I have bought new. I have bought used. I have leased. I am wondering what the general concensus is on which option is the best...let's say that excess miles is not an issue?
Leasing a new vehicle provides comfort and security, but usually has extra upfront costs and a never ending monthly obligation.
Buying a new vehicle is also a long financial commitment as well as dramatic depreciation once you leave the lot.
Buying a used vehicle (via loan) is a shorter term and less monthly financial burden, but also less security and possibly more overall financial costs with repair surprises. Paying cash usually means a poorer quality vehicle which almost assuredly means future repairs, usually large ticket items.
I personally have found that it's a difficult fine line between buying used and trying to save money with no car payment but repair costs, compared to budgeting for a continual regular monthly payment.
Which option do you feel is the best financially?
Thanks for your input!

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~ Kelly

We go to a reputible lot where church friends work at and wheel and deal. I walked in there and told them I had xx $ to spend. They looked at each other and told me I know the one for you. I bought it $4000 UNDER value no trade in nothing but cash. Sure I've put some money into it but we've had it 3.5 years.

Dh and I went the used route early in marriage, but once we could afford it, we started going new and never want to go used again. We did buy a demo 4runner w/only 4k miles on it once, and wouldn't even do that again. I hear all the arguments about depreciation, etc., but I can't take the chance of getting someone else's headache. When we get ours, we buy them - leased once and would never do it again - toilet money - and basically, drive them until they die. We get a warranty from day one, don't have to worry about what or who was in the car previously, like smoke, pets or even kid's accidents. Don't have to worry about hidden fender benders, and it's something that's ours. We did look at used a few years ago when we were looking to downsize and do some real cost-cutting, but the few dollars saved just weren't worth it, and we just couldn't find clean cars! Plus, the games played on the used were even worse than on the new cars.

I do have friends who lease, but they are the type who trade in their car every 2-3 years and have to have the latest thing. Their payments and insurance costs just don't make sense to me. When I leased, it would have been only $40 more a month to buy it. I wish I'd chosen that route. Plus, they wanted over $2500 from us at surrender time, although there were no excess miles, only a small scratch on the back bumper. We negotiated it off, but we had a way of doing so, because the leasing company tried some tricks that were illegal, so rather than get reported and sued, they wrote it off. Always read your documents and know your rights.

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Make someone's heart smile today.

We always buy 1-2 yrs old model. I bought a toyota sienna, and we bought the 2005 model in 2006. that makes a difference and then we drive cars into the ground. you do pay payments for the 3-4yrs but if you will drive the car for 10yrs ( i did with my last car and plan to with this car) then driving 7yrs with no payments is very tempting!
There might be repairs when you reach 8-10yrs old car, but think about the payments you are saving and it is cheaper to pay $1000 a year to make repairs then $400 a month in a new car payment.

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We buy things we dont need,
with money we dont have,
in order to impress people
we dont like?
(Ramsey, D)

Financially the best option is to buy an used auto that is only one or two years old FOR CASH. However, those vehicles are very hard to find. Usually they are lease returns or rental sales and those cars tend to driven very hard the first few years. They tend to have decent repair histories and are fixed up nicely before sale but you never known if the engine was broken in correctly or what damage just hasn't been discovered yet. One of my distant in-laws, however, has had a great run of purchasing 1-2 year old Hondas. He paid cash for the first one then sold it after a couple of years. He bought his next 1-2 year old Honda for just a few bucks more than he sold his previous car. After a couple of years he sold that one and bought another 1-2 yr old Honda. Again, his out of pocket outlay was very small because the car he sold was still in great shape. The difficulty, of course, is saving up to pay cash for the first car.

The second best option is to buy a new car that is discounted because it wasn't sold in the previous year and to PAY CASH. The downside of this plan is really good cars usually sell out before the new models become available.

The third best option is to buy a great older used car and PAY CASH. This method demands extreme patience. A great older used car doesn't come along very often so it is one of those things that you have to be on the look out for constantly.

