The $12,000 Question: New vs Used

[YSSMAN]

I'd also say that going about a year or two years used will be your best bet. You'll get around the initial depreciation, and you'll still have plenty of warranty left in the car too.

Thats usually my assumption with the new/hot cars of the moment. Problem is, the cars I'm interested in that are newer aren't depreciating enough (Fit Sport) or just aren't very common. Occasionally you can get those two/three year old cars on an extended warranty through their "Certified Used Car" programs offered through most brands these days, which isn't too bad of a deal.

$14k-18k is probably the better range to consider for new vs. used because you can slip some VWs, the Fit, Civic, and many American cars into the new category.

Thats a pretty good point as well. I chose this price point based on what the Fiesta will (probably) be, but in all possibility, it could be much higher. In that range, as its often the case, the new car is often the far-better choice (IMO).

 

[Philly]

Thats usually my assumption with the new/hot cars of the moment. Problem is, the cars I'm interested in that are newer aren't depreciating enough (Fit Sport) or just aren't very common. Occasionally you can get those two/three year old cars on an extended warranty through their "Certified Used Car" programs offered through most brands these days, which isn't too bad of a deal.

Do many companies have an extended warranty regardless of being used or not? We're getting a warranty through Volkswagen that takes us for another 4 years or 50,000 miles after the original one. And this is regardless of the car being second hand or first owner.

I guess availability depends on location and things. Here in Grand Rapids, you're probably not too likely to find a good import used unless you go to Detroit or Chicago due to GR being a bit small and domestic friendly. As for depreciation... I don't know. We bought our car at a time where VW couldn't have enough on their dealer lots. The very car we bought probably would have been bought the next day if we hadn't taken it. Maybe branding played a role there, but it seems that you still can get some screaming deals even on cars in demand.

 

[neanderthal]

It's not even a legitimate question to any self professed "car" guy. You get so much more car when you go used, not only in terms of more car for the money, but bigger, better. Only drawback is that you dont get the warranty. But how problematic are todays cars versus yesterdays (70s and 80s)

At any price, the VFM argument (value for money) will always lean towards used cars.

 

[Tornado]

At any price, the VFM argument (value for money) will always lean towards used cars.

That depends on if you want a specific car or not.

 

[Jim Prower]

Because we know what to look for in a used car, its easy to make the used car choice. I got lucky finding the Celica with only 67K on the clock, and I would have been happy with those other Civics or maybe even an old Jetta (again). The thing is though, the main reason why I was looking to buy new was just because of the warranty. No, the Aveo5 or Yaris 3D aren't the best cars, but at least I know that I wouldn't have to worry about anything other than tires, oil and fuel for five years.

I go back and forth, because when I was shopping, there were a lot of really awesome choices for $10K or more. But when I think about having to fix some of them (particularly the Passat W8s that I lust after so much), I head right back to the new car aisle.

Although, when the Celica is paid off, I think I'll have one of these:

Then, if you wouldn't mind, could you drive the Celica down to Illinois? I know someone who might have a good enough job to pay for it by then....

As of right now, I guess I'm a Used car guy, because I can't afford anything else. No credit, either, aside from Student Loans. Given this, I've got the Nova: I'm starting to get concerned about it, though, and I don't want to make it a daily driver for too much longer. Yes, I want to turn it into a Twin Cam clone, eventually, but with 3 semesters left, it's got quite a few more miles to go before that's even a consideration, and good body panels are hard to find for it.

I can do a lot of work on the car myself, and have found a good budget auto parts retailer (RockAuto.com), and, best of all, everything on it's dirt-cheap, I'll bet even a replacement 4A-C wouldn't be too hard to find. Hell, I wish we hadnt' sold the other one we'd had...could've stripped the engine out of it and built it up.

Sorry, kinda rambling aimlessly.

 

[Tornado]

Did you know $12,000 can get you four of these?

 

[TheCracker]

Only four? - i'd want at least twelve.

 

[Tornado]

I may have misread the sign.

 

[Duke]

Did you know $12,000 can get you four of these?

The problem is, all 4 will break and rust out in identical spots, so it's not like you can even make 1 sloid running one out of them.

 

[Kent]

Wow, I voted other and ended up as the only one.

I would go new but not at 12,000.
If you can come up with 12K, you should be able to put down atleast 200 a month. That's not very hard to work into a monthly budget.
So with that in mind, I'd put the 12K into a down-payment and get yourself something in the 15-25K range. There are plenty of cars to choose from and all of them will be better than a new 12K car.
I know financing a vehicle sucks but it can work out for you if you are careful.

