Poll of the Day > Is buying a new car neccessary to a normal life?

(+) Yeah! (+)

ok not new, used but a couple years old

i just don't know if i should be spending 20k on a car when I only have maybe 57k in the bank

the car i have now is 17 years old, but it's still functional
I just kind of like the look of the car and it has a v6

am I doing something wrong?
my car is embarrassing now but it still works

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I would say no, if the car works, and does everything you need it to without issues, keep it. Then if it starts acting up/showing its age, might be time to look at something newer.

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No. We're at point where new cars offer creature comforts, safety and environmental standard increases only. Anything from the last 20 years will be solidly reliable and operate principally the same as today's cars and if you go older, you get excellent resale value.
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no, you can definitely get a working reliable car for 5-10k

RoboXgp89 posted...

57k in the bank

I'm fuckin jelly bro

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Not so subtle I only have 60k in the bank bragging topic disguised as question about a car? Lol

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acesxhigh posted...

no, you can definitely get a working reliable car for 5-10k

You can get a good quality Lexus LS430 and blow anything new out of the water.
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Metalsonic66 posted...

I'm fuckin jelly bro

This dude got bread, son.

Im out in vegas and saw a billboard that said the average person has 76k in debt.

I said no way. I dont have much saved but i got no debt

I don't take loans out
they cause hyper inflation

also houses near me cost 300-400k unless they're tiny

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My last two cars cost $1500 and $700.

$1500 car I drove for 3 years and gave to my brother. Still runs great. $700 car I've had for about a year now and it's running fine, and honestly if it died after a year I'd be okay with that given how inexpensive it was.

The $1500 car I had to buy tires for and later replaced a catalytic converter. Only had to replace a few bulbs so far on the $700 car, but it does have a check engine light on

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FatalAccident posted...

Not so subtle I only have 60k in the bank bragging topic disguised as question about a car? Lol

This is what it sounds like...

If it really is a car question, then I would say no. You don't need a new car if you old one works. And if you buy a car afterwards, you don't have to buy a new one. Personally, I went for a new car after my old car died. I love it. And wouldn't change my mind to buying an older one if I could go back in time. And not only because I dislike messing with the timeline and destroying the current me. But I still haven't had any problems, sans the one battery issue, since getting it. Where within the years I had my other used car, I did spend quite a lot fixing things. It was fine for like a year and a half or so. And then something popped up here and there. And then, I spent butt loads on it. Anyway, you don't have to get a new car until this ones starts acting up. And the new car doesn't have to be new... Unless you want it new...
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It doesn't sound like bragging to me. 20k is a big chunk of it, so I think it's a legitimate concern he is struggling with.

If you can, get a loan. Make sure the interest rate is less than 3%. You may have to shop around at different banks and credit unions. Just bring the offer from each place and ask if they can beat the loan offer from the previous. My sister and one of my friends managed to get a 0% interest rate a few years ago. No clue how that's possible. That's essentially paying you to buy a car.

Anywho, I know how you feel, TC, my previous car was old enough to drink. The paint was fading really badly and it didn't have any of the fancy features new cars have, but it drove fine. Everyone at work would always ask if I planned on getting a new one as if it were an interesting talking point. It's super annoying. A couple of women I went out with hated it too. I don't even understand the fascination with cars. The most time I spend in it is during traffic, and that's miserable. A new car doesn't improve the situation in any way. But people wouldn't shut up about it and eventually I got a new one. Now no one ever asks or comments on it.

If you can find a nice used one, I would go with that. Much easier on the wallet.

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$57K in the bank and you're questioning whether or not you should buy a new car. I wish had a problem like yours.

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Why would it be? If your car or any other vehicle works and you're happy with it that's all that matters. My dad has always had older vehicles and it doesn't effect his life in a bad way. Personally? I walk or use public transport and I don't believe having a vehicle would change my life dramatically.

