We've got a bunch of folks shrieking that the sky is about to fall. I'm trying really hard to maintain my focus on the day to day stuff, but at some point I will need another car. Let's assume another bout of double digit inflation in the next couple of years. What's the best type of car to daily and what's are some suggestions for investment/collecting?
Or is it a stupid question?
Pre-OBDII pickups. I'm totally serious.
Well... What specific needs / wants do you have from a daily? Are you worried about parts availability becoming a problem? Planning to DIY everything on it or pay a shop?
If this is a purely speculative move, Go buy about 10 nice ready to drive MGBs in a mix of GT and Roadster configuration. Detail them and sell them next spring.
Currently the only undervalued classic out there
In reply to ddavidv :
Pickup segment is up 40% since 1/1/21. Buying any pickup right now is the definition of buying into the bubble. Finding an OBDI that will appreciate is going to be no small task.
I'd say screw a car, buy a small chunk of undeveloped land. With mortgage rates still at historic lows, land is a wonderful hedge against inflation
In reply to calteg :
But land is an expense without income revenue, just like cars are now.
Rental property is really the only investment that has others pay those expenses while you eventually reap the rewards.
Bad renters can be minimized by buying in upscale good school districts.
Those homes attract upwardly mobile people who may have a career that locates them temporarily in various locations. The higher rent pretty much eliminates the bottom feeders.
In reply to stroker :
Making a profit from cars is a really big ask. While a very select few manage to do it, the most realistic hope is to minimize your loss.
There the basic rules will serve you well. If the top goes down the price goes up. Scarcity produces desire ability. Look first for Condition, condition, condition. Bright primary colors outsell pastels. Trends are great in the beginning but lousy at the end.
stroker said:What's the best type of car to daily?
My current personal bet is on Gen2 Prius ('04-'09) Newer Prius deliver better mpg (50 mpg for Gen3 and 44 mpg for Gen2) but I still see the Gen2 as the value winner with the lower buy-in price.
Millions were made and there is a lot of junkyard availability. Cheap parts.
I expect gas will not stay cheap.
I'm not looking to make a profit, just looking to reduce my operating/holding costs.
If your question is, "how do I buy a car soon that is not overpriced?" My answer is... Non-sporty cars with manual trans.
These cars are so hard to sell because there are no buyers. The boomers are done with manual trans (bad knees, etc.) and the majority of millennials have never known anyone who owned a manual, therefore, no one ever taught them.
Sure, in a sporty car like Miata, a manual is the prefer method but in a Kia Soul or plain Jane Ford Fiesta who's really shopping for a manual?
If shopping these cars, look closely at the picture background. Notice the out of season elements like snow on the ground of a car being sold in Summer or still leaves on the trees if shopping in winter.
Buy the car cheap and plan to keep it forever, because there will be even fewer shoppers of Non-sporty manual trans cars every year.
Anything they made a E36 M3load of about 15 years ago. Easy enough to work on, tons of parts. Answer is probably Camry. Inflation isn't the only problem. One of the biggest steel suppliers in the world is burning bodies in the streets. No one can get microchips for new cars. Parts and supplies are drying up, fast. Inflation and demand are going to cause a E36 M3 storm of unavailability that's gonna make an old, easy to work on car real attractive.
In reply to Mndsm :
I'm trying to rebuild a flat tappet 350 for a customer. My supplier has 15 lifters, and there are no more anywhere.
It's not just new stuff we can't buy these days.
In reply to Mndsm :
"easy to work on" runs into a problem when you can't find parts for it.
Solution is probably the newest Corolla that you can get, up to and including new.
IMHO, the best of the best daily is WFH. Then there's no commute to wear out your car.
For us, if there's a significant jump in prices of cars, we'll probably buy out the lease- but for now, we are locked into a good position for a few years.
Otherwise, if you have to replace a car, and want to avoid costs, get the most modern, simple car you can get- just less stuff to go wrong, and at the same time has a lot of modern reliability built in. A pre OBD car sound inviting, but it will have more stuff to replace and repair on in in a more regular time frame- and if there's really inflation, all of those parts will have issues, too. Cheap Chinese crap will become expensive chinese crap.
I'd have to think about what I would want, but I'd probably shoot for a '00-'10 car. Or depending on the car, something less than 10 years old. For sure, not something that has a old battery pack in it.
