Top Ten Things You Should Never Buy New

[Prancer]

Doesn't the second contradict the first? What's the gain in buying a used car if you could have a new one for a very similar price? Unless you bought a 3-year Lamborghini for "almost" $20K. I that case, congratulations.

I bought the car used (courtesy car with 7000 miles on it) for $17,000; same car brand-new was $21,000. Current trade in value on said car is....$17,000.

So, had I bought it new, I would have been down $4000 now, not counting interest paid on the loan I would have taken out for that amount, as I had $17K (with trade-in) but not $21K.

My plan was to drive the car until I died or it did, but I am thinking of selling it and getting something smaller and more fuel efficient. I want a Prius, but damn, they are expensive.

If money is an issue, buy a used car.

This just so does not compute for me. Money is always an issue. If I were to win the world's biggest lottery and have millions to fritter away, I would still consider money an issue.

[WindSpirit]

I bought the car used (courtesy car with 7000 miles on it) for $17,000; same car brand-new was $21,000. Current trade in value on said car is....$17,000.

Good luck with that. My 99' car's trade-in value is $3530. Of course no dealer will pay me so much for it.

This just so does not compute for me. Money is always an issue.

Of course it's always an issue. I see no sense in debating semantics. I think it was clear what I meant. If I can only afford to spend $6,000 for a car, I'll have to buy a used one. If I can afford to spend $20,000 I have a choice.

[MacMadame]

I agree about bikes. I have friends who buy brand new triathlon bikes for $2000-3000 when you can get one that is 1-2 years old and hardly been ridden if you are willing to look for it (and aren't super tall or super short). Sometimes you can get that same bike for $700-800 because the person bought it, found they didn't use it, and just wants to get rid of it.

[Karina1974]

I would never buy a use car, I have been burned once too many times.

Don't buy from private sellers for starters, a reputable dealership is far and away the best bet. Between my parents and I, we've bought 4 used cars in the last 11 years, all from dealerships' stock, and haven't had any problems with them. Their '99 Caravan and my '98 Taurus (both bought in 2001) each lasted 8 years under our ownership.

I got an excellent deal on my present car. I bought my '05 PT Cruiser in September 2009 with 66,000 miles on it already, it now has 93,000 miles on it, and it's only needed two repairs: the control arm bushings in 2010, and the camshaft sensor back in February, and the 4-year/ 48,000-mile service contract I put on the car paid for both of them - all I had to pay each time was a $100 deductible. The service contract also gives me 24-hour roadside service. I also have the dealership's Platinum Card, which gives me 20 free oil changes, a free set of wiper inserts every year, free annual NYS inspections,5% off of parts and labor, and 50% off of tire rotations (which I now can get for free every 6,000 miles at Adirondack Tire because I just replaced all 4 tires there in February). Altogether, my car cost $10,217.

[julieann]

Don't buy from private sellers for starters, a reputable dealership is far and away the best bet. Between my parents and I, we've bought 4 used cars in the last 11 years, all from dealerships' stock, and haven't had any problems with them. Their '99 Caravan and my '98 Taurus (both bought in 2001) each lasted 8 years under our ownership.

I got an excellent deal on my present car. I bought my '05 PT Cruiser in September 2009 with 66,000 miles on it already, it now has 93,000 miles on it, and it's only needed two repairs: the control arm bushings in 2010, and the camshaft sensor back in February, and the 4-year/ 48,000-mile service contract I put on the car paid for both of them - all I had to pay each time was a $100 deductible. The service contract also gives me 24-hour roadside service. I also have the dealership's Platinum Card, which gives me 20 free oil changes, a free set of wiper inserts every year, free annual NYS inspections,5% off of parts and labor, and 50% off of tire rotations (which I now can get for free every 6,000 miles at Adirondack Tire because I just replaced all 4 tires there in February). Altogether, my car cost $10,217.

Buying from a dealership is no guarantee you won't get screwed especially if you are buying a lease return that someone may have beat to shit. I won't call buying a 4 year old car and having to repair it twice in a little over 2 years a good deal.

I bought my Pontiac Bonneville SSEi brand new in 2002 and aside from normal maintenance I haven't needed to repair anything. That peace of mind for me is priceless and the car go for years longer. I would never think about buying someone else's problem.

[Prancer]

Good luck with that. My 99' car's trade-in value is $3530. Of course no dealer will pay me so much for it.

Since I only buy used, I couldn't do a trade-in. And I've already had someone offer me that much for the car, because that's KBB and the potential buyer thinks it's worth it based on the local market for my particular car; I'm just not sure I want to sell it.