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Why buy a car less than 20 years old? Pay cash for a $1500 car, spend another $1000 to catch up on maintenance and make it reliable, drive it for 10 years, scrap it when it's used up, buy another. Or spend 20-40k, make payments, have it lose 20% of its value as soon a you drive it from the dealer, half its value in the first 3 years.

SpeedDemon20 posted...

Anywho, I know how you feel, TC, my previous car was old enough to drink. The paint was fading really badly and it didn't have any of the fancy features new cars have, but it drove fine. Everyone at work would always ask if I planned on getting a new one as if it were an interesting talking point. It's super annoying. A couple of women I went out with hated it too. I don't even understand the fascination with cars. The most time I spend in it is during traffic, and that's miserable. A new car doesn't improve the situation in any way.

Buy a classic sports car, a little more maintemance, but a 20-40 year old sports car outclasses a new car, for less than $5000. Add a cheap sedan or pickup as an everyday knockaround grocery-getter for bad weather and stuff that won't fit in the sports car. Advantage to gamers: you can drive a digital version of your classic car in Forza, Gran Turismo, etc.

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No. The world needs less cars produced and used.

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FatalAccident posted...

Not so subtle I only have 60k in the bank bragging topic disguised as question about a car? Lol

Its pretty good for a dude that cant fucking spell.

This sounds like a legitimate question. Savings is only brought up because tc is asking about financial responsibility.

I suggest getting a used car

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SunWuKung420 posted...

No. The world needs less cars produced and used.

A new car is one already produced and on a lot, new cars are significantly less damaging to the environment and cars are extremely recyclable. Get your head out of your ass.
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NEW car, no. Though depending on where you live, owning a car in general may be pretty much necessary to live anything resembling a normal life.

That being said, the main advantage of a new car over an older one is that, the older the car, the more likely it is to have problems or break down. Which you'll either need to be able to repair yourself, hope it's still under some sort of dealer warranty (if you're leasing direct rather than buying from a used car place or an individual), or you're going to have to keep paying a mechanic to fix. If you're mechanically inept and are just buying from Craigslist or something, you may find buying an older car will actually cost you more money in the long run than just buying one new.

My father used to be good at repairing cars, so he'd just buy old junkers, fix them up, and if they broke down while he was driving them he'd just do whatever he needed to do to get it running again, so he'd rarely pay more than the cost of parts. But I can barely change my own oil, and I don't like the risk/inconvenience of breaking down and getting towed (even though I have roadside assistance), so I just buy new now.

My one friend leases - which can cost more in the long run than simply buying new outright, but which spreads those payments over time to make them more manageable if you don't have a lot in savings, and which has the benefit of being able to take the car back to the dealer for covered maintenance.
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If my car was old and still running fine then I wouldn't want a new one. If I was worried about how people thought about how it looked then the problem wouldn't be my car.

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acesxhigh posted...

no, you can definitely get a working reliable car for 5-10k

You can get a working, reliable car for $500.

Looking at a 2009 Saturn Vue with 80k on the odometer they're asking $600 but I can probably get it for $500, especially if I bring cash. Only needs a crankshaft sensor. It would be about $750 to get it on the road. Sure, it's a Saturn Vue, but for $750 I bet that car could go another 50k miles without too much work or money put into it.

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It took me a looooong time to realize that you can get just as good of cars for $1000 (or even less if your lucky) as you can off used car lots for $3000+, which are just as good in general as buying a 4 year old car for $10k+.

I bought my Saturn (2003 I think it is) for 4k, about 3 years ago, from a used car lot (Actually part of trading in my old car). I could have bought the same car for under $1k from someone directly, or from an auction.

Recently I got a Chrysler Town and Country for $950, It's blue book is almost $4k, runs great, no problem, had it 6 months. Waaay better deal. I can turn around and sell it for $3k easy if I end up not using it this spring/summer.

So yeah, you don't need to buy new (new is a horrid loss of money), or even fairly new (used but less then 3-4 years and low milage). If you have tons of money to waste, go ahead, but you can get along just fine with cars around $1k, and worst case scenerio something goes wrong/breaks, and you scrap it for $300 in parts and/or value of the metal. Unless that happens right away (and I still always have a mechanic check it out before I buy, so I have never had something go wrong right away) you have gotten your money's worth out of it easy.

