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What kind of gas mileage do you get?
AtomSmasher:
--- Quote from: danny_galaga on April 25, 2008, 07:08:50 pm ---how cool is that! the price of fuel doesnt go up for new cars, only old ones! i guess i better trade in the master after all...
--- End quote ---
When the older car is a V8 gas guzzler and the new car is extremely economical, then the rising gas prices would more prominently effect the gas guzzler. It has nothing to do with the age of the car, just it's fuel efficiency.
Personally I prefer a new car for my daily driver, but like old classic cars (1970's or older) for my recreational vehicles. I know buying a cheap used beater saves quite a bit of money and that everytime I buy a new car, I'm throwing a bit of money away, but for my daily driver I need excellent reliability and prefer the extreme cleanliness of a new car and that I know the car has always been properly maintained (since it's new, it hasn't needed any maintence yet). In general I'm the only person in my car, and I keep it extremely clean. My current car now has 10,000 miles on it and the interior still has the new car smell.
Some of you have talked about how your used cars are extremely reliable, but when you first buy a used car, you have no idea if it will be reliable. When you buy a new car, it's under warranty so it doesn't cost you anything to fix it and if it has too many problems, then you can return it under the lemon laws, or sell it before the warranty is up to make it someone elses problem (which adds to the crapshoot of buying a used car).
ahofle:
--- Quote from: danny_galaga on April 25, 2008, 07:08:50 pm ---oh, and ahofle, its interesting about motorbikes. i remember when it used to cost MORE to insure a bike than a car! the prices sure have come down lately here. a lot fairer now, and good timing since it will encourage more people to ride them to work (which is coincidental since the insurance companies dont really ahve a reason to encourage fuel savings)
--- End quote ---
It's probably because we are getting old. :) At least around here it really depends on the bike and the age of the rider. I know if you're a male under 25 and you're getting full coverage on a performance/sport bike, you can expect to pay several times what an old fart like me pays for his car insurance!
paigeoliver:
Cars (even old ones) just aren't as unreliable as people think they might be. In this era of fuel injection even clunkers don't tend to leave you stranded all that often. I have been driving them forever (come to think of it, even the newest car I ever owned was 5 years old when I bought it), and I have been stranded on the side of the road ONCE. I get stuck with a car that doesn't want to start for some reason an average of maybe once per year, with plenty of periods where I went 2 or 3 years without it happening (combined with a couple times I had it three times in one year, alternator, starter and battery in separate incidents).
The reliability card is simply overplayed in that respect. I haven't been late to work because of car breakdowns in even one time in the last 10 years, actually I can't ever remember being late to work because of an auto breakdown. I was late to work once because of a stolen car (probably could have still got a cab or called a ride to get there on time, but I had to wait for the police to come), and that was the only time I have ever been late to my current job (8 years now).
I respect people who are more honest and just say they want to look fancy or feel good about themselves with a new car, because that is usually the truth, financial and reliability arguments just don't hold up.
Jdurg:
Honestly, when I bought my Civic I bought it brand new because it was my first car. My parents NEVER taught me how to drive. They were afraid that my Diabetes would severly hurt me, even though I knew it wouldn't. I saved up, took lessons from an external source, and passed the test on my first try even though it was snowing at the time.
I saved up for years, and finally was able to put a big downpayment on a car. I bought my Civic because I liked the small size, and at the time the gas mileage was great. Now that I've paid it off, it feels even better. I fill up my tank about once a week, and I fill it up when I get to half-way empty. It's probably just out of OCD. :P
I WISH I knew more about cars. Sadly, all I know is that every 5,000 miles I take it back to my Honda dealer and they do a complete inspection. 65,000 miles later, I haven't had any problems and the money I've spent on the "inspections" has been well worth it.
It feels good having the title to my car. It also helped my credit rating a TON and helped me buy my house.
patrickl:
If you look at German break down statistics (how often did people need to call road help), a 5 year old car is already around 20 to 30 times more likely to break down. break downs really skyrocket as age goes on.
To keep your car working in proper order an older car just needs more maintenance. That means it costs more money to run and you have to bring it in to the garage and suffer the nuisance of the car functioning poorly often. You'll find out the hard way if you drive that merc for a few years and you run into repairs that will cost a few thousand dollars.
On average a junker is cheaper than driving a new car yes, but the price difference really is not that great. Maybe 30% or so. The reason people buy an old junker is because they don't have the money for a new car. Compared to a newer used car, an old junker is actually more expensive. Of course being able to repair it yourself (or have friends fix it) brings down the cost of maintenance a lot, but most people only have the option to bring it to a proper garage.
Reliability problems don't only mean coming late for work. Having to pick up your kid, or just simply not wanting to stand in the rain for hours to get road side help is the reason to want a properly functioning car. I have never been late for work when I was driving a junker, but even being stuck on the side of the road once a year is unacceptable to me.
Another major issue is the safety. A new car will drive just about straight through a 10 year old car. I saw some crash tests and the new models (of the same brand and type) completely tore the old models apart.
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