Car Trouble, Need Advice

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Angry

Trade it in for a new car.

Last spring I needed new brakes and rotors on my EVO VIII. The parts alone cost 4K. On top of that I did have a check engine light on and my Turbo wasn't boosting properly. Kelly Blue Book had it going for 8K in fair condition. Sorry but I'm not going to put 4K into an 8K car to make it a 10K car, when I was a teenager I would have but not now.

I traded it in for 7K, avoided a huge maintence cost, and got 5 car years younger. The real beauty is that due to the fact that I had a 6 year loan on the EVO and a 3 year loan on the new car I didn't add any additional years to my payoff. In fact I subtracted 2 months.

Since my payoff was more than what they gave me for the car I was a little bit upside down and I carried the negative equity over to the new car. To cover myself I purchased the gap insurance. Gap insurance covers a vehicle with negative equity in the event you get into an accident.

I ended up with a 2008 Scion so it wasn't brand new, but it's newer used and my payments stayed about the same.

Recap: I avoided a huge maintenance cost, purchased a newer vehicle, cut loan payoff date by 2 months and essentially eliminated my negative equity. It's worth looking into.

I really really thought about it and then saw the sticker tag on a Nissan Murano and came to my senses. I can't afford a 40K car right now.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by saden1

I really really thought about it and then saw the sticker tag on a Nissan Murano and came to my senses. I can't afford a 40K car right now.

Don't buy brand new, buy a certified used that's only a year or three old. They are still in excellent condition and the major depreciation from driving it off of the lot has already occured. You can find one anywhere from 20K-30K

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Angry

Don't buy brand new, buy a certified used that's only a year or three old. They are still in excellent condition and the major depreciation from driving it off of the lot has already occured. You can find one anywhere from 20K-30K

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by saden1

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

Well I have bought brand new several times as well as used. I fall out of love with cars too quickly to buy them brand new anymore. The whole point of buying a certified used vehicle is to eliminate the chance that you buy something that fails because of misuse by the prior owners. While at the same time not overpaying for a product just because no one has owned it.

[Hog1]

Originally Posted by saden1

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

Well.............if you ever find a mechanic you can trust, he can help. I have a mechanic that I have complete trust(mostly) in. As a favor (and $50) he will go with me to look at a car. Very thorough. He spends a while going over it, driving it, compression if necessary, etc.
I have used him a couple of times, and he has saved me from making some mistakes. And we found a REAL bargain or two.....anyway, food for thought

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by saden1

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

Its usually pretty easy to tell if a car has been misused by the prior owner and by checking it out or having someone inspect the car. I never buy a used car from a dealer because they can dress up a used car and you never get to meet the prior owner. I can usually tell within the first few minutes if I'd buy a car from someone. Its even easier if you go to their home and can see how their yard and surroundings look. When I purchased my wifes Yukon the guys yard was perfect, his garage was as clean as most peoples home, he pulled out a folder with all the SUV's records, and his other cars where spotless. I knew within 5 min I could buy a car from him we just had to decide if we liked the Yukon and price.