It's actually ALOT better in some ways, my wonder (loved it) Toyota Avalon (which we got barely used waaay back in 2000 (was a 1999), was great, but I had to get repairs over the years on it, a new belt ($1000), the drivers side door hinge/cord broke (another $1000) etc.

If you have a big investment in the car and things break and need to be repaired, you repair them. If you bought the car for $600 (or $500 like my friend just did), and something breaks, you sell it/scrap it, and get a new car.

It's cheaper often to buy another, then to fix your current, especially if you can sell it for parts, or bring it to a scrapyard (many will even come pick it up for free).

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The real answer is no dont spend nearly a third of your entire reserves in something thats gonna lose you money in the long run.

If you want a new car just lease a car and pay it off monthly or get a loan. You keep your cash reserves in exchange for paying a bit more for the car in interest, but you dont have to worry about depreciation of the car and basically losing money that you dont have to lose

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FatalAccident posted...

The real answer is no dont spend nearly a third of your entire reserves in something thats gonna lose you money in the long run.

If you want a new car just lease a car and pay it off monthly or get a loan. You keep your cash reserves in exchange for paying a bit more for the car in interest, but you dont have to worry about depreciation of the car and basically losing money that you dont have to lose

Spending money on a car you don't get to keep is paying for the depreciation and then some.
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you also have to get collision insurance if you do that...

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What a pointless question, ya shadow brag douchebag

You're supposed to insure your car regardless.
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RoboXgp89 posted...

you also have to get collision insurance if you do that...

You mean gap insurance

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i bought a 2018 impala black with 50k miles on it for 18k$
has a v6 in it

oof

the 37k mile one i wanted was purchased a day before because i didn't put a stupid deposit on it, i couldn't do that over the phone *sigh*

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Car ownership is very nearly essential in many areas.

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No, but better gas mileage, etc is a bonus.

RoboXgp89 posted...

ok not new, used but a couple years old

i just don't know if i should be spending 20k on a car when I only have maybe 57k in the bank

the car i have now is 17 years old,

you have some awesome car maintenance skills then (wonders what TC means by functional cuz reasons :P)

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i had a 95 buick
got it for 1k
spend like 4-5k fixing it
95% percent of the cost of fixing it came from me driving it places I shouldn't have drove it, driving too fast in the snow, would've lasted much longer if i wasn't a d***

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might be time for a new vehicle.

WRX Sti or Lancer Evolution do good on gravel, snow & tarmac.

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blackhrt posted...

might be time for a new vehicle.

WRX Sti or Lancer Evolution do good on gravel, snow & tarmac.

And you can get a classic one for 10k.
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I saw a evo with 22k miles on it
but the dealer wanted the original price for it, 35k
it was the last line of cars and i think it had a turbo or something
https://www.eselectauto.com/details/used-2015-mitsubishi-lancer-evolution/61457043

the car i have now is just 2 years old and has 55k on it and is half the price, plus it does 300hp

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It depends on the year of the car and the type of car itself. I'd recommend that you check out Consumer Reports so that you have some idea what the repair history on the car you're interested in is (you can find it online but you have to pay for some of the info since they don't take advertising) and Car Fax (even though if a shade tree mechanic does repairs on a car it won't be recorded or an accident isn't reported it won't be recorded on it either). On top of that take someone with you when you find your car that knows something about cars so that they can give it a going over as well since there are shysters out there who will try to stick you with a lemon.

RoboXgp89 posted...

I saw a evo with 22k miles on it
but the dealer wanted the original price for it, 35k
it was the last line of cars and i think it had a turbo or something
https://www.eselectauto.com/details/used-2015-mitsubishi-lancer-evolution/61457043

the car i have now is just 2 years old and has 55k on it and is half the price, plus it does 300hp

thats fine. just remember if you get a Buick in the future they aren't known for having their cars compete in ice racing, rally or hill climb events. :P

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