I have done this before a time or two; I am not unfamiliar with how things work.

Of course it's always an issue. I see no sense in debating semantics. I think it was clear what I meant. If I can only afford to spend $6,000 for a car, I'll have to buy a used one. If I can afford to spend $20,000 I have a choice.

But see, if I have $20,000 to spend, I will always look for a way to spend less than that. So money is STILL an issue, and not just because of semantics.

Never pay retail.

[Japanfan]

I would say don't buy things new when you can get the same thing second hand or get what you need second hand. Or, when buying new isn't worth it - for example, I won't buy a new couch because the animals will quickly destroy it.

We have never had to buy an expresso machine new because Value Village obtains a stock of them every year after Christmas. I would expect that other such items are the same - breakmakers and such that people use once and realize they never wanted to begin with.

If I wanted a state of the art expresso machine I suppose I'd buy a new one but the ones I have work perfectly. And we usually have a replacement on hand when one breaks down. They cost about $10 or $10 a piece. Why buy a new one?

[Japanfan]

But see, if I have $20,000 to spend, I will always look for a way to spend less than that. So money is STILL an issue, and not just because of semantics.

But it's a different issue if you have $20,000 and choose to spend $6,000, or if you only have $6,000. You've got $14,000 to play with with that the other person doesn't - the total amount of dispensable income a person has makes a huge issue in how they live their lives and what financial choices they make.

Kind of like the people who say that money doesn't matter usually have enough of it that they don't have to worry about it. It matters when you can't pay your bills or put food on the table.

I have never spent more than about $800 on a car as my husband is mechanical. The only new car I had I inherited. My current car, a perfectly decent one that is relatively new in my view - 1997, a step up from my previous 1983 Toyota - was given to me by a friend. For me, a $6,000 car would be a true luxury.

[cruisin]

Doesn't the second contradict the first? What's the gain in buying a used car if you could have a new one for a very similar price? Unless you bought a 3-year Lamborghini for "almost" $20K. I that case, congratulations.

- Sorry Prancer, but that was funny.

I have never bought a used car. My father drilled into my head that "buying used is buying someone else's headache". That certainly is not always the case, but my brain is locked . I usually will keep a car for 5-6 years and take excellent care of it. I usually get top $$ on trade-in. I don't like running a car into the ground, it seems that you wind up spending more that way. You spend more on maintenance and you get nothing back when you sell. My kid's cars are used. My son bought his with his own money, but we had it checked out by a reputable mechanic (and it was only 2 years old when he got it). And it's a Toyota product, so longevity is built in. My daughter bought my mother's car when my Mom passed. I know everything about that car, so I felt good about it. Hers is a Honda, again well made.

[Karina1974]

Buying from a dealership is no guarantee you won't get screwed especially if you are buying a lease return that someone may have beat to shit. I won't call buying a 4 year old car and having to repair it twice in a little over 2 years a good deal.

I bought my Pontiac Bonneville SSEi brand new in 2002 and aside from normal maintenance I haven't needed to repair anything. That peace of mind for me is priceless and the car go for years longer. I would never think about buying someone else's problem.

First off, considering I bought my Chrysler from a Honda dealership (one of the top-rated dealerships in my area, BTW - I have a co-worker who has been doing business with them for 27 years, has bought 3 cars from them and will not go anywhere else for service or repairs), it wasn't a lease return.

Heck, my parents had to bring back a new car to the dealership because of a problem with the coolant system. That was easily fixed - they had that car 8 years as well, and put 258,000 miles on it, and then traded it in for the '99 Caravan that had a $700 custom speaker system courtesy of the previous owner - so they're proof that "buying new" isn't even a guarantee that there won't be any problems, or that "buying used" means you'll get screwed over. Dad says that Caravan is one of the best vehicles he's owned in the 55 years he's been driving.

Second, the only reason the control arm bushings needed replacing was because I hit a seam on a piece of road that had had recent work done on it, and it was after dark, so I couldn't see it before I hit it. When a cam sensor goes, you can't fix that, you just replace it, unless you want to drive around feeling like the engine has the hiccups.

Third, it doesn't bother me that I've had 2 repairs on it "already." It's a CAR, a piece of machinery that gets driven almost every single day, and it's a fact of life that stuff is going to "go" on it. That cam sensor repair is really no different than rotating/replacing the tires, replacing the battery or the lights, or changing the oil, all things I'm sure you have to do on your car as well.