Would it be cheaper to drive a brand new Toyota Corolla and drive it for a long as it will last with impeccable maintenance. Or Buy used 7 year old corolla with 150k mileage for half the price?
I argue that the new car will last double or more then the older used corolla and therefore in the long run will cost about the same.
Scotty bought an old used Celica. Well if he only ever bought brand new corollas his whole life. He may only ever need to buy two cars his whole life. However, buying older used cars, he probably has purchased several over the course of his life and the cost would add up to be very similar if not more.
What are your thoughts?
I’m a businessman and from my financial point of view, it is better to buy a new Corolla than a used one. We are under an inflation that the Biden is trying to cover up. Car makers have already seen it, but they couldn’t jack up prices overnight to accommodate.
When the pandemic is under control, they will definitely jack up car prices to cope with inflation.
Used car prices have gone up because everyone has jumped on the hype train. If you manage to find a good deal that is not part of the hype train, go for it. If not, don’t, because you will end up with an negative equity which means the money you owe the bank is more than the true value of your car.
so my advice is buy a new Corolla.
Unfortunately, with the incredibly low quality of cars being built today, most new cars will be worth less than you owe the bank as soon as you drive off the lot.
Since the prices of cars are as high as ever, go used. Also have a mechanic check it out before buying and do some research.
Most people get bored with there cars after 5 to 7 years and thats why they switch. If your one of those, buy used so you wont getting a porking on new car depreciation.
PORKING?
I like that answer
I wouldn't buy anything right now new or used, you get porked either way
Just keep driving what you have right now until the insanity gets better
According to Scotty newer Toyotas are not as reliable as older ones.
N = price of new car
U = price of used car
M = expected maintenance cost for the car.
Yn = number of years keep for new
Yu = number of years keep for used
( N + M )/ Yn
( U + M )/ Yu
Do the math and see.
There are other factors you need to consider besides the initial purchase price. What is the difference in insurance costs? Sales tax and/or ad valerom tax? Tag fees? Difference in gas mileage?
I bought the first used cars in my life (37 years of driving) just this past 16 months, here's what I learned:
- Service records don't lie (most of the time) - I used the Toyota owner's portal to research cars along with adding the car to my CarFax garage. The two sources are free and quite revealing.
- Owners & sellers lie or are just plain ignorant. Sweet middle-aged Vietnamese-born dental assistant changed her oil every 4,500 miles and went to the dealership often for service... It was fully documented in over 45 service record entries on Toyota's owner's portal... She even went with me on the test drive to her service advisor who then proceeded to show me her receipts with technician notes that are not shown in service records (with the owner's permission) that her 2011 Rav4 needed over $3,000 in work and had red condition status on the rear axles, transmission fluid, valve cover leak, brake fluid condition and a few other things. It was my kid's dream car in good condition otherwise, but they wanted top blue book and I deducted the cost of repairs and really gave her some butthurt.
- Take your time and don't be shy to say "no."
Some Toyotas are bullet-proof if properly maintained - Make sure you get a previous owner who's thorough and educated. 10k oil changes are not "proper" maintenance for a long life. No matter what the manufacturer says, that's a federal thing, not a mechanic's advice.
By the way, my idea of the worst person to buy a used car from??? A teacher. Teachers like Toyotas and are disproportionately high in mental issues such as hoarding, lacking critical thinking skills (i.e. processing problems that they don't want to face) and tend to have more problems with vehicle incidents (hitting curbs, accidents, running over stuff, traffic tickets, etc. - All statistical stuff, seriously). Anybody who has named their car is also a serious risk for poor conditions, neglect and not paying for repairs. Poor older people and younger kids who were given mom & dad's old car are the next worst groups.
My thoughts, purely on COST. The financial reason for buying a used car is that you can avoid the rapid depreciation - which will cost you around $10,000 for the first 3-4 years on a Corolla or Civic. That said, maintenance eats up more dollars, but doesn't really get that high until around 10-12 years on Corollas and Civics. So, running costs (depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, etc.) are the lowest during years 3-10, but if you don't drive like a nut, do good maintenance and can fix some things yourself, you should be able to keep costs low for years 10-15, maybe longer. You get around 15 years, rubber & plastic parts start going bad. (Estimates based on 10-15 k miles a year). You can find "True Cost of Ownership" info in detail on Edmunds.com
The corollas are bare bones and only people who hates cars would drive a corolla for the whole life of the car. They are very often very stripped out and old fashioned, underpowered, rough on handling compared to civics, and depreciate the most of all the toyota's. People like them because of their simplicity and efficiency, which is why they are popular among teens. I would never spend 20k+ on a new stripped down, ugly corolla- i would get a camry. For you, I definetly think you should get a 2014 corolla used with about 100k or so miles and spend the 10k on it because in 10 years it will be worth like $5k still and it already went through the depreciation curve.
'only people who hates cars would drive a corolla for the whole life of the car'
How do you know that?