should I buy a new car now

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I've been considering a new Prius Prime Limited rather than a Tesla 3 (which is a little more than my car budget), and the incentives on those have gone from $2K late last year to $4K in January to $4.5K now, and those are popular cars. So just from that, I'm guessing supply is higher than demand. It's been hard to justify pulling the trigger since we don't drive very much, though! Even when everything reopens, our jobs will probably stay full-time remote, as it lowers overhead costs.

And you can probably get 0% financing if the dealer is eager to sell. Toyota is also offering 0% for 72 months on the Prius Prime, plus $500 cash back. I know it's only one model, but that's all I've been looking at other than Tesla, and they don't discount anything! (For good reason, IMO...)

 

[SmallCityDave]

I forgot to mention that although I FIRE'd in 2016 and an isolating from the pandemic, I do drive a 3 hour round trip, taking my 94 year old mother with me, each week to drop food off for my step-father. So having a reliable car is important.

I think I would agree that maybe getting a new car and keeping the TSX for a beater would be the way to go.

My 94 year old mother says that the TSX is a nice car and that I should keep it and wait until I can buy a flying car.

Joe,


First and foremost great job on keeping your car for almost 15 years and 220k miles in all reality you likely have a lot of life left in the car. I recently did what you are considering and wile I don't "regret" my decision I wouldn't do it again.

Knowing that you drive your car 3 hours round trip makes no difference despite what some people say, cars are made to be driven... Make an honest assessment of the reliability of your car and if it's time for something new(er) buy something that's already taken the big depreciation hit. I like 5-10 y/o cars with 100k miles. A new(er) Accord, Camry, Acura, Lexus will be a nice upgrade to what you have now, no sense in chasing the latest and greatest safety innovations unless you plan to buy a new car every year.

I agree with you we WILL see inflation but it's a car if you want to hedge against inflation buy a house or two

 

[Music Lover]

Although it is a bit more than I would like to pay, I have my eye on the Acura TLX which replaced the TSX, moving it up the price scale.

I have a 2015 Acura TLX (V6) and love it. I bought it used in 2018 for 60% of the cost of a new one and in the 3 years I've owned it it's been flawless.

It's very quiet on the highway and gets good mileage and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

 

[mn54]

blow that dough. i had a 2004 toyota camry that served me very well. if i wanted to keep it there would be repairs needed that would have been more than what the car was worth. i got a 2021 honda accord hybrid. great car.

 

[teetee]

The answers are all over the place. It really depends what your goal is. A frugal buy would be a 1yr old rental hyundai accent which is reliable, cheap to maintain and repair, despite the crappy interior and ride but it is more than just a a to b junker. If your goal is something more luxury than the old acura, then get a new luxury whatever fully be aware that you will probably pay overall three times more than the accent.

Why not buy a used $15k minivan for road trips and a new little car like chevy spark, a Toyota yaris, or a Corolla for $20k for daily driver? That way you are not paying more than a luxury suv but get the best (some would say the worst) of both worlds.

 

[Bamaman]

Your 2004 Acura TSX is 17 years old and 220,000 miles means you've got your use out of it. Congratulations on having the willpower to keep it so long.

An Accord or Camry are actually bargains on the new car market at $24-25k on the low end. Both also hold their values well on the used car market. They're up to the high 30's in mpg, and both cars are about the most trouble free vehicles available. I just traded my 2018 Camry Hybrid (49mpg) after 69k miles, and it never saw the shop.

Supplies of new vehicles are down somewhat, but there are still many new vehicles on dealers' lots. Chances are you can get a decent deal on either Accord or Camry as their dealers have more volume than Acura dealers who have very high overhead costs per unit sold. Both seem to have sales incentives and/or low APR programs all the time. But if you have the cash to buy the car--use it.

Many people will keep their used car to knock around in--saving the miles off the new car. Keep your TSX. I keep an 18 year old diesel pickup to haul 'stuff' in.

 

[Finance Dave]

I would get a top of the line Honda instead of Acura. Honda rates much higher than Acura at Consumer Reports for overall score and also reliability specifically.

That's something I never understood lol....they are basically the same car mechanically. They probably roll off the same assembly line. Hard to imagine how the reliability could be much different.

 

[Ronstar]

Life is short - buy the car you want now. You got 220k out of your current car. You got your money's worth out of it.

 

[G8tr]

Life is short - buy the car you want now. You got 220k out of your current car. You got your money's worth out of it.

Agreed. But the frugal part of OP may be chafing a little at the prospect.

 

[doneat54]

IMO, never buy a brand new car. I never have, never will. Buy a 1-3 year old one and let someone else eat the "off the lot" depreciation. And I agree, if you got 220k out of what you have now, it is only going to start costing you more money in repairs.

 

[Dash man]

I prefer new cars myself. But the bottom line is only you know your finances, so if financially it’s not an issue, buy a new car of your choice. If saving costs is what you want, buy a newer used car as many have suggested. Personally, I’ve known too many folks that ended up buying someone else’s problem, so that’s why I prefer new.
That said, I highly recommend getting the new safety technology. The anti collision feature only has to work once to pay for itself.

