Yesterday the Wife and I went out and bought an 11 month old Yaris 8500€ (about a 25% savings over new) and paid for it CASH!!!!

NO BANK NO PAYMENTS NO NOTHING!!!!!

We pick it up Tuesday and it still hasn’t hit me that we bought a car. A new car without payments just seems so surreal!

Again thanks!

This being my annual tax refund & corporate profit sharing time when I take my car in for a complete assessment and any repairs that need done, I have been thinking about this issue. My take was if it costs me less per year on repairs than it would for a loan it’s a good idea to keep my 8 year old Outback. This year it cost me under $100 and the car is still about 95% original with 138k miles so I’m happy.

When it starts to cost near what a loan would I’ll replace it. I haven’t yet decided if I’ll buy new again or recent used. I’d like a convertible since I’m in SoCal but I love my Subaru. Subaru, please make a convertible so I don’t have to choose!

Buying a used stick shift meant that I was able to get a car that had been on the lot for a long time, nearly 45 days, and was about to go to auction. Apparently, you can tell when the price ends in weird numbers, not 9s, but 7s or 5s (I can’t remember now, and am not finding it quickly online), that the car has been on the lot for a certain amount of time.

It did mean I wasn’t able to get a huge selection (there were only two in the area), but they really wanted to get rid of it because no one can drive them anymore, and the people who buy them tend to want the newest, fanciest one. The person who got rid of this one traded it in for the 2009 body style.

Barely used cars mean reliability without paying the full premium of newness.

I do have a car payment, but it’s about $8,000 less than it would have been new. Fine by me.

I’m not advocating this behavior, just saying that it happens quite often.

I am thinking about buying a “gently used” car to replace my 1990 Honda Civic (’bout time?) — I am wondering if people pay sales tax on a car when you buy it from a private party. Is it required to report it on taxes somehow, or is avoiding sales tax a legitimate money saver?

Thanks–

friend in NC

I just try to remember how much I’m saving when the guy in the BMW passes me on the freeway.

Also, they must be painted by demented squirrels, because every one of them flaked off to the primer before the car was 5 years old.

but we’ve got time. we’re in no hurry.

My 2007 VW GTI doesn’t make the list. Neither do any of the other cars I’d consider buying if I was replacing the GTI. The list is full of a lot of really uninteresting (though technically good) Toyotas.

When you buy a house, you take into account it’s age, it’s cost per square foot, it’s number of bedrooms, it’s proximity to work, etc. These things are all important, but you also take into account it’s charm, it’s landscaping, the way it makes you feel. You can do the same thing with a car, but these sorts of lists can’t quantify that “Wow, this is great!” feeling, so they don’t take it into account.

This comment you linked to was so helpful, though, for when I eventually do have to buy a car. I need step-by-step instructions for that.

The ongoing debate in my head is to trade it in for a Prius, which is going for 3 times the value of my civic, or wait for the Honda Insight in April which will cost me 2 times more than the cash value of my civic. I know I will be paying a premium for the hybrids and I think their life span may be shorter than regular cars….I read somewhere after 8 yrs they are due for a major overhaul, but I could be wrong. On top of that, I am upside down by close to $1k on my civic.

I want a new car…heck the economy needs stimulating and I’d be playing a role, right? But the note and the insurance on the civic are kicking my butt….I hate making wise decisions sometimes. That ugly feeling of entitlement makes me want to say “I deserve a new car” all else be damned. But I’ll painfully drive the civic to the ground…which may be sooner because of the wreck.

Wow, has it been a year already?

I feel like I was just looking at last year’s Consumer Reports issue fearing I would have to buy another car since my Saab 9-3 was back in the shop with a shattered fuel pump line that drained the entire tank on I-88.

It cost me $1100 to fix it and I wooried that another couple fixes over $1000 and I would be out of cash. It’s sad when you can finance a new car easier than you can pay to fix an old one.

Needless to say, I have changed a lot about my finances in the last year and the car hasn’t broken again yet, so cash is less of an issue and I plan on keeping the wonky saab for a few more years rather than starting payments on a new car again. Plus the 5 door hatchback design is just so useful I hate to give it up. I carry large stuff in it all the time.

I am also always impressed that Buick scores so well on all these tests and doesn’t get the recognition for it. Buicks are very reliable, luxurious and comfortable cars to drive.

I wish Buick made a smaller car that was a better fit for my needs so I could go back to buying them again. (a sport 5 door please) I plan on buying one again if I have kids and need a large car.

On a related note, I saw a Lincoln MKS on the road this morning and thought it was a Lexus. You don’t expect that to happen.

This was before I was properly managing my finances (I only got serious about 6 months ago, but that is a story for another time and place).

I traded in a 3-year old Mitsubishi Lancer at a dealership. I’ll be paying on my 2004 Outlander for 1.5 – 2 more years.

I can’t wait for that to be done….I hope to get another 4-5 years out of it after it is paid for and I’m going to try Dave Ramsey’s “Drive for Free for the Rest of Your Live” Advice.

I was glad to see it made some list even if it was the overlooked list. =)

We had some things working in our favor: we owned our car, it was a late model used, it had low milage and we knew the market for used cars was pretty strong. We also didn’t NEED a new car, we were just looking at what was out there.

I called the dealership, asked for more info on the car we liked, and told them about the car we had to trade. I then told them the absolute price for us to come to their store and leave with the new car. We test drove it, found it to our liking and went inside to sign the paperwork. They couter offered but we said no and stuck to our original price. They relented and put some paper work in front of us that tacked on the tax, title registration and fees. We said that we were not paying anything over the cost of what we originally said.

They hemmed and hawed, so we said, “Look, we have a check ready to sign right now for what we told you originally before we drove here. Or we could go home and think about it.”

That seemed to be the magic phrase because the deal got done. We’ve had the car for a little over a month now and have had a few pleasant surprises (for example, it came equipped with snow tires, even though they told us it had all seasons. And the tires were the size of our old car’s, not smaller as they told us!) and also a few things that need attention (fan belt, chips in paint, etc). I think we made out pretty well though!

Research and preparation are key!

My guys sold me my car. They knew the history and considered it a good deal. It was. The woman was leaving for a new job in London and wanted to get rid of it. I had the money saved and bought it cheap $3,000. It’s about the nicest car I’ve ever driven and certainly not one I would have bought myself.

Oh and the used car I had been driving died in the driveway the next week. (of envy?) Sold that for scrap.

I’ve got a 1990 (the first year they made it) and with about 180,000 miles on it, it’s still going strong. The maintenance issues have been few and my guy is a mechanic so they’ve been cheap, too. It’s pretty economical – I get about 30 mpg on the highway, 25 mpg around town. It’s only drawback is that my tall guy isn’t so comfortable in it with the top up, but that only matters when it’s raining. Even when the temperatures are in the 30s – 40s, if the skies are clear I just bundle up and blast the heater.