new or used car... Help/suggestions...
 

So my 98 neon is ready to die on me. she's got 170k on her, and its just starting to show signs of major issues down the road....



Ive got 10k in the bank, not sure how much I want to spend, but im looking at various options. I want something newer, and good on gas.

My current choices

Civic
PT Cruiser
MAZDA 3
Ford Focus

I want something reliable as well. I dont care about auto or stick, I have a sportbike for my fun driving!

But I went to check out mazda's today. super nice, but buying new scares me a little. The cost + financing on new is pretty crazy, and of course will depreciate.

I could finance a new MAZDA 3, or should I find a used domestic like a PT or Focus and hope they stay fairly reliable.

Ive had bad luck with domestics and repairs..

Anyhow, I make around 45k a year, I have good credit and no issues, im just debating if a guy should go NEW and finance, or else buy 1 or 2 years old and holdout for a great deal....


p.s - anyone know of any 0% financing deals right now?!?!


thanks for any help/suggestions!

I've been researching vehicles lately as well. See'n what I could afford, and I think buy a technically "used" vehicle from a dealer sounds like the best option. It's not 100% brand new, but like last years vehicle or what not and you save a ton of cash. Only problem is, they keep coming out with neat stuff every year that you can't have unless you go new.

Just my thouhgts, i'm working on an 07 vehicle if prices would just drop a tad more on them.

I hear ya. Selection is decent, but I find such a large parity betwen brands like Mazda/Honda, and domestics....

A guy could save $$$ by going domestic and saving the $$$ for repairs, but it's still a hassle.....

IF only a guy could get 0% on 2007/2006's with a fair price!

If you're not in a huge rush, just hold on and keep an eye out for a good used deal from a dealership...maybe something coming in on a lease buyback or a newer trade in. You can still usually get reasonable financing on it as long as it's not too old.

I just got a super sweet deal on a slightly used 08 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara, loaded with pretty much all the factory options for several thousand less than I could have picked up a brand new base model.

The depreciation hit is tough to take. I suppose I've owned about 2 dozen vehicles over the years (51 soon...gah), less than half a dozen new.

On the one hand, nothing like a new car! The glow wears off quickly though and then you get to pay for the next 4 years (dont be silly enough to do one of those 7 year things). Buyers remorse and all that.

I came to the conclusion after buying an 02 triple black Mustang GT ragtop new, that it was going to be my last new car. I paid cash for that, and yes, it was silly, but i wanted to do that just once before I croaked off.

Now I go for 1 to 3 year old vehicles, BUT I negotiate for the warranty. Not some scum bag third party nonsense, but the extended manufactures warranty thru the dealership. Not cheap, but priced out a tranny these days?

Mileage is king. Lower the better of course. I recently found a car for ex wife that sat for the last year of its 2 year lease. Original woman put like 50k on it the first year and only had 60 to play with, so she parked it. I know because i contacted her :)

best of luck!

I like the pt cruiser if your lucky you can find a gt and its a hatch.
And the focus zx5 hatch also.

A 1-2 year old Scion is not that expensive and super reliable.

^ Scion's were not readily available in Canada before the 2009 model year.

Taking the 10k and buying a used car is the least intrusive option - as long as it stays reasonably trouble free, and there is no guarantee for that. Honestly, I would look at a new car in the 20k range - keeps the payment reasonable and you get a warranty.

As for import vs. domestic... that's a hard one as the lines have been blurred by global manufacturing. Take for instance, a friend of mine bought an 03 Civic brand new, and I bought an 04 SX2.0 Neon brand new. His Civic cost 6grand more than my Neon. I think we're both currently in the 180,000km range and while I have changed nothing but the oil in my car, he has replaced the tranny at least twice, as well as half the rest of the car! He's a little bitter with Honda.

Wow, I had no idea. Goes to show what a difference 2000 miles will make.

Anyway, A car that is 1-2 years old will usually have some of the factory warranty left if there is less than 36k miles. Many dealers will have extended warranties to buy. They range from $1,000 to $2,000. Most of them cover expensive items for an additional 5 years or 50k miles. Not a bad idea to buy one for a used car.

Many import car lines have factories here and in Japan. I hate to say it, but the ones built in Japan seem to have less failures. The best way to tell is the first letter/number in the V.I.N. If it is a number (ie 1,2,4), it is a domestic build. If it starts with a "J", then it was built in Japan

I use New Car Prices, Used Car Prices, Blue Book Value, Car Reviews - Official Kelley Blue Book Site all the time to look at real car values. Bring copies of this and similar cars for sale with you to the dealer (AutoTrader.com - Buy Used Cars, New Cars, Sell a Car, Find Car Dealers). It will give you negotiating leverage. With todays economy be prepared to have 20% down payment. Even with a great credit score, banks are only financing 80% of the loan.

Just to further expand on Mr. Evils point, they also have 3 or 4 LEVELS of coverage, such as Basic Plan, Silver Plan, Gold, etc, you get the point. Naturally they are more expensive the higher you go.

Make sure to get one that covers the A/C as well as "anything fluid touches". The A/C ones will probably be the second or third even from the cheapest, so expect to pay, depending on the year of vehicle, mileage, etc.