When does buying new make sense?

I gotta admit, I'm finding myself becoming more and more willing to consider spending real money on a car, and maybe even a new one. For all my life, I've been "that guy". The guy who bought bombs for a few hundred dollars. Then spend hundreds of hours and dollars keeping them running. I'm getting to the point of seriously considering buying a car that doesn't need work, and won't need work for many years. That way I would have time to play with toys.

^^^This. I NEVER ever ever ever ever thought I'd have a new car. When Mamma got pregnant, I was still in the "Hmmm, this is a great opportunity to buy that old volvo wagon I've always wanted" mindset.

The turning point for me was this winter: It's freezing f*cking cold out, I load pregnant mamma into the 87 Civic and we head to work. 5 minutes up the road, the civic throws the alternator belt. No big deal, except I can't find another belt, AND the integra is axle-less, pulled apart waiting on new ones (I had planned on doing them that weekend.)

Pick up axles from the parts store, and long story short, it turns into a berkeleying project, and we don't make it into the shop that day.

At that point, I would've given up a nut to have a honda salesman pull in the driveway and say "Sign here, and pay 'x' per month for your new car."

I started looking at stuff in the ~$10k range...about $8k more than I had ever paid for a car. I had never even considered financing before. After driving a couple used $10k cars, I really just couldn't see paying that much money for something that was going to need maintenance soon, didn't have service records, etc.

Honda was advertising a lease for 2011 Fits for 0/0/0 and $190/month. We looked at the lease deal, and even though it was a great one (for a lease,) aside from the low payment, it didn't make much sense to me to lease rather than buy @ 0.9%.

I paid a couple grand more for a NEW honda fit than I would have for a used one with 60k miles, and I absolutely love the thing.

Bottom line: With a new baby and another birthday around the corner, I think I'm okay with saying "I'm getting too old for this E36 M3" i.e., stuff constantly breaking down. It's sooooo nice to have one car in the stable that I don't have to worry about.

I still feel like royalty every time I press the A/C button and the compressor kicks on.

OR:

Short answer to OP: When it's a 2-3 year old honda versus a new one.

^And the Fit is still big enough to lay the seats down and get a full-size engine hoist in with room to spare.

Cool little cars.

Wow, sometimes I think this forum is either controlling my brain from afar or things are just spookily coincidental.

My wife and I have been tossing around the idea of a 3rd car for awhile now. Finally we decided that as cool as it would be to have a 5.0 swapped Volvo wagon or 528 sportwagen, that we would now look to the new stuff for the first time. It was for the same reasons listed above (want to only wrench on the fun project cars, not everything, all the time). We're also thinking Honda Fit

In reply to z31maniac:

friend of mine was the same way after he got his tacoma, he was so glad that he didn't have to dodge potholes any more

poopshovel wrote: I still feel like Challenge royalty every time I press the A/C button and flames shoot out the bull horns on the hood.

ftfy

Matt B wrote: Wow, sometimes I think this forum is either controlling my brain from afar or things are just spookily coincidental. My wife and I have been tossing around the idea of a 3rd car for awhile now. Finally we decided that as cool as it would be to have a 5.0 swapped Volvo wagon or 528 sportwagen, that we would now look to the new stuff for the first time. It was for the same reasons listed above (want to only wrench on the fun project cars, not everything, all the time). We're also thinking Honda Fit

Not to threadjack, but a few thoughts on the Fit purchase. Granted, I LOVE the car, but only regrets/complaints:

1. IF we hang onto it forever, the thought of having to change spark plugs, or anything else on the backside of the motor scares me.

2. Wish I could've held out till the 2012 models as there are rumors of a hybrid and/or (more likely) 6-speed manual trans for improved fuel economy.

3. The only big nuisance is that, as a wheel-hugger, there is no comfortable spot for my right knee. The center section of the dash is unnecessarily wide, and it's gotten really annoying.

4. I really wish I would've driven the Mazda5 and Mazda2, but buying new, chose the Fit over the 2 without even driving it because of the likely difference in resale, and over the 5 for the (probably not very significant) difference in fuel economy. That said, I'm really thinking a used Mazda5 may be in our near future.

5. IF I could've purchased a 1st generation Scion Xb with 0 miles for the same price as the Fit, I would have.

Strizzo wrote: In reply to z31maniac: friend of mine was the same way after he got his tacoma, he was so glad that he didn't have to dodge potholes any more

Yeah, I don't like the fact that's it not nearly as fun as my DD's over the last few years.

'10 Speed 3, '06 350Z, lightly modded 318is with coilovers, SSRs and RT-615s, heavily modded S52 swap E30.

The only thing that makes it palatable is knowing the 'vert is leaving the garage soon, and in it's place a freshly built turbo M20 while waiting for the right shell.

In reply to z31maniac:

definitely not as fun to drive, i also traded a speed 3 for my nissan, an 07 GT nav, before that was 04 RSX type-S. but my commute is only 10-15 minutes so i can live with it for now. at least its RWD so i can slide around when it rains now.

In reply to poopshovel:

Thanks for the heads-up!

1. I also noticed the spark plug placement at the dealership. Although, it still seemed like more room in the bay than some other late-model stuff I've seen. Also, the oil filter was right there on the front. Looked like I could reach it with just an open hood.

2. I also heard about the possible hybrid version - this scares me more long-term than backside sparkplugs! lol

3. Didn't notice the console problem on our short test drive. I'll look out for that next time.

4. I like the Mazda options too, but the wife is in love with the Fit. She told me, "I just don't want a Mazda". I said, "Fine, if we're crossing things off the list, I just don't want a Prius".

5. See above.