 

[RobLJ]

We bought a Toyota RAV Prime last week (posted on Blow the Dough) since DW thinks the 2017 Silverado was "too big". Great car. We sold the Silverado to the oldest son the winemaker, since he has two toddlers and they are thinking of getting a trailer (edit: winemaker and wife, not the toddlers).



It's all dependent on budget, but hey we saved about 1/2 the price of the car in 2020 by not travelling during COVID, other than camping across the state and driving to the oldest son's house in the Central Valley (from Reno). YOMO.

 

[triangle]

If you have had the car for a long time, and it has been maintained, and the engine and transmission are in decent shape, and you like the way it drove then I would keep driving it. I believe those i-Vtec engines have a good reputation for reliability and able to travel much further than 220K without any serious problems.

If you have been researching you may found reports where generically speaking these modern small displacement, turbocharged, direct gasoline injection engines are not holding up as well and having problems with gasoline diluting the engine oil because of the very high pressure in the cylinder head, pressure necessary to the get increased horsepower (performance) and gas mileage. I think Honda has tweaked the software to manage the pressures and thus the oil dilution issue in engines from a few years ago and I do not know anything about the 2021 Acuras or their overall reliability. Just don't assume you will be buying a car that will last as long as your current one has and could probably last if it has been maintained.

 

[GTFan]

IMO, never buy a brand new car. I never have, never will. Buy a 1-3 year old one and let someone else eat the "off the lot" depreciation. And I agree, if you got 220k out of what you have now, it is only going to start costing you more money in repairs.

This.

 

[finnski1]

IMO, never buy a brand new car. I never have, never will. Buy a 1-3 year old one and let someone else eat the "off the lot" depreciation. And I agree, if you got 220k out of what you have now, it is only going to start costing you more money in repairs.

Never?

Try buying a 1 -3 year old Toyota Tacoma. Cost as much as new which is why I twice bought new ones. Present one is 12 years old with 118k on it and still worth 14-16 grand. I paid $27000 for it in 2009.

 

[W2R]

I think the best way to approach this is to look at the maintenance and repair records for your present car, plus the cost of gas, insurance, dealing with having no car (renting?) when it's in the shop, and any other costs of owning it. Figure out how much this averages per month.

Then do the same for the specific car you wish to purchase, including the purchase price of course.

Compare the two amounts. Then factor in the part that has nothing to do with math: the extent of your desire to get this particular new car.

After doing all this, the answer to your question should be pretty apparent. (hint: for me it usually reveals that I should buy the new car).

Sure, the economy might affect your decision, but I think that the specific cost comparison that I described can tell you so much more than a nebulous economic prophecy.

 

[doneat54]

Never?

Try buying a 1 -3 year old Toyota Tacoma. Cost as much as new which is why I twice bought new ones. Present one is 12 years old with 118k on it and still worth 14-16 grand. I paid $27000 for it in 2009.

Yes, pickup trucks are a whole different animal. I have bought a few, but my needs/budget at the time dictated 8-12 year old ones.

Had a friend once who bought a brand new Golf GTI R (they only make 5000 of them every 4 years). He kept it and drove it for 8 months. Then sold it.


For $5k more than he paid for it.

 

[check6]

How about stepping up to a luxury vehicle coming off a 3 year lease? We have purchased two Mercedes that way both now with 70,000+ miles and literally zero issues.

 

[finnski1]

Yes, pickup trucks are a whole different animal. I have bought a few, but my needs/budget at the time dictated 8-12 year old ones.

Had a friend once who bought a brand new Golf GTI R (they only make 5000 of them every 4 years). He kept it and drove it for 8 months. Then sold it.


For $5k more than he paid for it.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Never?

Try buying a 1 -3 year old Toyota Tacoma. Cost as much as new which is why I twice bought new ones. Present one is 12 years old with 118k on it and still worth 14-16 grand. I paid $27000 for it in 2009.

This. For a lot of popular cars, like Hondas, Toyotas, and Subarus, the demand is high enough that the savings on used models hardly seems worth it.

 

[finnski1]

This. For a lot of popular cars, like Hondas, Toyotas, and Subarus, the demand is high enough that the savings on used models hardly seems worth it.

Yes We have a Subaru Outback as well. It holds it's value pretty well here in NH but the Tacoma is incredible.
We have been married for 36 years and have purchased 8 brand new vehicles in that time. Guess we were blowing the dough before we should have. Oops.

 

[indiajust]

Step up for me, I don't have a car that recent with that few miles.

 

[meleana]

Get a newer used car / 3 years or less.

 

[jeffmete]

My wife loves minivans and we’ve bought 6 of them, some new, some used. I prefer to buy new as we keep them till 180 to 210,000 miles and in that length of time, the difference between used and new gets pretty small as a yearly delta.

 

[stephenson]

New car - you've done more than the right thing with the TSX - btw, I thought 2004 US Accords had passenger airbags.

We just bought a 2021 Subaru Ascent - interesting and someone different car, but does everything really well, and the price is more than competitive compared to Pilot, Highlander, etc.