What a time for enthusiasts-Page 4| Grassroots Motorsports forum |

mtn MegaDork
12/6/16 9:53 a.m.

Huckleberry wrote: It's not wrong at all. There are two basic types of internet opinions on any new car thread. - Those who believe that saving money at the cost of their time is most important. - Those that believe saving time is worth some extra money. I have been both of these people at one point or another and reserve the option to flip again but as I close in on 50 I realize that I can always make more money but that time I have been squandering like it was free is actually finite and all the money in the world ain't going to get me any more of it. I only work on things I enjoy working on. Period. I'll never lay in the snow to change a ball joint again as long as I can afford to make it someone else's job. I like my rattle and trouble free car. I like knowing that if my new car won't start all I need is a phone call and the problem gets fixed. To change the oil - all I need is to have a cup of coffee in the lobby for 10 minutes. That isn't to say I won't change my own oil... but 2 years of maintenance was included. So, not until November 01, 2018 ;) My new bylaws are: Used cars are for play, new cars are for reliable transport and play.

As my brother said about my dad, "he's gotten really good at using the best tool in his toolbox: the mighty wallet"

Huckleberry MegaDork
12/6/16 10:13 a.m.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Well said. I will add a corollary that near-new cars these days are basically as good as new, especially if you still have a warranty. To whit, we paid $46k for our 2015 Expedition in February. A boatload of money, to be sure, but the sticker was just north of $70k. That was with 13k miles and plenty of factory warranty left, which has already come in handy. In that case, buying new made almost no sense.

Near new would have been fine by me also - the problem for me was that I was looking at a vehicle with the best resale in it's class and the difference between new and near new was only about 8-12% ruled mostly by miles on the odometer if I wanted the "Certified Pre-Owned" warranty. So, that, combined with 0.9% financing and getting to choose my own options (color, manual trans, etc) rather than having to scour the earth to locate a combination I'd settle for made it a no-brainer.

For a car with a serious depreciation hit, lightly used off-lease makes tons of sense. I bought my 2500HD Duramax for mid-twenties that way and saved 60% over new sticker. Unfortunately, they got super popular since then and that deal no longer exists. But if I am shopping for a Cayman or an M2 in the future that is absolutely my first choice. A Tacoma or Tundra... not so much.

ProDarwin PowerDork
12/6/16 10:43 a.m.

Are people in this thread really complaining about other people buying new cars? I don't think so... I think most are simply saying they can't justify it/ can't afford it/ aren't interested in it.

Huckleberry wrote: - Those that believe saving time is worth some extra money.

What's interesting is that the wife and I can't bother to make the time to go buy a car. I found a few much newer Mazda 5s for sale, but they were in Charlotte ~1.5hr away. We did the math... 3 hours in the car with an 18 month old toddler, plus an hour minimum at the dealer? On our weekend? berkeley that, we'll just keep driving what we've got.

I constantly come across newer/more appealing cars for my DD and make the same choice over and over again. Go look at a car to buy, or keep driving my 18 year old beater but go mountain biking today instead.

Huckleberry MegaDork
12/6/16 11:09 a.m.

ProDarwin wrote: Are people in this thread really *complaining* about other people buying new cars? I don't think so... I think most are simply saying they can't justify it/ can't afford it/ aren't interested in it.
Huckleberry wrote: - Those that believe saving time is worth some extra money.
What's interesting is that the wife and I can't bother to make the time to go *buy* a car. I found a few much newer Mazda 5s for sale, but they were in Charlotte ~1.5hr away. We did the math... 3 hours in the car with an 18 month old toddler, plus an hour minimum at the dealer? On our weekend? berkeley that, we'll just keep driving what we've got. I constantly come across newer/more appealing cars for my DD and make the same choice over and over again. Go look at a car to buy, or keep driving my 18 year old beater but go mountain biking today instead.

FWIW, the dealer dropped it off at my house after they detailed it. All I had to do was ride by on my motorcycle to sign some papers. They would have even done that via FEDEX but it's only 20 miles away and the sun was shining. I had sold my big chevy already so - I'm all about the motorcycle and while it's possible to do - I actually kinda needed a vehicle with cargo space if I wanted to go mountain biking.