sporting

So I've been reading a lot of threads that relate to someone buying either a brand new car or "new to them" cars...

My question is, are most of you guys who buy new cars because you want to or because you absolutely have to because you old car does not work anymore or you have no car?

I still have hard time justifying on trading my CL for a new or newer to me car. My car still runs and drives like day one. I can't find a good reason to buy, yet. Unless it still basely solely on my want.

I also find that most people who I know make 6 figures and up usually drive older cars, not the latest and greatest.

silver3.5

Buy it (new or used) when you can afford making the payments!

neuronbob

Most people are not car guys and so don't understand the behavior of the car guy. Of course, some car guys develop a best automotive friend. Seems that has happened to you, OP.

Some people spend their money on booze, others on women, others on gambling, others on video games. Everybody has something they like to spend their hard-earned money on. I like to spend on my cars, and I often like the latest and greatest, like many car guys. I spend on really little else.

Nothing wrong with it. I'd rather swap up a car than to swap my wife. Luckily, dear wife of 17 years understands and allows my car "hobby".

I swap up typically every two years or so. Exceptions are my current ride, which is at three years. Have no reason to let it go. My 3G TL, which I kept for exactly three years, is the other exception. I'm going through the new car itch right now, but the threads on the CTS-V lately are renewing my love affair with the car. Been doing test drives and nothing does it for me the way my current car does. We'll see how long the renewed love lasts, though.

I'm glad you enjoy your CL, OP. It's an awesome car! Enjoy it till the wheels fall off.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

I bought it because I wanted to get it. My previous car was completely fine.

ttribe

Only because I wanted to. The TL was paid off and was in great shape...much to my wife's chagrin, I entered into a mid-life crisis and decided I "needed" something with more power and performance.

sporting

I'll have to admit that on one hand I have an emotional attachment to my car... Weird but I just hate to have to sell/trade her to some teenager and wouldn't take as good care of her as I do.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

^ Me too actually. I wanted to sell my car to another car enthusiast.

ttribe

I totally get it. When I had the TL up for sale, both my wife and I talked about how we just wanted it to go to someone who would take good care of it. In my case, it did. The guy who bought it is now a member of this board and is really taking care of the car. The day I handed him the keys, though, I did feel a little emotional...then I went home and drove the 500HP monster and it relieved some of the pain.

sporting

^^Haha!

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

My 4th gear WOT pull relieves my pain too.

Because the 4th gear in my 3G TL sucked badly.

hANDYcaptd

iTrader: (5)

My third pedal relieves my pain.

Although the TL is still in the family. I still give it a second look and stare when I walk away from it.

My car was more of a want, but some need. We needed another car in the family, so it was perfect timing.

doopstr

By it when you can pay cash

teranfon

For personal use, when it's no longer serviceable. When it gets to the point where the money spent could be better spent elsewhere. Until then, I'm a big believer of running them until they drop. I suppose this doesn't make a lot of sense with the particular cars that I hardly ever drive.

For corporate, when the tax saving is greater allowing for depreciation other than repairs.

crazyasiantl

iTrader: (7)

when i had my 1989 Toyota truck, i got rid of it because i wanted a new car to show for my hard work, so i got a 2G TLS

3.5-ish years and 5k+ in upkeep and parts later, i decided it was time for a new car. when i traded, the TL needed about 1.5-2k in stuff done (motor mounts, new windshield, the glass transmission, both HID ignitors, and eventually, another timing belt/water pump. so i had to draw a line on what i was spending on the car. it was never ending. there was always something wrong with it

jspagna1

I keep my cars forever. See my signature below and you can tell. I love my 97 4Runner which I bought new and now has just 165,000 miles and still running strong. No reason to get rid of it and I still even get compliments on the truck.

dallison

There is no rhyme or reason to when i buy another car. Like others, this is the only thing i really spend my money on.
Mrs. dallison and i have had 9 cars in the past 6 years and will probably buy another this year.

F23A4

@ 2003 Nissan Maxima Titanum Edition(Silver w/Black Int)

How's it doing?

Will Y.

In my case, new vehicles when desired, and not needed.

I don't think my immediate family has "needed" a new car since 1987-- every car purchased since then either was sold while operating perfectly or operates perfectly now.

neuronbob

This is me, except since about 1999 for me. Every car I've owned has been operating well at trade in and generally I've been happy with them. New car itch is generally not logical.

Mongolian

I bought a new car each year since 2006 until 2009... A purely based on wants.

03bl AC k CL

I noticed that too and was wondering the same thing

esco115

I bought mine because I wanted to, and my TL was no longer getting my attention as it once was...

g37guy01

I buy a car when it's time, emotionally and maintenance. I don't have to drive the greatest (couldn't afford a Bugatti anyway) but I like to be near the latest.

I buy a car with little research and never look back, never any buyers remorse. It gets me from place to place and I beat on them and expect them to go the distance.

The people I know who are car nuts and can afford it, buy and drive the latest and greatest about every two years. Unless you are Steve Jobs and leased a new Mercedes every year.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

I wanted to get a "new" car, not because I had to. I always buy used, that way I have more money left over for mods. I can understand the feeling to drive a brand new car off the lot, but I can't justify the immediate hit you take in resale.

