What are you really buying when you buy a brand new car?

Hey GRM hive, I've never owned a brand new car, nor a car built within say the past five years at any given time. I think I've owned one or two vehicles with less than 100k on them. All of the vehicles I've owned that have been used for family movement have been laden with air bags, high crash ratings, etc. I would never consider any of them unsafe, or unreliable. I, like a lot of you, know a thing or two about these little four wheeled beasties. 

I have no intention of purchasing a brand new vehicle, it seems like an enormous waste of resources (both global material and internal finances), when there are what seems to be an endless supply of used vehicles on the market that will run forever with basic maintenance, and be just as much fun, safe, or reliable.

Most of my friends assume I spend every waking hour maintaining the three cars in the house. Couldn't be further from the truth. I spend more time thinking about how I want to modify my Passat or 100 Series than I do working on them. And they are not E36 M3boxes as assumed by others when I mention the miles and model year of each.

For those that have purchased new cars, why did you do it? Is it that you want the latest tech? A shiny new thing (it's okay, that's a good motivator if you're honest with yourself)? Or the absolutely safest possible thing to transport you and/or your loved ones? 

No judgment, I'm just curious what your motivators are. 

My wife and I were set on a used Legacy as a replacement for her old Focus. Test drove it and she was underwhelmed. Around the same time a friend of our bought a new Crosstrek. Interesting. We liked that. Used ones were only slightly cheaper than brand new and the new body style has just come out and we both liked it better. It was an easy decision. 

70k miles later and literally the only maintenance I've done is fluids. Tires are fine. Brakes too. It's nice to have something that does everything well and asks nothing of me. especially when the rest of my garage needs steady attention. 
 

The peace of mind knowing that my wife's car (and future kid car) is reliable and safe is nice too. And she likes it. This time, it was the right call for us. 
 

I bought my 2010 Dodge 2500 new because I could get a fleet discount, I needed something as reliable as a hammer and used prices were so strong that there was no money to be saved by buying used.

I bought the 2019 Tesla Model 3 new because there were no used options - and until just recently, it wouldn't have saved any money anyhow because used values were very strong.

I'm currently looking for a Miata RF, and it's looking like the only way to get what I want might be to buy new. Black GT models with a stick are thin on the ground and again, resale values are high. I'm in no hurry, though, I'll keep looking.

I've bought a grand total of two.  The first was because I used my car for work and the engine in my RX7 let go.  I need a car NOW and Dodge was offering nice contingency money for autocrossing the cheap and fuel efficient Neon.  The second was again because of work.  They instituted a policy where your car had to be less than 7 years old to get a car allowance.  The Cobalt SS turbo checked all the boxes, on paper.  By far the fastest car I've ever owned but not the most fun.

Now I'm self employed and doubt I'll ever have another new car.  The newest is my 2015 FR-S with just over 100,000 miles on it.  My daily is a 1998 4Runner with 430,000 miles.

I haven't purchased new ever, but the benefits I see are having a manufacturer warranty along with things not breaking due to age, plus the least possible amount of people having farted inside.

If nobody bought new where would the used cars come from?

When we bought the three-pedal minivan back in 2013, there weren't any manual Mazda 5s on the used market.  And if we had found one, we wouldn't have gotten a 0% 60 month note on a used car.

I'll throw in a challenging aspect to this: manufacturers make what sells best. Right now that's small SUVs, probably with optional AWD and on the white to black color spectrum. 
 

Few are buying enthusiast cars. If manufacturers stop making them because we aren't buying them there won't be anything to buy except old stuff. Kinda looks like this is happening already if you're into a certain type of car. No one to blame but ourselves and I'm including myself in that. 

I've bought three cars new.  All three were bought new because the difference in price between new and used was not worth going with the used option.

2011 WRX - was within spitting distance of a used 2009/2010, and it got the new wide fendered look of the STi.  Still took me claiming one that hadn't even gotten delivered yet to get it.

The other two (2018 GTI and 2022 Gladiator) were heavily impacted by differences in interest rates and available rebates/deals not available in the used market.  

