this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (5 children)

"Never buy a new car" is probably the most basic and practical financial advice. Buy used, lease new, but never buy a new car. You lose thousands to tens of thousands in value just during the first year. Might as well burn your money for heating instead.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

I have to be that guy, you know there is always one. This is also the exception not the rule.

Bought my car new in 2019, 0% interest. Covid happened, Renesas chip factory burned, and the dealership offered me 10 grand more than the initial sticker price for it. I was WFH, and all we needed was one vehicle. Sold it rolled around in the check stub.

[–] IsThisAnAI 2 points 8 months ago

Meh modern cars mostly hold their value well. Especially since COVID. Yeah you can certainly save money, but it's not the pit it once was. Especially if you can fund one of those rarer 2% rates going around. Leases these days are garbage and the real trap over the next few years IMO.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I bought a 2018 minivan in 2020, and honestly if I went back it's spend the extra $4k on a brand new. Drivetrain was fine but cosmetic stuff and the lining inside showed. I'd like to know what cars you buy to lose tens of thousands in the first year.

[–] IsThisAnAI 0 points 8 months ago

They don't. That's old shit when cars fell apart after 7 years. Depreciation on newer cars isn't all that bad these days.

[–] dragontamer 2 points 8 months ago

lease new

No. Leasing is a pretty bad deal. If you plan to own the car for 5 to 10 years, you might as well buy.

Buy used

Used cars for the last 3 years have very poor values. A brand new Toyota Corolla is in the $23k range, but a used one would be above $20k anyway. At that point, you might as well buy a new car.

Hopefully the used car market returns to normalcy (and it looks like its starting to go back to normal...) but new makes a lot of sense in the last 2 or 3 years.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

I got my new car just before they started to be scarce. I got a credit of 0.9% and about $3k off msrp (plus a bonus for my trade in which brought it to real market value). Used cars had a lot of mileage on them and the APR was above 6%. Certified used were almost the same price as new but with a worse APR

Maybe if you are are not financing it makes sense, but if you get a low APR buying new can be a better choise