Economy type question: S/O had car accident: should we buy new or used car to replace?

[Mimosa]

Times are tough all over. DH and I are always on the tightrope because he's self-employed. We had one Subaru Forester which we traded in before owning a year because of 2 sudden acceleration incidents. We bought another new Forester. It was totaled nearly 2 weeks ago, hit & run, illegal alien probably from witnesses description. The Forester's cage was strong. DH not severely injured. The economy is tough. Should we try to find a used vehicle (the Subarus which are used seem to have around 30,000 miles) or buy a new Forester?

[pnwmom]

1. In general, it's better to buy slightly used, since the fastest depreciation

of value happens in the first year or two.

Find out what kind of long term warranty applies to any vehicle you buy, used or new.

So glad your DH is okay. Good luck!

[rucky]

25. That's what they say on Car Talk, too. n/t

[tblue]

2. I second reply #1

My hubby was in the business of cars & costs. He would definitely say buy slightly used. Just make sure it's never been in an accident and have it checked by a reliable mechanic before you shake on it. Also, buy from an owner not from a dealer. You'll get a better deal with no middle man. Good luck.

[prayin4rain]

3. used, definitely n/t

[Mimosa]

4. Thanks and keep it coming

The only problem is low mileage used Subarus are rare.

[JDPriestly]

5. My husband believes in buying used.

We bought new twice in our lives and regretted it. The minute you drive a brand new car out of the car lot you lose a considerable amount of money.

Check Consumer Reports (available at the library or maybe you or a friend subscribes) to determine what used car is reliable. Have a mechanic check it out before you buy.

[Skittles]

9. the thing is though -

I just had to have a new car once or twice in my life :)

[ReadTomPaine]

6. Used, the '09 Foresters aren't so hot. The previous, 'tall wagon' version was much better..

Get a stick if you can also - the automatics on Subarus aren't nearly as good and the turbo models will put many sports cars to shame in acceleration if that's up your street. The previous gen Forester is one of my favorite all wheel drive vehicles.

[GirlinContempt]

7. illegal alien probably from witnesses description

Huh??

And, I dunno... used?

[JTFrog]

13. Double huh??

What exactly does an illegal alien look like these days?

Maybe he was green and flying a space ship?

:shrug: :shrug: :eyes: :shrug: :shrug:
:shrug: :shrug: :shrug:
:shrug:

[Mimosa]

15. If you lived in my ATL area you'd know what illegal alien means

I didn't mean to be un-PC. The witnesses and one guy who tried to chase the van to get a tag described him to the cop who used that description.

I later googled up all the info about hit and run accidents. In the Southern states where there are the most hispanic illegals hit and run car accidents are DOUBLE the rate in Northern states which have low illegal alien rates. I live right off Roswell Rd. down from where there are zillions of illegals living in large apt, complexes. Not way far away is Buford Hwy. Any ATLers here?

Many people around the neighborhood have been victims of hit and runs. The drivers (when rarely caught which happens only if they get hurt themselves) NEVER have licenses or insurance. Anybody on DU who has a friend who is a cop, ask them.

I meant no offense. That's just the way it is here.

[Selatius]

16. I'm familiar with Atlanta. There was a huge influx of illegal immigrant labor in the 1990s.

The city authorities looked the other way because they needed laborers to build up the city in preparation for the 1996 Olympic Games.

[Codeine]

8. Used.

Purchasing a new car is tantamount to buying several thousand dollars worth of depreciation in exchange for New Car Smell. Most modern cars will provide years of trouble-free operation, so save your money.

[B Calm]

10. Buy new. Help keep me employed!

[depakid]

11. Used from a private party is generally the best deal

though it depends on the party. When I bought my 2000 corolla, I got it for well under what I'd have paid on a lot-- and quite literally, the previous owner was a 75 year old lady, who had it maintained impeccably.

You have to have the cash, though.

[4lbs]

12. For the price of one brand new car, you can often have two decent used ones.

n/t

[ThomWV]

14. I have had great luck buying used vehicles and wouldn't touch a new one again

I buy cars that are 3 years old and have for years. I have never bought a lemon and in fact have had the good luck to buy some very reliable cars. I bought a Ford Thunderbird at 28,000 miles that we put 200,000 miles on before we gave it to a neighbor's daughter who needed a car. She drove it another year before she sold it. I bought my wife's Audi at the 3 year mark with 50k miles on it, its in the shop today getting new front brakes after 140k trouble free miles. We've added 100k miles to the odometer of my Ford diesel pickup truck and I'll have it until I quit driving. Each one of those vehicles cost me roughly half of what it had been on the dealer's floor and has been trouble free.

