Poll:Vehicle habits

[gamboolman]

#1
We maintain our vehicles and drive them for a long time.

 

[Gumby]

We have mostly purchased new vehicles. If I can get 0% financing, I'll take it. Otherwise, we pay cash.

We always drive them into the ground. My record is 303,000 miles in 11.5 years on a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. I do almost all of my own maintenance and repair work.

Given that our current stable is so new, with miniscule mileage, and the fact that we don't drive much anymore (the young wife has driven her new 2019 Mini Cooper only 1200 miles in the 19 months she has owned it) we may never buy another car.

 

[Dash man]

I like to buy new vehicles, and either pay cash or finance for a better deal and pay it off soon.
I intended to keep my last car to drive at least ten years, but traded it in to get the latest safety features. As I age, those safety features have become more important to me since it’s harder for me to twist my neck and back to see. I also like the automatic collision avoidance feature and accident reporting.
I’ve just ordered a new car with all the safety bells and whistles, so hopefully this one will last a good long time.

 

[CSdot]

So many good comments. With we had like buttons.

 

[O2Bfree]

I picked "PAY CASH for only USED vehicles" because that's what I've always thought was the smartest thing for a frugal person to do. Other than that, it's a mixed bag:

• Made payments on one new car.
• Made payments on one used car.
• Paid cash for one new car.
• Paid cash for two used cars.

I also keep vehicles for a long time, but haven't driven one into the ground. The last new car I bought for cash was a 2002 Subaru, which I'm finally selling because I just bought something a little larger, a 2017 Honda CR-V, for cash. I expect to get top dollar for the Subie since it's very low miles (56k), one owner, and I've taken care of it.

 

[stepford]

I wish I could have chosen more than one option. I typically buy used for the depreciation reason given (also I'm enough of a frugalist/deal-hunter that I like to look for extra-cheap private party sales with a little bit of damage that I can later repair).

That said I do occasionally buy new (at least I've done so once and may again some day) - always for cash.

 

[Sunset]

.....

For me, my cost over past 5 years has been just under $20k. For 7 years my cost will be about $27k. Cars I drive are between $40-50k. My current car had $46k MSRP, my lease payment is $300/mo. That's no money down which is only way anyone should lease a car. I don't pay for maintenance as dealer covers the scheduled maintenance. I'm always under warranty, so any repairs are covered. I also get a free loaner when car is due for maintenance or warranty work, they bring the car to me. I don't drive massive miles, 12k/yr is sufficient for my driving needs, more so for past year due to Covid. So my out of pocket costs truly is just my payment, I'm ok with $3,600/yr (18 more months). Plus a new car with new tech and safety.

...

I'm impressed, and if you would ever want to share how you do this, I'd be happy to learn.
I will spend close to your $36,000 (10 yr period) on my van which is now 6 yrs old.

Paid $31,744 including tax for the van.
Oil changes for 4 yrs have been $400
Engine and cabin filters I changed: 40
Expecting new tires will be $700
Patched 2 tires for $50
Total so far is: $32,934
I have 1 more year warranty on the van.

Future oil changes: $400
Future Engine and cabin filters I change: 40

So known cost is $33,374 for 10 yrs.

However, my van even now is not $46K MSRP , so you are driving a nicer vehicle.

 

[Sunset]

I picked New and drive into the ground, but I do care how it looks.

When young, I'd buy real deals, beaters that I could drive for a few years, it taught me a LOT about car repair

 

[brett]

Lots of megacorp cars.

Last new vehicle bought in 1997. Drove it for 15 years and then passed to my son. Next was a 2006 Accord in 2009. Still have, only 130K miles. Expect to have it another 10 years. 2007 Solara summer car bought in 2016. 70K on the clock.

We have had so many new megacorp cars. At one time it was a new one every year.

We are not putting any mileage on the. Pre covid we were travelling for 4-5 months. What we have not spent on vehicles over the past eight years of retirement has been spent on travel. Hope to keep it that way for another 15 years!

