Help Scarlet Buy a New Car

[Slap Shot]

My wife had a Nissan Quest 3.5L V8 that drove like champ - in or out of snow. AWD is nice but I never had handling issues in that thing.

As for minivans I thought the Chrysler Pacifica offered AWD? Otherwise although they are not minivans I'd check into the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade. Both those makers continue make strides in building reliable vehicles that retain their value much better than even 10 years ago.

 

[walrus]

If rust is an issue, that car needs to go. I wouldn't put a lot of money into a rusty car if you live in a state with safety inspections.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

The driveshaft is a decent sized piece of steel, so even heavy surface rust isn't a big deal- nothing rubs against it, and unless the rust is taking chunks out- it really does not change the ability of it to do what it's supposed to do. Anyway, ask, and see what the answer is.

Most driveshafts these days are thin wall tubing so rust could be an issue, but I've never seen one fail from it. Not sure what the dealer is saying other than "buy a new car from us".

 

[unofan]

You're getting it mixed up - he thought I was claiming the opposite:



"Don't save money buying (and keeping)". But that's not what I claimed - I said depending upon the situation (which would not include buying and keeping) a lease can be just as economical if not more so.

Maybe that wasn't intended, but I don't know how else to interpret "Not having a car payment = paying more per month and in the end saving very little money compared with leasing and turning in your vehicle every 3 years for something newer and more reliable," other than an argument that buying only saves you "very little money" compared to leasing.

 

[dxmnkd316]

I remember doing the math last time I bought a car I priced out leasing vs buying. Leasing is almost always more expensive by a fairly wide margin. Low mileage, ULM, ease to own... none of them made sense. The only time they make sense is if you will have relatively rapid changes in car needs. As a family grows for example. Even then, it's still better to be planning ahead and buying something that fits your family planning.

Leasing is great if you never want to worry about maintenance or always want the newest and greatest. But you pay a premium for either of those rights. And insurance is often more expensive when you lease.

 

[Scarlet]

Bringing this back up top as my indicator lights came back on Sunday and it turns out the calipers (sp?) froze? Something? and caused my BRAND NEW BRAKES to burn out. I just can't any more. Looking into new cars this weekend. They're fixing it so I can drive for a while but the service guy said it's time to trade it in.

Not sure what to get. From a price perspective, the Ford Escape or one of the Subarus seem to work best. And Subaru currently has 0% financing. GAH!! I hate this. Inventory levels are low so I'm not even sure how long it will take to find what I want.

 

[The Sicatoka]

Mainly in town, seldom highway: Subaru Crosstrek. Drives like a midsized sedan but better visibility (taller).

Once you're about 40+% highway miles move to the Subaru Outback.

I buy Outbacks, roll about 34.5k on them in 14-18 months, and trade them while still under factory 3yr/36k warranty. My dealer is able to give me way better trade value (like $2500 better) because they're still in original warranty. I get a new car with full warranty and roadside assist. And the dollars work out better than leasing.


About a decade ago I had a Ford "Es-CAH-pay". Nothing but Outbacks since.

 

[MichVandal]

Bringing this back up top as my indicator lights came back on Sunday and it turns out the calipers (sp?) froze? Something? and caused my BRAND NEW BRAKES to burn out. I just can't any more. Looking into new cars this weekend. They're fixing it so I can drive for a while but the service guy said it's time to trade it in.

Not sure what to get. From a price perspective, the Ford Escape or one of the Subarus seem to work best. And Subaru currently has 0% financing. GAH!! I hate this. Inventory levels are low so I'm not even sure how long it will take to find what I want.

You know wT directly, right? If you get a Ford, have her contact me....

But don't let that sway your result- get the car that fits you the best.

 

[The Sicatoka]

But don't let that sway your result- get the car that fits you the best.

100%.
If it doesn't feel right to you, Scarlet, it's wrong.

 

[St. Clown]

Bringing this back up top as my indicator lights came back on Sunday and it turns out the calipers (sp?) froze? Something? and caused my BRAND NEW BRAKES to burn out. I just can't any more. Looking into new cars this weekend. They're fixing it so I can drive for a while but the service guy said it's time to trade it in.

Not sure what to get. From a price perspective, the Ford Escape or one of the Subarus seem to work best. And Subaru currently has 0% financing. GAH!! I hate this. Inventory levels are low so I'm not even sure how long it will take to find what I want.

I have a 2014 Crosstrek. I’m unlikely to purchase another. Now…I’ve since been told that Subaru had a lot of trouble for that model year, but I just have heard from too many others in MN that they have many of the same qualms I’ve had with mine, and they have different model years. Firstly, the fuel
economy is nowhere near what’s advertised, and when I mentioned it to a salesman while getting my car service for a faulty fuse that made it so my car wouldn’t come out of Park, he replied that it’s all in how you drive a vehicle. In my prior car, it sold as 25 city, 29 highway. I averaged 28MPG per tank, mixed use driving. And yes, I’m one of those people who kept a spreadsheet to track that type of thing. I’m lucky to get 24 MPG in my Crosstrek. And that’s summer driving.

