New Car Purchase........just because?

[wrigley]

Just wondering.......anyone out there considering buying a new car/truck just because the auto industry will da^^ near give them away?

Mike

[Midpack]

My Dad just bought a new car and got the best deal/treatment in his 86 year life.

It won't help the D3 though, he bought a Honda Accord...

[Notmuchlonger]

Maybe people will start flipping cars and trucks. Could have a show called new car flipper.

Earlier in the year I bought a car out of necessity.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrigley Just wondering.......anyone out there considering buying a new car/truck just because the auto industry will da^^ near give them away? Mike

seems such logic would make more sense applied to real estate or stocks than to automobiles.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrigley Just wondering.......anyone out there considering buying a new car/truck just because the auto industry will da^^ near give them away?

Funny how public sentiment is. They'd do this with cars and other consumer goods, but not stocks and real estate. They HATE stocks and real estate when they are being sold at a deep discount...

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum seems such logic would make more sense applied to real estate or stocks than to automobiles.

Guess I should have read ahead.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrigley Just wondering.......anyone out there considering buying a new car/truck just because the auto industry will da^^ near give them away?

I have thought about it! But then, who knows... they might be even cheaper in a couple of years, when I had originally planned to buy a new car. I wouldn't bet on it, but that is always a possibility.

Besides, keeping my 8.5 year old Camry Solara that has only 37,000 miles on it seems like a good way to cope with any possible economic doomsday scenarios. My future ER location has a personal property tax on cars that would be a whole lot lower with an older car, and also I know that my car has been well cared for and that it is reliable and gets great mileage.

And finally, I have a personality quirk in that I tend to like the things I already have, and to be upset initially if something new is different from what I had before. That causes me to want to put off major replacement purchases sometimes, even though I know that I will end up liking what I get, once I get used to it.

I am already trying to visualize possible differences between my home and homes in my future ER location, and how I would cope with the differences. It will be an adjustment for me.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack My Dad just bought a new car and got the best deal/treatment in his 86 year life. It won't help the D3 though, he bought a Honda Accord...

The Depression generation has been buying Accords and Camrys for 20 some years now. I guess even they are fed up with the D3.

My dad buys Ram pickups every 5 years or so, he likes them. When my brother bought a Sequoia, he told him that he knew that Toyota made a better truck than his Ram but he didn't care..........

[bbbamI]

I've decided not to buy anything new until the item turns into dust and blows away. Doomsday is lurking just around the corner....I never know when I might be nibbling on that last crust of bread. Hoard your pennies now, I tell you.....before it's too late!

But seriously... Wrigley, now should be a good time to buy. The only reason I'm not getting one now is because I bought one in March of this year.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack My Dad just bought a new car and got the best deal/treatment in his 86 year life. It won't help the D3 though, he bought a Honda Accord...

I nominate your father for the 2008 optimist of the year award for buying a new car at age 86!

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever I nominate your father for the 2008 optimist of the year award for buying a new car at age 86!

Outstanding. A neighbor in his mid-70s jokes "at my age, I don't even buy green bananas". But it's a safe bet for him, he's also the guy who mows a half-acre with a 20" walk-behind mower.

If one is in the market for a new car/truck now is certainly a good time to buy one. Maybe even better for a new motorcycle, which I am in the market for. Prices of used ones are still generally too high.

[Koolau]

I recall looking at cars (with every intention of buying - maybe even at full MSRP) only to leave the dealership in disgust because the money-grubbing SOBs had tacked on either thousands in "dealer profit" or yet more thousands in useless add-ons (think pin striping at $500!). The cars were always on the cutting edge (think Honda Accord of the late '70s, Mopar minivans of the early '80s or Prius of a couple years ago. They could get away with it because they could sell all they had - and more.

Don't get me wrong. I believe with every ounce of my being that they had the perfect right to sell the cars for whatever they could get. But, now that ALL the dealers are hurting, I have come up with the perfect revenge, heh, heh. I'd like to walk into one of these dealers, pick the most expensive car on the lot, sit down to buy at full MSRP i.e., not even ask for a discount. Then say "Oh, guess I should drive it first." After a lengthy test drive, I would return to the dealership and say "Sorry, it just don't set right!" And walk out.

