TerpNation

Considering the price and deprecation value after 8 years is on average is 70% @ 110,000 miles driven.

So lets say you get a 2013 TL with Technology Package for 37,000 OTD. Most people get a loan. 5,000 down payment.
After 60 months with a 32k loan you pay back ~36K with 5% interest rate. So in total you end up investing in a new car ~41K that will be worth 10k in 8 years.

What are your thoughts?

gibjer

A car is a depreciating asset. This is not new.

Use of transportation over that period has value/cost
you want to fly "business class" that transportation is going to cost you more.


Realistically people who can afford a TL are not paying 5% either, and also would have a trade that has some value, your your numbers are probably a bit off.


That being said, new vs used you buy new because you hope to not have to deal with the issues of a used car, for a lot of people (myself included) time has a lot of value, and to not be dealing with the issues that crop up with used cars and time it takes at the dealer to deal with such issues, buying new made sense.

erdoc48

My thoughts:
I would get used over new (assuming a used car is 1-2 years old with a decent warranty from the reseller, like a CPO car) as the price should be lower and if the loan APR you can get is competitive, and the car is in excellent condition. Don't forget that in general, loan APR is generally higher on pre-owned/ used cars.

Cars do depreciate no doubt the second you drive it off the lot (both new and used, but new depreciates more), but I would choose new if the APR was quite low (Acura has a deal now where the APR with good credit is 0.9% per year) and the sales price is quite a bit off MSRP. Also, I would buy a new car when the next model year is coming out (so, actually now is a good time to pick up a new 2012 model as the 2013 cars are coming out- you can save quite a bit).

Lastly, if you need a car, can handle the payment and the insurance, and owning the car won't be a hardship financially, get one (to me, need = my current car is dying or I'm putting too much money into it to keep it running, or it's becoming unreliable). Conversely, if the car you have is in decent shape, you still enjoy driving it, and it's reliable, I'd stay with the one you have.

A few days ago, I looked at the 2012 TL, and they are very nice cars (I originally didn't like the 09-11 models, but I guess they've grown on me as well, as I like their appearance as well. I have an 06 TL, but right now, except for Bluetooth audio streaming and 4 wheel drive, my TL does everything the new one does, and I have no car payment. If I needed to replace my TL, I would opt for a 4G at this point.

My TL depreciates by the day, but it's quite nice not having a car payment for the past few years, and I hope to be payment free for some time to come.

UA6

News Flash...people don't buy things they need, they buy things they want. It doesn't make sense to put money into anything thats going to depreciate anyways but we do it because we appreciate nice cars.

Shoot2Thrill

Well you need a car typically. If you buy one you should buy one you like provided the economics are reasonable for the given situation. Why put $5000 down when the finance rate is 0.9% A CD pays 1% and that is an investment option of last choice. Further, a well taken care of Acura, largely bone stock has excellent resale if you would need to sell it but I would not know why you would want to do that.
PS Acura is pushing sales, new sell for the price of used. That will not happen forever. Well not likely, but who knows

Mitch-S

In 2007 I was debating buying a new 2007 TL-S or a used TL. Decided didn't want car payments and bought a 2003 TL type-s for $15k cash.

The first year was smooth but after that I had transmission issues and little stuff here and there. I was out of warranty so ended up spending $ to fix it. After owning it for 3 years, I just sold it to get rid of my headache for $7k. It costs me about $10k during that 3 year period.

Looking back I should have bought new. It would be paid off now and I would have a reliable car.

Anyways, I now have a 2012 TL and even though I'm happy with it, I can't help but look back and second guess my decision back then.

012TL-GLM

Buy a cheaper car if it bothers you. An 8 year old car still worth around 10K sounds pretty good to me. We just traded in my gf's 2002 camry for 4K and I thought that was a steal considering 220,000 miles.

saturno_v

A car is not an investment...period....it is one of the worst waste of money I can possibly think for an average person...when I buy cars I do not make that kind of thinking because otherwise I would get angry at myself

Nowadays anything more expensive than a Camry or an Accord (if you have a family) is totally useless from a rational perspective.....even a smaller car, if you are alone or without kids, allow you to travel in great confort, with all the modern amenities and with plenty of power to spare given the current speed limits.....


...but we are car guys......if you make that kind of reasoning just do not buy a new car....

A final note on a used car......if you know how to buy and you make as conditionality for the purchase a serious and exhaustive analysis by a qualified mechanic (it would cost you between 100 and 200 dollars depending on where you go for the test)...I means serious...compression testing, accurate inspection of trouble point, etc.... buying used makes a lot of sense....yes you may still have some surprises but think about how much you are saving in the first place...

The sweet spot in my opinion, is buying a 5-6 years old car (Japanese) in very good condition....most of the depreciation is gone and the car has still has lot of life left....

