Posted on 07/21/2017 9:06:34 AM PDT by Lorianne
The only downside for me was that the prior owner had no idea what he was doing with a Jeep and was using it apparently for road use only. At 14k miles the stock MTA tires should have been rotated 3-4 times and weren’t so the rear tires had substantially more wear than the fronts.
I have not purchased a used car in decades. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford a new car, but that didn’t just happen because I have a good paycheck. My wife and I live within our means, we have disposed of as much debt as it is possible to do, and we try to provide for our future.
I get a new car every four years, when I get up to around 100K miles on a vehicle, I sell the car cheap to someone who needs a good vehicle, or give it to people. (Interestingly, the people I ended up giving the car to, in both cases, completely destroyed it through neglect, doing is so quickly it was disconcerting. There is a lesson there...)
Up until the age of 30, I had used cars, and had to get them repaired, worry about them breaking down, etc. When I began to make enough, I took loans and paid them off. As I got older, I paid cash for a new car. I take care of my vehicles. I don’t baby them, but I make sure anything gets fixed, and do my best to keep them clean and intact.
I am fortunate. Many people cannot handle car purchases this way.
But I did live through the Seventies, and anyone who did knows the state of cars on the highways throughout this country was appalling...even new cars rusted to pieces and turned to mechanical junk in alarmingly short time intervals. And I was always working on cars. I grew to detest it, and hated driving unreliable vehicles.
When my livelihood depended on my being able to drive to work, and I had to spend a rainy weekend pulling an engine out of a car mired in the mud underneath a maple tree with a branch to anchor a hoist, it sucked any enjoyment I might have gotten out of doing it with my own hands and getting it done right.
I don’t buy a car as an investment, for the resale value, or anything even approaching that. I buy a car that will be reliable, and allow me to drive in comfort and safety. I am utilitarian about this. I don’t even give a second thought to “resale value”...I think that is a fools errand. For me, it is a tool, if I can enjoy driving it, even better.
I think average people can afford average new cars. But they might not be able to afford a family vacation in the Caribbean, the newest large screen television, the 128 GB iPhone, or the newest computer. And a lot of people want all those things AND a new Lexus. They might be able to do it if they purchased a new low end KIA or something like that with a minimum or no frills.
In the 1920s higher end cars were shipped as chassis with engine and drive trains and then custom bodies and interiors were added by coach builders like Fisher, LeBaron, Ghia, and Park Ward.
Denominate those car prices in ounces of gold or silver.
We do that, too. Let somebody else take that depreciation hit driving a new car off the lot.
I just bought (well, in January) a two year old V8 Expedition with 26k on the clock. Saved about 40% compared to new. We bought the extended warranty and it’s a good thing we did...the sunroof just broke and it’s a $3,000 repair! That’s nearly 10% of what we paid for the vehicle. That alone is more than the warranty cost, so we are money in the bank.
Disappointed that a sunroof broke, though. That’s never happened before.
Fyou liking your doctor and Fyou keeping your doctor.
The author is a hypocritical lib.
Libs don’t like private car ownership anyway. You are supposed to submit to mass transit and skyrise living.
I can afford a new car, but choose not to.
Wasn’t Emperor Obama supposed to buy a Chevy Volt when he left office?
Simpler answer...government tried to “fix” everything and instead totally effed up everything as is their wont.
Yeah, maybe the punk that wrote this drivel would like a few more government mandates rolled in.
$500 is cheaper than the property tax I owe on the 3 year old Mini Van that I bought a couple of months ago.
My wife and I each have cars that are over fifteen years old, and are still in perfect order. They are a pleasure to drive, dependable, and cost less than 500 a year to maintain. The trick is to look around and see what old vehicle model is still on the road in great numbers. Buy a good one, use synthetic oil, and be alert to even the smallest sign of trouble and have it looked at right away.
I stopped reading after that little insult to our POTUS.
Ya know, sometimes I think that young people believe they should get all the perks that older people have. When hubby and I first married, and especially after we had kids, we were both driving Ford Escorts. Our cars are now larger, and more comfortable, and --- more expensive. We have more disposable income after both our children left and started their own lives.
Everyone wants a champagne life IMMEDIATELY.
Considerable. So many things are mandated now. The electronics bill and assembly is staggering on a new vehicle. Do you really need a computer to tell you about your tire pressure? Well, you don't have a choice anymore.
The basic Civic hatch is very nice, turbocharged, 40 MPG, and <$20K.
Can’t afford a car? Ride public transportation with the ferals. Problem solved.
Capitalism is freedom in business
If these companies make it unaffordable like they have in auto, homes, health, university, and everything else then people are going to say, “let’s give socialism a try” because what do they have to lose? I think companies are going to have to be careful that they don’t out price themselves for most Americans. Even going to the grocery store is incredibly expensive. Something has to give and if it’s not capitalism then something will come in to replace it and we may not like it. If everything is from and our taxes are 50 percent or we have 25 percent taxes but can’t afford anything....what are people going to pick???? Wake up because you are sleeping.
I set two big goals in life: 1) getting the kids through college and 2) saving enough to retire. We achieved both through careful finance planning, frugality, and a commitment to saving. If you don’t fall prey to keeping up with the Joneses next door, it is doable. For us, buying low mileage CPO used cars has been a key component to our strategy.
Remember when car odometers only went to 99,999.9 miles? Remember how rare it was for a car to ‘turn over’ 100,000 miles?
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