 

[Katsmeow]

I chose #2 but really it just depends. The last car we bought we paid a large down payment (almost 50%) and financed it at a low rate. Since most of our money is in tax deferred accounts, it didn't make sense to take the immediate tax hit to pay it off. Our last main car we had for about 8-9 years. I'm sure we will do the same with this one.

 

[SecondCor521]

If you don't mind sharing, what's your all in cost for 5 year period for owning your car; loan payments, maintenance and repairs, less what you reasonably think your equity is today? How much you expect you'll spend on repairs and maintenance for the next 2 years when you enjoy the freedom of no payments?

1997 Lexus GS300, sticker price $41,963.

Last 5 years all in costs $14,270.13. Quicken report attached. (Miscellaneous category is basically registration and emissions tests plus one speeding ticket.) If you leave out fuel costs, which I think you might, the total drops to $9,219.44, or $153.66 per month.

I carry the vehicle in Quicken at $2,500 and don't really think it's depreciating or appreciating at this point. Zero loan payments, obviously.

It *is* old, I'll grant you. But it has everything I need (reliable, good MPG, cruise control, A/C, sound system, airbags, power everything) and a few things I like (heated seats, leather and wood interior).

And anyway, I think a lot of the newer fancier things are more likely to break down in expensive ways. I had a friend with a newer Jeep Grand Cherokee that he had to leave at the shop for several weeks because the DTE calculator broke, he wanted it fixed, and the DTE was integrated with the odometer so they had to keep it in the shop and replace the entire CPU for like $700.

I'm impressed, and if you would ever want to share how you do this, I'd be happy to learn.
I will spend close to your $36,000 (10 yr period) on my van which is now 6 yrs old.

Paid $31,744 including tax for the van.
Oil changes for 4 yrs have been $400
Engine and cabin filters I changed: 40
Expecting new tires will be $700
Patched 2 tires for $50
Total so far is: $32,934
I have 1 more year warranty on the van.

Future oil changes: $400
Future Engine and cabin filters I change: 40

So known cost is $33,374 for 10 yrs.

However, my van even now is not $46K MSRP , so you are driving a nicer vehicle.

I think you'd have to subtract what your net proceeds would be if you sold the van in order to make a fair comparison.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Until about 55 (7 years after retirement) I paid $1k to $2k for very used cars, and drove them 2-4 years until they died. I bicycled almost everywhere, so did not drive much, and usually had my bike in the back so I could continue on when they died.

The last 7 years I have bought nicer used SUVs (cash) and driven/will drive them into the ground.

 

[RE2Boys]

Other than my college cars, I paid cash for new cars. Last new car I have ever purchased was a 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix and paid cash. All cars since then have been used cars, purchased for crash, usually 1-3 year old low mileage cars. Currently own a 2015 Jeep Cherokee with 66K miles and a 2017 Hyundia Sante Fe with 45K miles. The Sante Fe is the most expensive car I've ever purchased, cost me $23K in 2018

 

[Koolau]

Buying a new car makes no sense for us. We don't drive enough miles to absorb the depreciation. We try to find a relatively low mileage but older vehicle (lower level trim as well.) Then we drive it until repairs are more expensive than replacement. Oh, and we pay cash so YMMV.

 

[DrRoy]

1st car #5
Every car since #1
Current car I am thinking #3 BTD

 

[iloveyoga]

Buy new with cash, keep for 7-8 years. I am due this year, but I really like my 2015 car. Runs great, never had any trouble with it. AWD, which is a must here in Iowa.

 

[Jerry1]

Not sure what I’m going to do going forward. When working, I leased a new car every 2 years. For DW, we would buy new and drive it for awhile but not into the ground. Now she has a 3 year old suv with 22K mikes on it. We drive so little that it’s hard telling how long we’ll keep it. My guess is about 10 more years, at which time it should still have less than 100K miles on it. DW will be 75 in 10 years and since she doesn’t like to drive now, it may just end up being the time we go to one vehicle. Not sure.