 

[Scarlet]

Hmmmm. I'm taking to my SIL's brother today. He currently manages a Subaru dealership. He was managing a Toyota dealership and sold me my RAV-4 and gave me the family discount. Hoping for similar treatment this time around. I just need to see if there are any Subaru dealerships nearby (he's in NH). This weekend I hope to check out the Ford Escape (there's a Ford dealership within walking distance, just to check it out). I'm not a car person so I'm not hoping for certain bells and whistles or wanting a specific color, etc. I get there are inventory issues so I'd be happy with whatever might be able anywhere. It's just a pain to have to deal with it all.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Interesting about the subarus. We were thinking about a replacement for my wife's manual in a few years. We were considering Subaru, Acura, Honda, and Toyota.

 

[The Freds]

Scarlet, go see Junior at Cityside Subaru in Belmont. Tell him I sent you. He knows his cars and dealt with us straight up. If you don't like what you see walk away.

 

[Scarlet]

OK, so, I'm going with the Forester. Question for all of you - Subaru has 0% financing. I wanted to put a good chunk of money down and finance the rest. Someone said if they have 0% financing, take the money I would have used to pay for the car and put into something like a Capital One 360 account and pay for the car from there. If I do that - and I kinda like that idea - I shouldn't put any money down, right? I'm trying to do the math in my head. What do you guys think?

 

[unofan]

OK, so, I'm going with the Forester. Question for all of you - Subaru has 0% financing. I wanted to put a good chunk of money down and finance the rest. Someone said if they have 0% financing, take the money I would have used to pay for the car and put into something like a Capital One 360 account and pay for the car from there. If I do that - and I kinda like that idea - I shouldn't put any money down, right? I'm trying to do the math in my head. What do you guys think?

From a pure dollars and cents perspective, yeah you'll come out ahead by financing the whole thing at 0% and earning interest on the money in the meantime, not to mention the time value of money and inflation also working in your favor.

But is that worth 1) having a larger monthly payment, 2) having a longer payment term, and/or 3) simply having a larger debt sitting over your head. I am personally happier not having a monthly car payment than I am having to pay $350/month, even if I know logically it's the "smarter" play financially. I pay extra towards my mortgage even though it's at 2.5% because I want my mortgage gone before I'm in my 60s.

 

[MichVandal]

OK, so, I'm going with the Forester. Question for all of you - Subaru has 0% financing. I wanted to put a good chunk of money down and finance the rest. Someone said if they have 0% financing, take the money I would have used to pay for the car and put into something like a Capital One 360 account and pay for the car from there. If I do that - and I kinda like that idea - I shouldn't put any money down, right? I'm trying to do the math in my head. What do you guys think?

Scarlet- run the math.

When I do that, what I find is IF you start with the nominal deals (which is usually 0% for X time OR $X back), the two are almost identical to each other in terms of the money you eventually pay. But that's with the nominal down payment and whatnot. One also has to factor in the X time, too- you know how long your last car lasted- the average car is 11 years old...

Anyway, there are tools in Excel to run all loan data. Worth the time.

 

[Scarlet]

From a pure dollars and cents perspective, yeah you'll come out ahead by financing the whole thing at 0% and earning interest on the money in the meantime, not to mention the time value of money and inflation also working in your favor.

But is that worth 1) having a larger monthly payment, 2) having a longer payment term, and/or 3) simply having a larger debt sitting over your head. I am personally happier not having a monthly car payment than I am having to pay $350/month, even if I know logically it's the "smarter" play financially. I pay extra towards my mortgage even though it's at 2.5% because I want my mortgage gone before I'm in my 60s.

this is where my head is at. I have the money to pay for it. Well, most of it. I just hate the idea of a monthly car payment, especially since I haven’t had one in 12 years. If I pull the money out of my savings and put it in a separate account and use that account for my monthly payment, that I think would be the best.

Mich Vandal…you must have not read thru the lines of my post. I need assistance in running the math. As people used to say on this site, “I was told there would be no math….” Heh.

 

[MichVandal]

this is where my head is at. I have the money to pay for it. Well, most of it. I just hate the idea of a monthly car payment, especially since I haven’t had one in 12 years. If I pull the money out of my savings and put it in a separate account and use that account for my monthly payment, that I think would be the best.

Mich Vandal…you must have not read thru the lines of my post. I need assistance in running the math. As people used to say on this site, “I was told there would be no math….” Heh.

Don't run it in your head- run it on a computer- here's a loan calculator for Excel from Microsoft- https://templates.office.com/en-us/s...ble-tm16400462

If you have excel, there are functions PMT for payment, which you can then add up for the entire loan- which is the key one.

Whenever there's a 0% I see, there's an alternative that's not 0%. Lets say you can afford to pay the car, right? You can either take the money and pay it all off at once, or don't take the money using 0%, and hope you can get a return that is more than the other cash payment. That's how you compare.

If they don't have an alternate rebate, that would be interesting. For that, I would take your one time cash payment, and keep running track of that in a fund. Not familiar with Capitol One's deal, though.

The other thing I am seeing with 0% is huge long loans, like 72 or 84 months. If you are 100% that the car is going to be kept, like you did with the last car- it may not be a big deal. 6 or 7 years is a long time to pay for a car, which means the underwater time is really long.

 

[St. Clown]

Scarlet, when originating a loan payment through Subaru Financial, there is a minimum loan size - $10k back in 2014, when I bought my Crosstrek. Financing at that time was for 1.7%, and I paid all but that $10k up front just to keep the monthly payment low.