Keith Tanner said:

I bought my 2010 Dodge 2500 new because I could get a fleet discount, I needed something as reliable as a hammer and used prices were so strong that there was no money to be saved by buying used.

I bought the 2019 Tesla Model 3 new because there were no used options - and until just recently, it wouldn't have saved any money anyhow because used values were very strong.

I'm currently looking for a Miata RF, and it's looking like the only way to get what I want might be to buy new. Black GT models with a stick are thin on the ground and again, resale values are high. I'm in no hurry, though, I'll keep looking.

How's this one? Miata RF

I rarely buy new but lightly used with a certified warranty always works out well for me. Except for Subaru's I always buy those news. 

As for picking I don't have serious weather requirements or usability being in a DINK household so I just kind of get what I really like. 

2 out of 3 times because it was cheaper.  The 3rd time was so we could get the exact car/color we wanted.

2003 Mazda Protege 5 - The 3 had just come out so the dealers were closing out the old model and prices were cheaper new than used.

2019 Miata 30AE - Wife wanted ND miata but disliked all the (non) colors and dont like red so had to buy new to get a good color at that time. 

2023 Chevy Bolt - Just bought in Jan.  Wanted newer car.  Wanted to get an electric car since I currently have free charging at work and I just wanted to try electric. The 22-23 bolt had some changes that I wanted over older bolts. With the tax incentive it was cheaper to buy the new car than the used ones I could find.

2005 Chevrolet Cobalt bought for price and reliability. 

2021 Chevrolet Silverado bought because it was cheaper than a used truck.

I bought my new Miata in 2021 because the used ones were not a good value at the time. Buying new means I bought a warranty for peace of mind. I bought even more peace of mind knowing every bit of maintenance has been done correctly from the start. I bought valuable time I wouldn't have to spend prepping an older track car; I just show up and drive the doors off it. I bought reliability so I could spend more time on project cars instead of fixing the daily driver. I bought one of the final iterations of a quickly dying breed: lightweight, RWD, manual, engine-only. I bought a checkmark for a bucket list item of mine. I also bought a vote; companies only build what will sell new, and I got a chance to vote with my dollars.

I've purchased new twice out of more than a dozen vehicles.  These were each family hauler vehicles, primarily for my wife.  Top concerns were practicality, price, warranty, and safety.  I searched both new and used, and found that lightly used vehicles in our target segments did not offer sufficient price drops to beat the combination of -- dealer incentives, lower interest rates, and the warranty/low service intervals of a new vehicle.

Mind you, both of these experiences were before the auto market went haywire in 2020.  I am terrified of the thought of having to buy a vehicle in today's market at today's interest rates.

In my case, with a 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor, I bought a Lemon. 

Unfortunately, it seems like today's new cars are a risky purchase due to quality assurance and quality control issues. Those issues were definitely compounded by the tumultuous times we've been going through as a civilization over the last 3 years. 

We buy new cars every ten years. Ten years is plenty of time to save for a next car. We buy cheap cars and pay cash. Miatas, Proteges , corollas, Versa and Scion that don't have much trade in value at year ten so we gift them to relatives that get a year or two out of them. 

One of the reasons we buy new is because we dont take care of our cars. The first five years are a given for reliability and the next 5 the odds are in our favour but the cars start to look shody. We live in a rustbelt, so by year ten, cars are scruffy looking due to winter weather exposure. You dont want to work under them but suspension and exhaust will start to demand attention. It feels good to get a shiny new toy rather than listen to new rattles develop and decide if they can be ignored.

One of the options would be to  buy 5 year old cars and get rid of them when they are 10 years old. But we both detest car buying, so better to pay the small markup for the new car every ten years.

  The value proposition to all of this is spelled out in my signature line.

I've bought a few - the ones for my wife are kept 10-15 years - buy new and keep forever.  

Other times it was availability - I ordered a Blazer and got exactly what I wanted.  

I bought a 1982 Mazda GLC, my wife's 2006 xB and my 2019 GMC Canyon new. The GLC was my only vehicle and I was still single. The xB was because she wanted something new rather than used, and she liked the looks. The Canyon was a replacement for my old rusty Astro. I couldn't find much in the way of good used vans and used pickups were $30k. The new truck was $36K so I pulled the trigger. Currently keeping an eye out for a good R53 MINI to replace my current one, which is getting rusty. The truck will last me 'til I die, so anything from here on out will be used.......unless the wife wants another new car.