My vehicle is a truck. Bought new, it has 2 years and just under 20K on it. My plan was to keep it until the warranty runs out. We got an extended warranty for 6 years/100K miles. Unless we start traveling (driving) more, the warranty will expire due to time and not mileage. I didn’t think I would drive so little (thought I’d hit 100K before 6 years) so my plan was to sell it while still under warranty (just barely) and get a new vehicle - rinse and repeat. However, if the truck is running well in 4 years and I still want to drive a truck, I’ll probably keep it and take the risk of being out of warranty. My guess is that I’ll probably get a new vehicle in 5 years or so. I’m thinking that having a truck will be unnecessary (if it ever was ) and I’ll move on to something else. Likely a nice suv like a Lexus and I’ll probably take a serious look at an EV.

As for paying cash or financing, that depends on the particulars at that time. I have no concerns about financing a vehicle if interest rates are a bargain. I can’t imagine not financing a vehicle if they run zero interest financing. Anything more than that and I’d have to do some analysis. I generally don’t like debt, but if money is on sale, I’ll certainly consider it. The other thing about financing is that it helps me manage my taxes. A lot of my worth is in retirement funds and my budget keeps me in the current 12% bracket, maxing it out with ROTH conversions. If paying cash for a vehicle pushes me into the next bracket, that would obviously impact my decision on financing.

 

[Dtail]

Used to lease cars years ago, but our current cars were bought new and the plan is to drive them as long as possible.

 

[BuysToys]

I recently bought a new vehicle. The car that was replaced was 10 years old. I could have driven it another 10 years easily. But it was time for new. Things were starting to go wrong with it and I only drive a few thousand miles a year.


I financed the whole thing even though I could have paid cash. The interest rate is low and I'll likely earn more by leaving the funds invested than I'll pay in interest.

 

[racy]

In the accumulation phase we bought used with cash.
In our decumulation phase we buy new every few years with cash.

 

[bobandsherry]

I'm impressed, and if you would ever want to share how you do this, I'd be happy to learn.
I will spend close to your $36,000 (10 yr period) on my van which is now 6 yrs old.

Paid $31,744 including tax for the van.
Oil changes for 4 yrs have been $400
Engine and cabin filters I changed: 40
Expecting new tires will be $700
Patched 2 tires for $50
Total so far is: $32,934
I have 1 more year warranty on the van.

Future oil changes: $400
Future Engine and cabin filters I change: 40

So known cost is $33,374 for 10 yrs.

However, my van even now is not $46K MSRP , so you are driving a nicer vehicle.

Hi Sunset. Thanks for sharing your cost experience.

As for sharing how I get a good lease deal, I used the forum at Leasehackr.com to learn and become educated. https://forum.leasehackr.com/

No real secret other than you only focus on the payment. Different mentality than usual car buying where you worry about the cost, fees and rate if financing. For lease I don't care how the dealer arrives at the payment, he may have some special credits to use that helps him make his number.

Another is being flexible. As example, for my current car I was asking for a specific color. Just couldn't get the payment where I wanted. But dealer said he had a different color, same equipment, that he could do better, actually came in slightly under my target. Turns out he had some special incentives to move that car and we both won. The color is still very nice, Iced Mocha.

Also, if you have your mind set on one particular car you may not find great lease deal. If you only want a Honda Accord and won't consider anything else then will limit your options.

Cars with manufacture incentives work better as you get that incentive applied to lower the cost of the car. Also look for vehicles with some special incentives. One is a Conquest incentive where they offer you some additional money if you own a competing brand. $1k off on a new car purchase is nice, but over many years it's not much per year. But on a lease that's $1k/36 or $27 lower lease payment.

Then once I agree to a deal I say we are real close, but can you include maintenance on the car for the three years. On my current car I also asked for them to tint my front driver/passenger windows too. They agreed. Their cost is a fraction of what you and I would pay for those services.

Rule of thumb to start on a great deal, as I learned from the site I shared above is monthly payment of 1% or less of MSRP. I use that as my deal barometer. [emoji2]

 

[HarveyS]

If you don't mind sharing, what's your all in cost for 5 year period for owning your car; loan payments, maintenance and repairs, less what you reasonably think your equity is today? How much you expect you'll spend on repairs and maintenance for the next 2 years when you enjoy the freedom of no payments?