Totally agree....I would never buy a new car at 5%, nowadays there are incentives everywhere...0%, 0.9%, 1.9%......if you are in the market for a 40K+ luxury car you should not even think about depreciation or value (otherwise you could cry)....it is a pure toy, not a need...

I'm assisting a friend (for the mechanical test) in buying a used Lexus GS 430 (5 years) for about 20K final negotiation price.....that car was almost 60K new...it is in pristine shape....

py0413

there is always depreciation for cars unless if you are buying some rare collectable ones which will increase in their value. IMO, as long as you don't sell the car within in the first 4 yrs of ownership, you wont be hit too hard by the depreciation. Myself don't keep a car once it's out of warranty, so suffering from how they depreciate is a must in my case. I shop carefully and do my homework to ensure I get a better deal so I end up losing less money.

if you worry about that, why not consider buying a 1-2 year old pre-owned? they will still be under warranty and you don't lose as much as buying a brand new.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Terp, you can run all the numbers you want.

But at the end of the day, if a car is a necessity (if you don't live in NYC), you'll need to make a purchase. That's why I try to get something I like, that I enjoy driving, and not worry about depreciation. Running numbers will just depress you!

Get something you like and enjoy driving.

FirstTL12

By all accounting standards, buying a car is a bad deal (but so is leasing, you pay for something you never own). Steven hit the nail on the head, though. Personally speaking, I can't put a price tag on my enjoyment. I owned a 2000 Altima for 12 years. Got it for $16,500 in 2000. Finished paying early (4 years) so had 8 years of no payments and even when I did have payments they were half of what they are for my TL.

However I never had this stupid grin I have right now when I drive the TL. I'm one who can easily have buyer's remorse, and fairly quickly. But I've never had one for my TL. It's just a different experience from the Altima (which ran fine up until I traded it in).

So buying a car worth more than say $20K is rarely about logic. But you only live once (unless the reincarnationists are correct) and you can't take that money with you when you go...

shurik74

Agree with Steve... If you need a car from point A to point B and don't care what you are driving, then buy something cheap and sleep well. For those people like me, vehicle is a part of me and I will pay $$$ to drive a nice toy, we live once as mentioned previous thread.

My story is different, recently bought CPO from dealer first time in my life and still no regret. I used to buy cars from auctions and insurance companies as salvage but you have to have cash for it. Fix it, drive it for about year and sell for appx the same money or even with a gain. My best example from one of many cars I owned: got 2002 Acura TL typeS from auction for $7K cash with 70K miles in 2005, as stolen and stripped with no accidents but salvage title, missing interior (except dashboard), bumpers and headlights. Final cost when I bought all parts from junk yards and auto shops, registration, taxes etc was $11K (I did all work myself). Then drove it for 6 years, had to rebuilt tranny of course but only once +$1K, got lucky. Put another 80K miles and sold it on auction for $3.5K in 2011, car was still driving as suppose to. Total loss for 6 years was $8.5K which is not bad at all compare how cars quickly depreciate when buy as CPO/used or new. The bad thing is that those days in the past, auction prices went up big time and no point for people like me who doesn't have auto shops to buy.

Just little story from me

john94si

My TL dropped bad..
Fully loaded tech 18 ..after 2 yrs and 40k miles i lost 48% off sticker..
thats horrible..

012TL-GLM

Check out Edmunds.com True Cost to Own. Good idea of depreciation.

Here's mine - '12 SH-AWD w/tech
http://www.edmunds.com/acura/tl/2012...tyle=101380935

They figure after 5 years its depreciated 22K.

Compare it to something more practical - I'll use the Honda Accord fully loaded
http://www.edmunds.com/honda/accord/...tyle=101403699

5 year depreciation around $15K


What's the lesson? Cars cost a fukc ton of money

I change cars every 4 to 5 years - only nice thing about a more expensive car up front is you generally have a much higher trade-in value for the next ride. If I kept a car 8 years or more I wouldn't even care about depreciation. Anything that old won't be worth much, unless its a toyota tacoma, I swear those things seem to go up in value

LawnPro

You guys make very good points.

How many people on here buy a 4G TL - new or just a couple of years old to worry about depreciation, cost of ownership, ect, ect.

Top car brands are usually for the auto enthusiasts. It is our passion to own and enjoy a great car.

If it's not that to you - then don't spend 40k on a car.

docboy

All valid points above.

I bought my TL new when it first came out, paid full MSRP, and then some b/c I lost $$ on trading in a 4k mile newly bought POS Lexus IS 250AWD that I hated. Dam emotional purchases are not good.

IMHO, the best buy as Saturn referred to is a 2-3 year old low mileage CPO vehicle; the car usually still has its warranty, and there's lots of life left. Pay with cash if possible. A car is a depreciating asset, not much sense paying interest that accrues while said object decreases in value. On the other hand paying cash for a car is not always possible...