As for 12 on a used car... Not a bad idea at all. However, I'm not a fan of no-warranty purchases and I'd be even less of a fan when there's 12K in the equation.

Depending on what your tastes and needs are, I'd say you'd be doing yourself a favor to finance a little bit of money and get out of the 12K range (assuming it's new... Financing on a used vehicle is something I can't support ).

 

[Tornado]

The problem is, all 4 will break and rust out in identical spots, so it's not like you can even make 1 sloid running one out of them.

I didn't say it was a rational use of $12,000. Hell, I made a thread a month ago talking about whether I should buy a Mustang II, for crying out loud.

 

[Tom_IW_Racer]

In my opinion unless I was really rich theres no way I'd buy new, if I wanted a newish car then I'd wait a year or two until the 1st owner has taken the big hit on depreciation and get a car with probably still low miles and warranty (if that stuff bothers you).

 

[JCE]

For that price range, I'd go used.

+1 I only voted used because for $12k I can get a nice sport coupe or sport saloon that's not that old. I do like the prospect of a Ford Ka or Fiesta--but passing up a G35, WS6, SS, SL500, C32 AMG, S4, and a host of others in that range I can't buy new.

 

[Gil]

IMHO, if you are holding $12,000 in cash, it would make a great down payment on any number of new cars priced around $20,000 or below. (and I'm not talking about ****boxes)

Take out a 3-year loan, (at 3% APR or less) and you will have reasonable payments, and a brand new, fully warrantied car. Your monthly payment will be under $250 per month.

The other option is to find a $20,000 car that is about 2 years old, with less than 25,000 miles on it. (Rule of thumb). It will have depreciated about $5000.

That will leave you owing $3000, assuming a down payment of $12,000. With a 2-year note your payments will be about $130 a month, depending on interest rate.

If you are a decent wrench, you can buy a slightly older car for about $9,000, and put the other $3,000 away for mods/repairs.

This all goes out the window, if you have virtually no down payment, and are trying to find cheap transportation.
Then my advice is to get the best financing rate you can. Then buy the best car you can afford, and pay off the loan as quickly as you can.

 

[niky]

I would go for something like that:

$12,000 should be a 2007 Honda Fit 5-speed MT.

 

[1X83Z]

IMHO, if you are holding $12,000 in cash, it would make a great down payment on any number of new cars priced around $20,000 or below. (and I'm not talking about ****boxes)

Take out a 3-year loan, (at 3% APR or less) and you will have reasonable payments, and a brand new, fully warrantied car. Your monthly payment will be under $250 per month.

The other option is to find a $20,000 car that is about 2 years old, with less than 25,000 miles on it. (Rule of thumb). It will have depreciated about $5000.

That will leave you owing $3000, assuming a down payment of $12,000. With a 2-year note your payments will be about $130 a month, depending on interest rate.

If you are a decent wrench, you can buy a slightly older car for about $9,000, and put the other $3,000 away for mods/repairs.

This all goes out the window, if you have virtually no down payment, and are trying to find cheap transportation.
Then my advice is to get the best financing rate you can. Then buy the best car you can afford, and pay off the loan as quickly as you can.

+1

Great point!

The only people spending $12k on a car are:

a) students (me!) who have no income and thus cannot make payments
b) people with about $6k to spend on a car (who can thus pay the rest off)

If you have $12k cash, you should be looking at a $20k car, both for a nicer car and for a simply more reliable car.

 

[Duke]

+1 I only voted used because for $12k I can get a nice sport coupe or sport saloon that's not that old. I do like the prospect of a Ford Ka or Fiesta--but passing up a G35, WS6, SS, SL500, C32 AMG, S4, and a host of others in that range I can't buy new.

You're not finding any of those cars with anything other than heinous mileage on it for $12 large.

 

[YSSMAN]

If you have $12k cash, you should be looking at a $20k car, both for a nicer car and for a simply more reliable car.

No questions there. If I had $12K, thats a hefty down-payment on something rather nice (in addition to whatever else you have to throw on). Thats when I start looking at cars in the low/mid $20K range...

 

[JCE]

You're not finding any of those cars with anything other than heinous mileage on it for $12 large.

GM small blocks and Nissan V6's last forever. I'll take my chances. the Germans on the other hand...if not taken care of that could be dangerous. I'd still take my chances. 👍