New car time. Do you buy new and plan on keeping them a long time?

[nsl]

How about lease vs buying?
I'm in the market for a new car, but not sure if I should plan on keeping it as long as I did my older ones.
These new ones have way too much (unneeded in my opinion) stuff on them that will probably cost an arm and a leg after warranty is out.
Anyway, do you lease or trade them off within a few years?

 

[BigFoot]

I lease, we get tired of cars after 3 years or so.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I buy used, anywhere from 2-4 years old, then drive them until they are not worth repairing.

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[Billski]

I lease, we get tired of cars after 3 years or so.

I go along with @BigFoot

 

[Benzadmiral]

I too buy used, aiming to have some factory warranty left or certified pre-owned warranty, and try to pay the car off early. Then I drive it for a few years while banking what would have been the car payment.

Lately, though, I've been keeping my cars longer. The Buick Park Avenue I kept for 6 years; the current Buick, the Regal, is closing in on 5. I've always thought life was too short to drive a car for more than 4 years or so, but so much of what is on lots now is either so much $$$, or appeals to me so little (I hate black interiors and super-stiff suspensions!), that I've been sticking with the incumbent. Which I still enjoy driving, and still smile at when I walk up to it.

If the right model comes along, I'll be ready for it.

Leasing, I've read, is only a good deal if you want to drive a new car every 3 years, or can charge it off to your business, or something like that. I've never done it.

 

[ouch]

I buy used, anywhere from 2-4 years old, then drive them until they are not worth repairing.

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From a standpoint of cost effectiveness, that's a good formula.

I want to replace my seven year old Honda CRZ (not a misprint) but the darned thing just won't break.

 

[ouch]

I lease, we get tired of cars after 3 years or so.

Scott replaces his car more frequently than his blades.

 

[BigFoot]

Scott replaces his car more frequently than his blades.

Get off my Lawn!

 

[ouch]

 

[TexLaw]

We tend to buy new and drive them for 6-10 years. If there is a good looking CPO that fits our wants and needs, we can go for that. We are well aware that we pay a hefty premium to buy new, but I like stuff that new cars do, and I don't usually want to wait. If we finance (typically to take advantage of some offer or promotion), we take the lowest rate we can get but the longest term we can get for that rate, and we often pay them off early.

These days, the only reason for an individual to lease a car for personal use is to give yourself a reason to get a new car every few years. The only advantage is essentially locking in a sale/trade value at a set date in the future, but you pay for that "security." Be very, very wary of lease terms, especially when it comes to mileage restrictions and cost for overages. Some folks get nailed pretty hard to the wall on those.

There are some advantages for business and fleet use, but those probably do not apply.

We often buy extended warranties, as well, and we hope we waste our money on each one for lack of use.

 

[Toothpick]

I buy new. I also buy used. Really just depends on my mood I guess. For example, I had a perfectly fine used Buick Park Avenue. I decided I wanted a new car so got a 2016 Ford Fiesta. Then about a year later I decided it was to small so I got a 2017 Ford Fusion. And now, a little over a year later, I'm getting rid of the Fusion for another used one so I don't have a car payment and cheaper insurance.

 

[redfalconf35]

I buy used, anywhere from 2-4 years old, then drive them until they are not worth repairing.

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This is what I usually do. I bought my current car brand new, but that was in a moment of weakness. I'll never do that again unless I get to the point where money doesn't matter.

Speaking of cars and car payments, we just paid off our first of two cars this month! Bye bye $400 payment! It hasn't even eclipsed 100k miles yet! My car is next, and we'll have it done in April before it even hits 40k. Never interested in having a car payment ever again. Cash only from here on.

 

[Lightcs1776]

This is what I usually do. I bought my current car brand new, but that was in a moment of weakness. I'll never do that again unless I get to the point where money doesn't matter.

Speaking of cars and car payments, we just paid off our first of two cars this month! Bye bye $400 payment! It hasn't even eclipsed 100k miles yet! My car is next, and we'll have it done in April before it even hits 40k. Never interested in having a car payment ever again. Cash only from here on.

