Congrats!
After years of driving used old "fixer upper" cars, when the opportunity came to own something new (or nearly new), I jumped on it. Just the peace of mind of knowing that when I get up on a cold winter morning to go to work, the car was going to start. If that wasn't enough, the fact that I was no longer having to do maintenance, which could cost anywhere from a few dollars each month to several hundred, also eased the mind quite a bit. There is something to be said for being able to budget an exact amount of money each month for car payments over not knowing if this month you would get away without spending money or end up paying more than a payment would be.
Sure, over the course of a year, the old used car probably cost me a lot less in money, but it made up for it in stress alone.
In the nearly two decades I have been driving new(ish) cars with me being the first or maybe second owner, I have only been left stranded once, and it was my own fault (battery was getting old and I left the key on with the radio playing for my kids while I was in a store).
On the other hand, a couple years ago I bought an old Nissan pickup (86.5 Hardbody 4x4), wanting a little reliable pickup to drive to the hardware store a few times per year. What started as a $1500 pickup has turned into a $10,000 pickup, in small enough increments to make me keep it in lieu of dumping it before it got out of hand. When it came to the biggest expense, the engine, my logic was simple: I had several thousand into replacing nearly every item on the car that wears out already, and dumping it and starting over with a $4k pickup was no guarantee that the engine or transmission could go out at any time, leaving me even deeper in the hole. At least with this one I get a 7 year 100k mile warranty on the engine and I know the vehicle's history now. Sounded logical.
Since then, I have driven the pickup 5 times (that was a year ago now). The first couple times was in the dead of winter when it was cold and sure enough, after sitting for several months, the battery was dead. Then, a couple months ago, I got it in and it started right up and ran smooth, so I took it to a lumber yard to get some cherrywood. After loading up, I got in and it cranked and cranked with no start. I was at a loss. It had been years since I was stranded in a vehicle, and I had no idea what to do. I started calling friends, most of who were busy or out of town. I managed to get someone on the phone and get a ride (with a truck for the wood). The next morning I went back to the truck and it started right up, so I drove it to the gas station, filled up, and was promptly left stranded yet again. After a tow and $300 in repairs, the faulty temp sensor was replaced (was telling the computer it was 28 degrees below zero F, so it was running super rich and flooded the plugs). A week later I had my son load it up with stuff for the dump, and then he was going to haul some stuff to storage. Between trips he managed to lose the key, and it turns out he lost the spare a few months before. That cost $100 for a locksmith.. So even though I have a new engine, trans and clutch are only a few years old, brakes, tires, battery, alternator, starter, belts, some wiring, exhaust, plugs, coils, and hoses all being new, Every time I drive this thing it seems to cost me some money.
This is all on top of my son's car needed a new engine a few years ago, my daughter's car needing a new transmission, then my son's GF driving his car out of oil and blowing up the rebuild I did, and my history with used cars picked up right where it left off 20 years ago.
The moral of this story, at least for me, is buy new (or 1 year old with warranty) so I not only have that warranty, but know the history and am perpetually in a lower mileage car. The extra money it costs is worth the peace of mind.
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Topic: New car- End of an era (Read 3456 times)
