Scotty always says he buys his cars used.
(And many people advocate that here on the forum too.)
We can look at this through depreciation and/or unknown projected reliability.
For used car buyers, how NEW is too new?
I think buying a concept car made out out wood/wax, is too new for me..
allllll depends on the car. for example mercedes vs toyota
I agree
Most of the cars I've bought have been between 10 and 20 years old.
For someone like Scotty it is a different question. He is a mechanic and can fix his own cars, so his cost of maintenance is very low (parts cost only). For non-mechanics, you have to add in labor expenses, and that adds up quickly.
Do you choose to pay early (buy a newer car for a higher price) and have low maintenance expenses, or do you pay later (buy an older car for a lower price) and have higher yearly maintenance expenses?
Obviously, it makes economic sense for Scotty to buy older cars (low price) that he can maintain himself (parts cost only).
For the rest of us, when is the sweet spot of car age vs. reliability where we get the highest reliability/longevity out of a car for the lowest cost/year of ownership?
So think I.
Where do you think the sweet spot is for the rest of us?
I think everyone has its own opinion what is too new or too old. After 5 years of ownership of a 18 years old car I switched to the 2 years old one. I did that because previous one was too rusty.
I just avoid the first year run of anything, regardless of make. There are always bugs to be worked out.
Also depends on price and mileage of a used car. I paid 12500€ for 2 years old Auris with 16k km on odo.
On the other hand I'd not pay such price for a 15 years old Audi Q7 with over 200k km.
