I would say that it’s not the automotive companies that have just convinced us that cars are more than just trasnportation from point A to point B. They create experiences and feelings that we enjoy. Whether it’s driving them, looking at them, or appreciating how others consider you because of which car you own, these are all worth money to many people.

To add to your list I would put…

- length and coverage of warranty for hassle-free ownership
- buy versus lease then buy (surprisingly, the lease then buy idea can work in your favor very well)
- cashing in equity on a car you own at the right time to buy or lease your next vehicle
- looking at products that will become available in the next few years to decide if you should wait to buy, (as in more fuel efficient alternatives)
- true resale value that factors in rebates instead of what the magazines tell you
- cost of repairs
- ease of doing your own maintenance / service
- likelihood that you’ll like the car you buy enough that you won’t want to buy another car for a longer period of time

UH2L
http://www.thingsivenoticed.com

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