If one has a business, lease a vehicle through the corporation, a no brainer since it's a tax write off plus one pays with pretax dollars.

Buying a new Honda Fit or Civic for cash, and driving it to its death at 200,000+ miles makes the best financial sense. Those of us buying $40k vehicles obviously place a higher priority on subjective needs (image, power, comfort, etc).

So, to answer the OP's answer, is it worth to buy a TL? Depends on what you are looking for.

msubee

In my opinion, buying used / CPO cars are the way to go. My old man always taught me to buy cars used, unless you're planning to drive it until it falls to the ground. Every cars are depreciating assets, therefore it doesn't matter whether you buy new/used, the value of your purchase will go down when you drive off the lot Of course, by buying used you have lesser depreciated amount than buying new.

Like many other said, if you're an enthusiast, you probably more attracted to luxury brands. If you aren't, then no need to limit your car purchase to certain models (such as Acura TL in your case). You could buy any sedan similarly equipped than the TL for the cheaper price, such as top of the line Accord, Camry, Sonata, etc.

ib_jimmy

For me, I was in the market for a used 09-11 TL and end up going with a new 2012 after working out the numbers. It was cheaper for me monthly and at the end of everything to buy brand new with the 0.9% they had going on. I've also decided to keep my trade-in and handed it down my 98 GS300 to my little brother. Also instead of droping $5000, only drop $2500 down. But at the end of everything I will pay less on a new car than I pre-owned.

Pseudomaniac

iTrader: (1)

I generally wait a year and buy CPO to let someone else take the big hit. You get a better warranty, and if you're selective enough you get an outstanding condition automobile.

Financing through a credit union will get you 2% rates right now. I also don't purchase vehicles I cannot comfortably pay off inside of a year.

I feel that paying the 35k I paid for the nicest thing Acura was building in 2009, and having a sport/luxury automobile under a 100k warranty for 7 years was a good deal, considering you can spend the same money on a loaded new Accord and get less of a car and less of a warranty.

If I want to trade it in or sell it while under warranty, the warranty is transferrable, and adds value to the car.

Acura resale has always been among the highest of all manufacturers, generally going back and forth with Audi. A car is an expense, not an investment, and minimizing the expense, the Acura is a wise choice.

In particular, you get all the luxury, comfort, and performance items in a vehicle that put it on par with BMW/Benz/Audi offerings that cost 10-15k more initially, and end up with lower or equivalent resale values after 5 years.

I've always thought that Acura is for the guy that wants a dependable BMW or Mercedes class automobile without paying the name premium. It's a "smart" choice vs. splurging.

Shoot2Thrill

Seems the you made up your mind up to go for the 8 year old car BEFORE you asked the question. So the question was truly disingenuous. You could buy my sister 2000 Corolla that is for sale an and you would save an addition 8 thousand. Then ask is a new car really worth 40K more than a 2000 Corolla. Then you would feel really good.

weather

You and I see things alot alike my friend!! Very well said

gibjer

Acura resale has typically been very high, the 4th gens took a huge hit this year because of the retarded rebates acura offered however.

Trade value on my '12TL Tech 6MT has been around 31, that's with only 16k miles.

Hopefully it holds around there for a while.

shurik74

If i knew you gonna trade in for that price, I would get it with at least 1K on top of it

LawnPro

Yikes! 31K for trade,

But This may be due to the car taking the most depreciation in the first year off the lot.

Year 2 we should take alittle less hit in value, year 3 little less, ect, ect.

Personally - Im hoping I can keep my 2012 for at least a few years.....

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

and yet the OP is whining about his MPGs in the 3G forums. the 4G still takes premium and she's heavier than the 3G which means she'll drink a little more gas to get her going.

to the topic at hand...i agree with many of the posters above. ultimately it's a matter of your own peace of mind. used...buy potential headaches (rare, but it happens). new...start with a clean slate and abuse it early yourself. how much is one willing to pay for this peace of mind? having bought many used cars and my one new car. i'm more paranoid about the car purchased new than the used cars. there is something about having the car from the start of it's life and knowin everything about the car (maintenance, incidences etc). buying used...i seem to be a lot less paranoid and particular about certain things (esp if the car already came with a few "character flaws" from the previous owner).

George Knighton

My thought are that you're not going to find many cars that are better deals, long term, than that.

At least, not any you'd want to actually drive. :-)

When you factor in the innate reliability, you've sort of got it made.

I have a 2010 TL 6-6 SH-AWD with 61,000 miles on it now. Bought in November 2009.

Haven't spent a dime on it outside of regular maintenance. Not a dime.

shurik74

Make me feel so good, going to sleep well