Last fall I picked up a Saturn Vue for my wife. Thing was stupid cheap at $1200. It had 85K miles, came with a Honda V6, and all wheel drive. It needed tires, and had a badly rusted rear subframe. Less than $800 bucks later I had tires, subframe, and new rear springs and shocks to put into it. A days worth of blasting, painting, and replacing subframe and it was on the road. Its been very easy to work on and parts are cheap. Its a nice ride. Can't believe these things have dropped to almost free when other SUV types are fetching real money. Definitely one of those cars that has fallen thru the cracks value wise. Just sold my daughter's Solara convertible. That was another car that fell thru the cracks value wise. In most cases you can get one cheaper than a comparable Camry.
In reply to tr8todd :
Up till it had 265k miles I owned a 4cyl, manual trans Saturn Vue. It was a good car. All just a lot of GM parts bin. On your 3.5L version you are blessed to have the good Honda Engine but cursed to have the Honda trans. These are know to like pure Honda trans fluids changed at 25k intervals to keep them running.
Another thing about the Vues...'02-'05 had a cvt trans on the 4 cyl. Its horrible trans and know for not lasting until 80k. But, in '06 & '07 the 4 cyl, fwd version went to a normal 4 speed auto trans, straight out of the GM parts bin. As good as any other 2.2L w/ 4 speed like a Cobalt or Pontiac G6, Chevy HHR, etc. I highly recommend one of these 4cyl/4 speeds as a good cheap buy.
In reply to John Welsh :
I know a fwd 5 speed that's available really cheap that needs a front subframe. He just hasn't been motivated enough to list it in Ohio.
In reply to RevRico :
A real quandary. A manual trans Vue is so hard to sell (no shoppers) that it will sell so slow and so low priced that its probably worth more in just cutting off the catalytic converter than it is fixing and selling.
However, if someone wants a cheap runner, they too should be able to buy a car like this for only slightly more than the value of the cat and then fix it cheap.
If there is a period of inflation, it's going to coincide with a period of much higher interest rates, so the best car, and house, is the one that's paid for.
In reply to alfadriver :
Interesting point about leases. If used cars continue to have elevated values, the high residuals may make leasing a VERY attractive option.
I remember some pickup a few years ago where the lease was $2500 down and $0/month for 36 months...
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to alfadriver :
Interesting point about leases. If used cars continue to have elevated values, the high residuals may make leasing a VERY attractive option.
I remember some pickup a few years ago where the lease was $2500 down and $0/month for 36 months...
With the production delays, they are going to be hard to find these days. We are so very lucky- my need for a car goes away in just over a year, and our other car isn't done until 2023. I'm sure things will catch back up.
I feel for people who really do need a new car. Or worse, the insurance companies who are required to replace the vehicle with a brand new one.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
It depends. Currently, you can get fixed rate loans on cars and houses for under 3%. If interest rates rise enough, bank CDs may end up paying more than 3%, so one could possibly benefit by having a loan, if their savings are returning a higher rate than the loan costs. In general, I agree with you that paid-off vehicle is usually best. Paid-off house is nice, if doable, but with current low interest rates, I'm in no hurry to pay my mortgage off.
In reply to tr8todd :
Just wait until it nickel and dimes you death. I loved my Vue until I had to replace the throttle pedal assembly twice, the whole PCV system, and a ton of other random things.
In reply to 90BuickCentury :
Car, yes. We cannot lock in a mortgage rate up here for more than 5 years, so buying a mansion at 2.35% and having to re-do after five years at 19%, which we had here in 1982, makes for a bad time.
I don't understand the thought process of the one being paid for being the best option during inflation. If someone gets 0% APR for 72 months before the hammer drops then they have that during the duration. People won't be financing new vehicles when interest rates are 8% so that vehicle will hold it's value then it would have previously.
I'd say go finance the hell out of a Tacoma, but they won't be able to get the steel to fix it's frame in 30 months.
My friend bought a new loaded diesel Silverad brand new in September for $60k-ish maybe a little more. He sold it last week with almost 30k miles on it for $70k.
My neighbor just sold his high mileage (over 120k miles) 3.5 ecoboost 2012 f150 for $24k. He bought it a few years ago for just under that.
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