By the end of the year DH and I will need to buy a new vehicle. I can't decide if I want to buy a new car and have the peace of mind that I will have a 10yr powertrain warranty or save some money and buy used. While we will have another car this will be our main vehicle.

We aren't people who need to have new cars all the time.....so if we bought a new car we would keep it at least until the warranty ran out.

What have you done in the past? What do you think you would do is you were us?

Thanks!!!!!!!

We are used-car fans around here. We don't like to have a car payment every month when DH is perfectly capable of fixing almost anything that can go wrong with a vehicle (he's a diesel mechanic but is very handy with all vehicles).

If DH wasn't so handy, I think we'd still go used, but maybe a little newer than we have now (we have a 93 Honda). Not having a car payment allows us to do many things we wouldn't otherwise be able to do.

I don't worry much about the car quitting on me. Sure it could happen and leave me stranded on the side of the road with the girls, but

1. I generally stay within a 30-mile radius of home, so I can call somebody on my cell to come get us fairly quickly,

and

2. A new car can have issues too (we had a new lease get a flat tire soon after we got it...sure we might have hit something, but the point is it did happen and it was new).

I say go with what you are comfortable with...I would hate driving a vehicle that I was constantly wondering about the safety of...

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We are also a used car fan. We have 2 cars and a truck all are used and paid for. We try very hard to have vehicles that are paid for. It is nice to have warranty but repairs to a used veh and the cost of a new veh is a pretty big difference in my book, but everyone is different.

New cars depreciate in value the second you drive them off the lot. We tend to buy used for that reason. The truck we just bought is still under warrenty so if you are looking for the peace of mind with a warranty look for a used with lower mileage.

We buy used too but 'newer used'. We bought a 2000 in 2002 and it's still going strong. It even had a warranty still in effect. I still don't get why the person before us bought a brand new car and sold it after two years. It's been a great car and hasn't given us any trouble.

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Mom to dd (age 9) and ds (age 11)
blogging daily about purpose and personal identity

I've struggled with this as well. First my husband and I are NOT mechanics and breaking down along side of the road is a huge fear of mine. And let's face it those new cars are, well, new! And that is pretty cool.

But, I was talking to a friend of the family, and he made a valid point. New cars have problems too. And when you take in account the money that you will save even towing an used car and fixing whatever problem there is vs. buying a new car, you really are saving a lot of money. As for my fear of breaking down. I have a cell phone that allows me to call whenever, if ever, there is a problem. I actually thought about canceling my cell phone awhile back but decided it was worth the money of driving an used car if that allowed me to call for help.

No...we buy used...it's worth thousands less as soon as you leave the dealership!

I really think it depends upon the person. We generally buy new and try to keep them until they just about die. We currently have a '96 purchased in '96 that I drive most of the time and an '06 van. The van was purchased new, and the '96 was a program car (basically a new car with a used title and 3K miles on it). We did buy two other vehicles in between these vehicles. Of those two, the used one kept "dollaring" us to death; it was in the shop almost every two to three months. The final straw was the transmission. We traded it for a new vehicle which we still would have had today had we not outgrown it (baby #3 required us to make some changes).
Yes, new vehicles do depreciate more rapidly during the early years, but since we planned to keep the vehicle for many years, depreciation did not factor into our decision. Also, alot can depend upon the sales market. I know a friend of mine wound up buying a new car because at the time (about 5 years ago), interest rates were lower for new vehicles and there wasn't that much (a few thousand) of a price difference among the new and newer used cars.

We have always bought used but It really does depend ....There is a lot of money to be made in used cars...so I find that it can be difficult getting a great deal on the more desirable cars. For example I have been looking for a Toyota Sienna van...I think that is the best van on teh market for the $ and It almost seems better to by new IF you can afford it because they hold ther value and it can be hard to get a used at a good deal. American cars lose there value typically faster than Honda, Toyotas and Suburus....so Amercian cars used can be a great deal. for example the Impala...great BIG car and gets almnost 30 miles to a gallon....it is a cheap used car...I would never buy that used...there are a lot of thenm in good used condition out on the lots! Anyway....just remember the car you drive is usually the cheapest....if it is not drivable ...then the car you can afford is the next best option. We are trying to save for a van when our current cars die....but that could be 5 years....and then willl I want to by a 20,000 vehicle....probably not....I will prbably TRY to find a great deal used!

Thanks for all your replies! We will need to replace our car so to keep driving it really isn't an option..... it has around 130,000 miles on it and is a 1995 Dodge intrepid. We bought it new and it has just been the best car ever....such a trooper!

We will be able to cash for either a new car or used, but I just want to get the best deal, because we could always use the $ for something else..... like adoption fees