Buying a car in this market

Just do what we do and get a new car every 23 years.

 

Well, I’ve had the Cobra for 22 years, so ...

 

Sounds good to me.

My first Camry, a 97, got crunched in an accident in 2004 but had much life left. My 2004 Camry was given to a kid from church when it had 336,000 miles -- and I only gave it to him because my parents were getting a new Camry so I bought their 2011 for a song. It has 210,000 miles and I figure it's only two-thirds of its way through its life.

 

Gee, my record is only 18 (but the car was 13 years old when I got it).

 

One of the automakers has an ad out encouraging people to buy custom, because their order gets to the front of the line.

 

Teens Find Rising Used-Car Prices Dash Hopes of First Car

 

Good. It’s not a birthright. I didn’t have my first car until I was 19 and had a full-time job that required it.

 

The only good thing is that my wife’s totaled car was deemed by the insurance company to be worth $200 less than we paid for it four years and 75,000 miles ago.

 

I've only leased new cars, except for buying my parents' old cars.

Why would you want to own a depreciating asset? (Unless there's some tax-related write-off.)

 

In my case, I consider it a 10-year investment. I'm not one of those people who need to get a new car every two years. I want one that'll last me a decade.

Beyond that, I consider it a better solution for my situation. I have a long commute to work (125 miles round trip), so I'm going to rack up about 25,000 miles a year on my car. I'd rather start the odometer at zero and have the security of both a warranty and the expectation that a modern car will easily reach 100,000 miles or more without many -- if any -- mechanical issues. I figure about the time I'll start having to deal with that, it'll be paid off. Whereas if I buy a used car with even modest mileage it's a year or two closer to reaching that point.
Also, the last time I did a used vs. new comparison, in 2018, there wasn't an appreciable enough difference in price to make it worthwhile. A new car was only $2,000 or $3,000 more than a used one that was a year or two old with 30,000 or so miles. I'd rather pay the extra couple grand for the reasons I stated. The mental security is worth the price, to me.

 

20 years of use/0-2 years of payments > 20 years of use/20 years of payments.