I don't have a 5 year period, and the data below include the actual "sold for" price, not an estimate of value.

2006 Infiniti sedan, bought in 2009 for cash, sold in 2016 for cash. Put about 110k miles on it. Cost was $223/month (cost excludes fuel, registration, insurance)

2007 Highlander, bought in 2009 for cash, sold in 2020 for cash. Put about 135k miles on it. Cost was $173/month (cost exclude fuel, registration, insurance)

I don't have the data on my earlier cars.

 

[donheff]

Over the years I have bought new and kept the cars for 8-9 years. The choice of finance vs cash depended on the finance rates available. In 2018, adhering to the blow that dough theme raised here, I decided to start going with new cars more frequently. The idea was to have the latest tech, no repairs, loads of comfort. I decided I would try a lease for the first time - but I'm not really happy with it. I got a Lexus SUV which I like to drive but hate the track pad and navigation system. I'm due to return it in March but the new model has the same problems. I would like to return it to a Toyota dealership and get a new RAV4 Prime, plug-in hybrid but those are impossible to get.

I have decided to just pay it off and wait a couple of years to see what becomes available. I only have 14,000 miles on it and the pay off cost is less that buying an equivalent used car on the open market. In the future I will likely go back to purchasing.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have done 1 and 6. We drive our cars until they cost to much to repair. I have a 2008 Toyota Corolla with 60k miles on it. Unless it gets totaled in a accident I don’t expect to need another car. My friend is still driving her 30 year old car with 110K miles.

 

[bobandsherry]

1997 Lexus GS300, sticker price $41,963.

Last 5 years all in costs $14,270.13. Quicken report attached. (Miscellaneous category is basically registration and emissions tests plus one speeding ticket.) If you leave out fuel costs, which I think you might, the total drops to $9,219.44, or $153.66 per month.

I carry the vehicle in Quicken at $2,500 and don't really think it's depreciating or appreciating at this point. Zero loan payments, obviously.

It *is* old, I'll grant you. But it has everything I need (reliable, good MPG, cruise control, A/C, sound system, airbags, power everything) and a few things I like (heated seats, leather and wood interior).

And anyway, I think a lot of the newer fancier things are more likely to break down in expensive ways. I had a friend with a newer Jeep Grand Cherokee that he had to leave at the shop for several weeks because the DTE calculator broke, he wanted it fixed, and the DTE was integrated with the odometer so they had to keep it in the shop and replace the entire CPU for like $700.

You like to squeeze value out of your car, congrats! You didn't mention, but I'm going to guess you've owned that since new? And agree, you have to leave out fuel costs, but the new EV's may make that a requirement for comparison in the future.

Don't take it personally, but I don't think I'd enjoy driving that car. As I said originally, my wants are a newer car with latest technology and safety features. Nothing like getting in, plugging my phone into the USB on the car, getting Waze to pop-up on the big screen and then enjoying streaming music. But that's just my quirk, I love technology Also, with that being 24 years old and I'd always in the back of my mind be thinking what's getting ready to go out on the car -- and it seems those type of problems are never at convenient times. I guess I'll justify the incremental $165/mo I spend as cost of piece of mind and entertainment

Just to balance out your experience with new cars. My experience has been quite the opposite. With exception of some cars back in the 80's, I've had very few mechanical problems with cars. Thinking back, the last time any of my cars needed to go into the shop (other than for regular maintenance) was back in 2008. It was thought to be bad battery, turned out to be bad alternator, less than 1 year old so covered under warranty. Knock on wood, all cars since then haven't needed to go into the shop for repairs. I even had a couple hard top convertibles, or rather my wife drove them, and those are known to be problematic but never had a problem with either. Further, I look at the experience of my son and daughter and parents. Their newer cars haven't needed to go into the shop either. So even with all the technology I want, I'm still having a positive and reliable experience.