Being the guy that just bought two new cars in 3 months..... we bought piece of mind for the next 10 years. Warranty on the drivetrain for 10yr/100k miles. Nothing but oil changes and rotations for the next 3years. Most importantly, the wife has a safe, reliable car that I don' have to worry about and I get to have my racecar be the racecar and not the double duty car it's been for the last 2 years in the salt belt. 

Add in that either of the two we bought were actually MORE expensive used, with less warranty and to us it was an easy choice. We know these two cars will get us faithfully to work until retirement and beyond.

Can I maintain the older cars? yeah. But I'm getting old enough now that its far from fun, it's a bit painful for a few days after and it takes what little free time I have. It's one thing to work on a play car, its another to be under the gun to get the daily working to make your money or get your wife around safely.

Our last new car we still own. Purchased in 2006 and we will have it another 5-6 years before the earth reclaims it. 

I've bought more cars new than used, usually either to maximize the warranty coverage period or to get exactly what I wanted.

- 99 Miata: bought it in July of 98, I wanted the new NB body style and there were no used ones at that point.

- 01 Audi S4: factory order to get it configured exactly right.

- 03 Focus:  car for my wife, maximize warranty coverage.

- 07 Odyssey: same as Focus, plus the market on these was really weird at the time and it was actually cheaper to buy a new one (with rebate and no-haggle pricing) than what people on CL were asking for 2-year-old ones.

- 16 Audi S6: another factory order

- 16 Mazda CX-9: car for my wife, maximize warranty coverage

- 21 F-250: another factory order because the option combination I wanted (platinum w/o sunroof) didn't exist on anyone's lot.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

This is amazing.  Not long ago you were not buying green bananas and now you are up to shopping for cars.  

Pete

sergio said:

Keith Tanner said:

I bought my 2010 Dodge 2500 new because I could get a fleet discount, I needed something as reliable as a hammer and used prices were so strong that there was no money to be saved by buying used.

I bought the 2019 Tesla Model 3 new because there were no used options - and until just recently, it wouldn't have saved any money anyhow because used values were very strong.

I'm currently looking for a Miata RF, and it's looking like the only way to get what I want might be to buy new. Black GT models with a stick are thin on the ground and again, resale values are high. I'm in no hurry, though, I'll keep looking.

How's this one? Miata RF

Ha, thanks! I haven't really been looking seriously enough to start lurking CL a few thousand miles away yet, mostly getting a feel for the market and availability. But that's a good data point for sure.

A few times. I buy new so we have wy least one reliable car for the family. Most recently, a 2022 Sienna. The trade value from our 150k mile old Sienna was high enough that the fuel savings covered the loan difference. Currently trading out two cars, 96 Town car and 02 Astro, for a new Bolt as once again the fuel and maintenance savings will cover the payment. I like old cars but absolutely hate maintenance on things that need to work tomorrow.

I have my first new car on order, a Ford Maverick for about $30k.

Why?  Well, I have kids. My free time has become very valuable to me. I am over working on my daily driver and worrying about whats going to break next. Having a warranty for awhile appeals to me. Another factor is hidden problems. I will know the history. absolutely. 

My expedition I had owned for a month when I found hidden problems and the list of problems grows.  My wife's Mazda5, honestly a part of me has felt like removing the interior and doing an almost restoration level deep clean. Apparently a PO had dogs and I really dont know how you get THAT MUCH dirt in a car. I have steam cleaned and changed cabin filters and we still get a smell of wet dog on an off day. Plus I have a new quarter panel to do rust repair on.  Part of this might be just getting something that is less than 15 years old.  (wife is plotting replacement of hers in the next few years even though it only has 125k)

Being able to get it just the way I want it, color, features, etc.  Having something "perfect" appeals. 

Also, I need something to haul a 3000lb enclosed trailer and two kids. I want something with somewhat interesting driving dynamics (I want away from a big truck). Anything recently used on the market that fits the needs will be about the same money.