DW says I'm perverse. She is right but I could never actually do such a thing.

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire ....And finally, I have a personality quirk in that I tend to like the things I already have...........

Oh...never heard it called "a personality quirk" before. Actually, I have the same "quirk", except not so much for cars. I want the new car AND the old one too, or sometimes a new old car.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash Oh...never heard it called "a personality quirk" before. Actually, I have the same "quirk", except not so much for cars. I want the new car AND the old one too, or sometimes a new old car.

I don't want both (too much clutter). I want the new car, but I want it to be JUST LIKE the old one, except for a few added features that I like (such as a sunroof, this time).

I also want frames for new glasses to look just like the old frames. I want my ER house up north to be just like my present house except it should have a garage and a larger shower. Obviously I like classic styles in clothing and shoes.

[waltwill8]

Perceived bad times have always been a good time to buy new, for me.
The new/vs used prices made buying new less of a bad deal.

'70 BMW for $2600 new (cash)
'80 Audi for $3k to boot, trading in a 2 yr old VW (no one wanted an automatic when gas prices were so high! $1-something, as I remember)
'87 Chrysler right after the crash.
'97 Dodge Stratus (don't remember why it was cheap)
It's time again, but I'll wait till after Christmas.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever I nominate your father for the 2008 optimist of the year award for buying a new car at age 86!

He's SIRE'd, so why not, he will never run out of money. You and I will make sure he has a COLA'd pension and health care.

I can't believe someone inadvertently handed me that straight line...

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire And finally, I have a personality quirk in that I tend to like the things I already have, and to be upset initially if something new is different from what I had before. That causes me to want to put off major replacement purchases sometimes, even though I know that I will end up liking what I get, once I get used to it.

Not that you should or do feel bad about it, but this might amuse you. My father has bought a new PC every 5 years or so for the past 20+ years. Instead of moving all his apps/files to the new one, he just keeps the old PC (with whatever apps/files are on it) and uses the new one for anything new from then on. His "home office" is unbelievable, there are 2 monitors, 2 printers and 4 PC's. Of course every PC he's bought, he insisted on the prior Windows version, so he went to XP (from Win95) in the last year or two. He won't be on Vista for at least 5 years.

He also never turns on the radio in cars, thinks their an annoying distraction. If he had his way, he buy cars with no radio at all to this day and he has owned some pretty expensive cars. He used to bug dealers about why he couldn't get one without. Good thing it can't be done, imagine resale.

It's crazy, but no point in arguing with my 86 year old Dad. Not sure what he'll do when one of the PC's bites the dust...

[BunsGettingFirm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrigley Just wondering.......anyone out there considering buying a new car/truck just because the auto industry will da^^ near give them away? Mike

Yes, and I have thousands of $$$ of GM car rebates on my GM Card. It probably will be a use-it-or-lose it proposition.

[TromboneAl]

I once had a tape backup unit, and I needed a minor part for it. There was no answer when I called the company. Then I found that the company had gone out of business. I had to throw away the tape drive.

Not saying it's relevant, but it's probably worth bringing up.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack He also never turns on the radio in cars, thinks their an annoying distraction. If he had his way, he buy cars with no radio at all to this day and he has owned some pretty expensive cars. He used to bug dealers about why he couldn't get one without. Good thing it can't be done, imagine resale.

I don't know if it's still true but at one time there was a federal law that required that new cars be made available without a radio installed so that after market suppliers would have a chance to sell their stuff. But of course you had to special order the car.

[MovingtotheCove]

For the past 15 years we've only purchased "program cars" with low miles and great pricing. 90 days ago we actually purchased a new Pontiac G6 getting a really good price on the 2008 model with features just right and used up all our GM Master Card points on top of it. A "program car" couldn't touch the price we got on the new one. FYI...now 90 days later we couldn't me happier....a really nice car and glad we made the choice we did!