I think the key is to avoid taking out a loan at all costs. I truly believe a loan on a used car is the one option to always avoid. That option ranks right up there with a lease, which I also avoid at all costs.

I have learned over the years that my husband and I are TERRIBLE at buying used cars. We don't have the patience and we usually need to acquire a car in a very short period of time. Because of that we tend to buy new cars, with a loan. We take the longest term on the loan that the bank will give us so we're not forced into paying a large payment if we can't manage it. But we usually CAN manage the loan just fine and our goal is to pay it off QUICKLY. I usually pay-off a 6-yr loan in 2 years. Then we keep the car for a very long time. We average 10 years. For instance, we have one 2004 Minivan that is almost paid off (we purchased it just before the new models were coming out) and a 1996 Mazda sedan that we purchased new. The Mazda is in spectacular shape. It still looks almost new.

So that's our solution whether it makes financial sense or not - it works for us. Buy new, pay off the loan early and keep the car for a very long time.

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"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."

Thanks for all the great input so far!
My van died suddenly and I was forced to get into another vehicle quickly. I ended up in a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country 27 month lease. It was only $600 down and that included the 1st month pmt. Monthly pmt is $259. That was the best option for us in our particular circumstance. I sure wish we would have been prepared to pay cash for a new/slightly used vehicle, but perhaps the next go around.

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~ Kelly

I've had all three, now we buy new and we won't go back. I know I know the depreciation is horrible. We have had horrible experiences with used cars and repair bills even with going with reputable dealers and with warranties. my friend bought a used suv and every time I talk to her it's in the shop for something. We haven't had any problems with ours. But my dh and I have 05 and 06 cars so we won't be buying another for several years.

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A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.-Eleanor Roosevelt

We just bought a minivan about a week ago. Its the first vehicle we bought together since we were married. We went to Hertz which is a used car place but most of the cars on their lot were rentals (like from the airport) and dont have many miles on them at all. Plus all their cars go through a huge inspection. When we went in we were actually not planning on buying that day just looking. They asked how much we could afford as far as a monthly payment and we told them less (like if we could afford a $300 a mos. payment we told them $200) and we were firm about that. Right off the bat they said they could do that and then we told them that the vehicle we liked had been on sale 2 weeks prior and asked for the sale price. They said yes to that too. Then we asked if they did trade ins cuz we had two junkers at home that we really wanted to get rid of and they took those too. I think its just a matter of asking for what you want and being firm w/ your decision. I know w/ us at one point when they were doing up the paper work they said out payment was going to be $250 and I flat out said "nope cant do it" and they immediately gave us more for out trade-ins and got out payment back down. Also, check to see (specially if its used) if it still has a warranty left on it or if the car lot offers a warranty. This way if an issue does come up you are covered. Be sure to check and see what the arranty covers.

HTH!

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SAHM to Elias 3/00, Camdyn 7/03 and Teagan 5/08

We bought our Mitsubishi Galant used in 2001. It had been leased prior to us buying it and although it was high on miles (they've "caught up" over the years and now the miles are "lower" than they should be) we've had no problems and it's been paid off for 2 years. Our van we bought brand new ONLY because I have a friend who works for Chrysler and she got us the employee discount. We paid the invoice price on the van (what the dealer pays - they had to show us the invoice), got employee pricing on the warranty and got the 0% interest financing. While I love my van, Chrysler T&C with the stow & go seating, I don't think I would have bought brand new if we didn't pay the same price that used vans were going for. We weren't even planning on buying a new vehicle, but we were hit by a drunk driver who totalled our old van (which was bought used with cash and served us well for 2 years )

I have always bought new except once. The only time I bought used was from my parents (since I knew the hisotry of the car and repair history). It seems that when I need a new car it is a sudden thing...ie. car was totalled in an accident (yes everyone was okay), AC went during the summer and the cost to have it repaired on such an old vechile would have been too high. When I buy a car I know I will drive it into the ground and since I will have it for at least 8 -10 years I want a car that I will enjoy driving and not to settle for a car. When I don't have a car payment I feel that it is free money and put the money in a special account for something special (i.e. vacation etc)