The trick is to inspect every single inch of the things before you buy and do not accept one that has been hit or does not show signs of good care. You can see through a detail job pretty easily and it is utterly impossible to hide repairs from an accident to anyone who is really looking hard at the vehicle.

[Mimosa]

17. Thanks for all the great advice

My DH is still hurting. The contusion injuries lasted, sad to say. But the Subaru frame protected him well. The Forester was totaled. Even the battery was crushed!

We had no equity but had purchased 'gap insurance' when it was offered us. (Thank goodness.)

DH is self-employed as an illustrator/graphic designer. Times are tough and we don't have cash for even a used car. (Remember we are Katrina people, so we used up savings in the year after.) Buying new -now- is too big an expenditure. But I taled with a nice car salesperson. Leasing would be good for us as we are low mileage drivers and need to pay the least out we can manage. Also gap insurance is always included when one leases a vehicle.

We probable will get a Legacy or the littler Impreza.

DepaCalm, bless all you car salespeople. You do good work and help people. *hug*

[dorkulon]

18. Well, I bet you can get a great deal on a used SUV

JK

[Mimosa]

19. LOL I get that joke!

You know how the 2007 Forester is a small SUV compared to those gigante sized Lexus things on steroids. Buick made some mega SUV too. I always wondered why people bought the larger ones.

In New Orleans we often had street flooding and almost once each hurricane season we had to pack up what we treasured as well as our kitties and evacuate. A Forester has 19/23 mpg. before that we had a Jeep Cherokee. In NOLA SUVs make sense because of the evacuations.

But I have never understood people who don't even have kids, live inland, and buy Hummers and other BIG gas guzzlers.

[dorkulon]

20. My sister has a Forester, it's a great car.

I don't even really think of it as an SUV--I was thinking an Escalade or Hummer, as you seem to have guessed. The resale value on those monsters has tanked in the past year or two.

[ContinentalOp]

21. It really depends on what car. The depreciation thing is largely a myth in my opinion.

Of course it depends on what car you're looking at and probably where you live but if you shop around I think you'll find that "slightly used" cars are barely cheaper than new cars and many used cars with lots of miles on them are not really cheap enough to be worthwhile.

Here's a pretty good article on the subject.
http://dollarsandspence.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/the-late-model-used-myth-part-1-domestic/
http://dollarsandspence.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/the-late-model-used-myth-part-2-import/

Of course massively overpriced trucks, SUVs and luxury cars depreciate drastically but I think it's much less of an issue with more sensible cars, particularly those that are popular on the used market.

[DemoTex]

22. It's a buyers' market for most new cars.

FWIW. Either way, you can't go wrong by sticking to a Subaru. Used Subes tend not to be abused cars.

[debbierlus]

23. Get a used car. They are cheaper, and they work fine.

I bought a 04 Honda Accord with 37,000 miles. 12,000. My excise is a couple hundred. My insurance rates are low.

My Aunt bough a new Honda Accord for 22,000. Her insurance rates are through the roof and her excise is over 800.00 per year.

How much money are those 37,000 miles worth?

Not that damn much. Not by a long shot.

Go used. It is also environmentally friendly since you aren't consuming new resources for a new produce.

[Lochloosa]

24. It depends on how many miles you drive.

If, like my wife who only puts about 8000 miles a year on her car, buy new. You get the warrenty and the resale will be much easier with a one owner low milage car.

If, like me, you put 20K or more a year, buy used. After a few years the car/truck will not be worth much.

IMO

[sofa king]

26. Probably used.

Every new car carries with it an unrecoverable premium which reduces the resale value of the vehicle by a certain percentage the moment it leaves the lot. When I was working at the dealership (long, long ago), a Porsche 928 lost $10,000 the moment it was sold. Even though nobody wanted them, we kept a lot of used ones around because there was a lot of resale profit in them. They still made good money if they sat around for months.

If you go for a really used car, something over five years old, you can factor in the money you save against any fuel economy you lose or maintenance needed. Sticking with the same example, a 1989 Porsche 928S4 now run you about $14,000--down considerably from its original sticker price of around 60 grand. The principle holds for more practical vehicles, too.

Used Subarus in particular are often a steal. Their build quality and durability has remained consistently excellent, many models using a variant of their peculiar but robust flat-4 engine. They usually come with more bells and whistles compared to similar models from other makers, and five years out the difference in price between them and competing makes is negligible. If you put a stainless steel exhaust on one as soon as you get it, you may never have to pay for major repairs again.