MR1

I have had far more new and 'new to me' cars than I really needed. While I would not change a thing, I do it differently now. In the late 1990's I decided to buy a quality vehicle for my wife and one for myself. We both enjoy what we have and will maintain and keep these two as long as reasonable. If one needs to be replaced we may downsize. This has left us with a 2002 MDX and my 2005 TL.

Both more than satisfy our current wants and needs. Neither yet has 100k miles.

mrmako

I have never owned a new car. So when I left Japan to go to Germany, the family wagon was a need. So we sold the Honda Odyssey and I bought the wife a Volvo XC90. Now we have a "new" car.

And paid cash. Haven't had a car payment since 2003, and I don't plan on having any more. And the reason for the new Volvo was simple: We live in Europe, and it had the most room / bang for the buck. And the warranty / free service (and better ability to get it fixed vs. US or a Japanese vehicle) helped seal the deal.

neuronbob

^^^^
Sorry to read you moved from paradise, I mean, Okinawa. I spent high school in Germany myself at a now closed air base. Given that the Scoobie is still in your sig, I take it you could bring it with you?

I like mrmako's goal as that is mine as well. The cars I'm looking at I am doing so specifically because I can buy them with a trade of the V + a minimal outlay of cash. I want to live without a car payment for at least a couple of years.

MeehowsBRZ

Bought mine because the Mini's warranty was running out. And owning that car out of warranty was not an option.

honda_nut

I switched to a 3G TL because I was embarrassed to drive my 2G TL with its faded/peeling paint. I had the choice to either repaint the whole car for 3 grand or switch to a much newer car for 6 grand. Plus the 2G was pure bad luck; things went wrong with it every few months.

Aman

Want. IMO 90% of the time, buying a new car will be more expensive than investing money into your old car. Obviously, you get a newer car and don't have to deal with the hassle, but strictly from a financial POV it's almost always more expensive to upgrade.

The 1992 Cavalier I had before had absolutely nothing wrong with it, and I would have no problem driving that today. We saw the Accord, liked it, so bought it. Didn't even really consider other cars, because we weren't considering buying another car. Just bought the Accord because we liked it.

If I had the cash, and came across another car that I really liked, I would buy it today. If I don't, I'll happily drive this bad boy to the ground.

Ken1997TL

In the past year my wife and I have purchased two new cars. Why? We wanted to. Our previous cars, an RL and a TL ran fine without any issues.

We DO appreciate the practicality of the TSX wagon, it has been put to good use. So I can at least justify that.

I could have paid cash for both but instead took advantage of the 0.9% financing. That is VERY tough to beat and I can put my otherwise free cash to better use at a good rate of growth.

I am now looking at grabbing an S2000. Again, because I want to.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

We typically buy a "new" car whenever we want to... typically no real reason (although we did trade in the A6 b/c I wouldn't let the wife keep it out of warranty and we were getting close with 75k miles). We also will only buy pre-owned and while we typically take a small loan on the car to keep the credit scores up (and with low financing typically my money makes more for me in the bank then in the dealer's hands), we will only buy a car we can afford to pay for in full.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

i switch pretty much when i see a car i really like and can afford it. i just bought a NSX a week ago. my CL is paid off and runs perfectly fine but ive always wanted a NSX so i figured now was the best time since im not married and have no kids yet and i can comfortably afford it.

mrstak

iTrader: (1)

OMG more pics of the NSX please!

I hate having payments so I'd get a car when I can pay off the whole thing in full.

oo7spy

I drove Legend #1 to 190k+ miles (the speedometer malfunctioned for ~3 years, so there is no telling the true miles) until I felt it was about to die without work. I felt like the car was worth $2000 and needed $1000 worth of work to get back to running great, so I sold it for $1000 and bought Legend #2. Having just graduated and getting a career, I bought what I always wanted but something I also needed.

I look forward to the day it is paid off and hope someday my son can drive it.

Ken brings up a good point. If you can get an interest rate that is lower than inflation and/or is lower than an ROI you can get elsewhere, financing isn't illogical.

neuronbob

A good point. I'm actually open to 0.9% financing for a very short-term loan (not more than 12-24 months) that I'd probably just pay off ahead of time, anyway. Better than the financing I've got on my current car.

sporting

There seems to be a good amount of 0% financing on brand new cars, do you think that the 0% is worth the depreciation hit (via a brand new car) or go with a CPO that has a higher financing rate but lower overall cost?

Interesting to read some of your thoughts.

Ken1997TL

To me, it depends on how much you're saving on a CPO vs. new

If it's a year or two old, forget it. I'd rather go new.

If it's five years old and CPO, then great. You can save a lot of cash. I did it with my '97 TL, paying 1/3rd of the MSRP of when it was new and getting the warranty through Acura. That car lasted me 9 years and well over 130,000 miles that I put on it.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

^ Really? See, we bought our E350 one year old (2010 model, purchased 1/1/11) and saved over $20k versus new. Our A6, similar thing. It was 2.5 or so years old off of lease, low miles, and we saved over $35k versus new, plus got a better warranty then if we had bought new (100k vs 50k).

Ken1997TL

Wow, thats a big chunk of change for one year. I guess Hondas/Acuras don't depreciate that fast