Zachary totaled his car in August. We have been making due with two cars since only one person has been working. It makes sense as there was no need for three cars. We decided to replace the third car and my wife and I agreed we could make an acquisition once another member of the household was employed. My wife went out of town over the weekend so I went out and bought a car. Let's just say this didn't go over very well upon her return.
On the way home from the airport my wife was excitedly sharing all she did with her friend on their trip. We pulled into the driveway and she was an additional vehicle sitting in the driveway. YOU DID WHAT?
I bought a car. How many miles on it? 100,000. WHAT? How much did you spend? 16,000 dollars- WHAT? How did you pay for it? I wrote a check. WHAT? Why didn't you call me? Because you'd say no and it would ruin your vacation. You could have waited until I got back. The car would be gone. Another one would come up. We need a car in a week.
And we discussed how bad the purchase was and that we should have got a much newer car and taken out a loan for it. How much did you want to spend? IDK. What kind of car would you want? Something inexpensive like a Hyundai. It was my turn to say WHAT? Then I am told that old cars breakdown all the time and the repairs are super expensive. Because it needs a catalytic converter. Oh? Yeah. We've never had a catalytic converter fail on a car. It will need new tires and brakes. No, they're new.
At any rate, most cars available in the 12-15k range are absolute garbage. 99.9% of them have CVT transmissions, 4 cylinder engines, cloth seats, etc. A ton of options from the like of Hyundai, Kia, Chrysler, Jeep, Mitsubishi. And for those looking for a total bargain, there are plenty of Mercedes, BMW and Audi in the same price range that the uneducated buyer would be proud to own until they have to fix it. Also some Mazda and Lincoln. A few civic, carolla, accord and camry, too. All but the camry have CVT. Their engines are mostly direct injected. Mileage is typically very high.
I just cannot justify under circumstance buying a less reliable car with higher mileage. If the benchmark is a new Hyundai, there are SOOOO many better options out there for a considerably less amount of money on the second hand market. But the Hyundai is new. Who cares - it won't last very long. My parents buy Hyundais all the time. Your parents get rid of them after four years. Buying new is not the same as buying good. Most new cars are garbage.
Buying a used vehicle is a bit of a science and a bit of luck. Meticulous research goes into it - especially nowadays; given how expensive everything is. Gotta narrow down a few choices to hone in on and then be hyper aware of the market and familiar with inventory. What moves and what doesn't. I am of the opinion that they best used car you can buy nowadays is a car manufactured before 2015 that is in excellent condition with a reasonable maintenance history. No more than 2 or 3 owners depending on the car. A minor accident is not big deal if it has been properly repaired. Due a thorough investigation when a potential car hits the market.
I still don't understand why one would take on ANY amount of debt for a new car of diminished quality. Here is what I think makes car in the current automotive environment:
A reputable make/model with history of reliability
Port fuel injected engine. Normally aspirated. No turbo. No supercharger. No direct injection. No carburetor. No Hybrid - although Toyota hybrids have exceptional reliability. No EV
6 or 5 speed automatic transmission. NO CVT under any circumstance. No 7-9 speed auto, either.
Leather upholstery
No safety stuff like lane keeping assist, radar cruise, blind spot monitor, auto headlights, etc.
Suddenly, choices get limited and cars described above usually sell in a week (often times in days) if they're in good condition.
It was dark when we came home from the airport. All my wife could see was an additional car in the driveway without paying attention to anything besides the emotion of not being involved or consulted in the purchasing decision.
I hope she comes home tomorrow while there's still sunlight and she can see the huge mess I got us into!?!?!
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