Congrats on whittling down the debt.

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[emwolf]

i use my vehicle for work and between commuting and reimbursed mileage I put about 500 miles a week on it. i must buy because the lease terms would kill me with the mileage.I try to buy new just because I feel like I get a better value from starting from scratch. I used to buy Nissan Sentras and would routinely run them up to 250K miles without major repairs. That is until early 2000's. I don't know what happened, but the engine died after 120K. I'm drving a Hyundai now, we'll see how that does.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

New or a couple years old, depending on the valuation. And then drive em. Both cars are now iffy. Of course, they are 20 and 14 years old. They don't owe us anything.

I am gonna test drive a Chevy Spark one of these days. If the Honda Fit had higher seats I would buy one of em.

Leasing or frequent trading is costly. Any decent car, well maintained, should last ten + years.

 

[gwsmallwood]

What they said, with the exception that I'll go older than that if I have to in order to be able to pay cash. If I don't have the cash, I don't get the car. No loans anymore, ever, for anything. Cars last too long these days to deal with the markups of a new vehicle.

I buy used, anywhere from 2-4 years old, then drive them until they are not worth repairing.

Sent from my DROID Turbo using Tapatalk

This is what I usually do. I bought my current car brand new, but that was in a moment of weakness. I'll never do that again unless I get to the point where money doesn't matter.

Speaking of cars and car payments, we just paid off our first of two cars this month! Bye bye $400 payment! It hasn't even eclipsed 100k miles yet! My car is next, and we'll have it done in April before it even hits 40k. Never interested in having a car payment ever again. Cash only from here on.

 

[AZBronco]

I leased once and won't do it again. My job changed midway through the lease and the miles started getting way out of whack. A lot can change in 3 years.

I tend to buy new and keep it. The last two times I looked at new vs. late-model used, the difference was only like $1,000 because of model year-end close out deals--so it was well worth it to me to buy new (I'm particular about how I care for things and you never know how the last people cared for it), plus the warranty gives me peace of mind the first three years.

 

[FarmerTan]

I've got a 1988 Toyota pick up truck. And 2 Buicks. And a 1999 Toyota Tacoma. And a 2008 Toyota Yaris. In other words, I've got too many vehicles. I'm the poor man's version of Jay Leno.

 

[The Knize]

I buy used, anywhere from 2-4 years old, then drive them until they are not worth repairing.

This is what we would do consistently if we were not too lazy to seek out solid used cars 2 to 4 years old. What we mostly end up doing--at least for me, my wife may get a new car more often--is buying new for cash, no extended warranties, maintaining the car very well, and driving it into the ground. Never buy a used car from me. There is not going to be much left.

The last car I had was a 2004 Nissan Murano. I put about 180k miles on it, before giving it away to a guy I think of as something along the continuum of a "son." (I do not want to overstate that. If he is really a "son," I am a terrible father to him!) I would expect cars like that one and my wife's Lexus ES--at least Japanese and Korean cars--to go for a very long time cost effectively.

Leases seem to me to inherently be paying someone relatively high interest costs, and I am able to self-finance. Turning over new cars every few years seems like a high-priced luxury, that does not excite me. But for those whom it does, more power to them. I am also driving highly reliable, not too expensive to repair cars. If I was driving a Jag, I might have different considerations.

I guess another reason I bought new last time, was I wanted full, cutting edge electronics as far as crash and pedestrian avoidance, parking assistance, 360 dash view and the like, and no used car was going to have all that! So I guess each of us has what they are willing to shell out for!

 

[Mick]

How about lease vs buying?
I'm in the market for a new car, but not sure if I should plan on keeping it as long as I did my older ones.
These new ones have way too much (unneeded in my opinion) stuff on them that will probably cost an arm and a leg after warranty is out.
Anyway, do you lease or trade them off within a few years?

We bought a 245gt Volvo in 1980. Still drive it.

We bought a 745 turbo Volvo in 1985. Still drive it

We bought a Toyota long bed short cab 4x4 in 1988. Still drive it.

1988 was the last year we bought a new car.