What kind of car do you have?

[luckypenguin]

How long have you been driving it? Are you happy with it? I'm currently faced with the choice of what kind of car to buy. Would you buy a used car? Or is it too risky?

[puporing]

LOL. Nothing fancy I have a 2012 Dodge Caravan, very practical can haul anything (even better than a truck), I could camp in it if I wanted to. Def bought used (better value) but I can understand the hesitation. 

If buying from private owner, take it to a mechanic to run an inspection - as well just ask questions and suss out the ones who don't seem trust worthy. Dealerships may be more marked up in general but sometimes you can find surprisingly good quality used vehicles there.

Edited April 8, 2022 by puporing

[Consept]

I got a used BMW 1 series for £3600 and only 60,000 but it gave me a shitload of problems. I would still recommend getting a used car though because even if let's say I've paid double for repairs, I can still sell the car for around the same price if not more because of current prices. If you compare that to a new car you bought on finance you're looking at £25k for the same model just a few years newer. It might not seem like you're paying that much because they'll say 300 a month, warrenty etc but ultimately over say 5 years, you'll be paying a hefty amount plus interest. 

If you calculate the difference between my used car and the new one even without the interest it's a £17,800 margin, so for me I'd rather have the money esp if you invest it, so imagine you'll make 10% on that as well. 

If you have a lot of money though and you really want a new car, youd be better off getting a car loan as low interest as possible and then investing the rest somewhere that will give you a higher rate, don't buy cash in this case. 

[Average Investor]

Do some research on carcomplaints.com to find go years and models for used cars. Make some choices on at least 2-5 models that you are looking for. Then keep tabs on all of the local sales. Sometimes if you are willing to travel a few hours you can get a great deal. I use to flip cars and honestly if you know people and keep your eye out there is a lot of deals. You can try auctions, but it poses a bigger risk. Most auction cars that are not shown as running just need a key though. 

If you are not very savy with buying cars and don't know anyone who is, then take the used car to a mechanic and pay $100-$200 to get a full inspection. 

The more you spend the more I would expect a car to have a lot of detailed service records. The more a car is serviced, then the better off it will be. I have a 2003 dodge durnago and am very meticulous with the maintenance. I follow the owners manual for doing all of the recommended services. A lot of people would consider these not that reliable or good, but mine is extremely reliable. Granted, I spend the extra money and get all of the best parts and fluids. 

New cars lose about 50% of their value in the first 5 years or so. With the shortage that might not be the case, but generally it is. I would personally buy a car that I can afford two of in cash. Find the most reliable and suited to my needs with good maintenance records. 

As a note I should say that I have flipped more than 5 cars and made some pretty good money on cars. 

This guy has a few good videos on how to inspect and look over a car. 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Average Investor

[Husseinisdoingfine]

[puporing]

30 minutes ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

Is that for real? Way to express yourself!

[Yarco]

Right now a VW Golf because it came included for free with my wife. In the past I've only ever owned Toyotas, and when buying my own cars in the future I'd only ever buy a Toyota, Honda, or Subaru again. The Japanese can make a vehicle like nobody else.

Most American cars are unreliable garbage. Jeep is notoriously among the worst. Chrysler, Chevrolet, Ford are all pretty bad too. If you're American, don't let other Americans guilt you into buying American because it's unpatriotic to do otherwise or some garbage. (I don't know if this is a thing everywhere or only from my time spent in/around Detroit because of all the auto jobs there.)

Korean cars like Kia and Hyundai are kinda garbage too.

European cars are somewhere in the middle, but I think you'll usually pay more for parts in NA. I've had dumb stuff happen with my Golf like the gas gauge just randomly stop working so I ran out of fuel in the middle of the road when the gauge said the tank was still half full so I can't recommend them either. If you want a prestige car like a BMW/Mercedes I'd get a Lexus (made by Toyota) instead.

If you want a reliable vehicle with minimal maintenance and repairs, get a Toyota. Go ask any general mechanic what kind of cars they see the most and least problems with and see for yourself.

In the past I would've always recommended buying used. At the moment used cars are so expensive though that it might be worth buying new, especially if you can get a 5-year warranty and free oil changes included and 0 or near-0% interest. That might change back to recommending used in the future if supply issues and the economy clears up again though.

Edited April 9, 2022 by Yarco

[Snader]

I've had few cars. My previous one was 7000 euro Skoda. In paper it was a great deal, but I ended up wasting over 2k in repairing expenses over 1 year of using it... My ex boss used to have a couple of years old fancy Mercedes that kept having issues. So many times he called me to pick him up because his car was broken.

Last summer I decided to turn some material into cash for my business, so I sold the Skoda and bought an -97 Audi A4 from auction for 800 euros, and that car has been the most reliable one that I've had with low fuel consumption and low taxes. I'm loving it and gonna drive it to the grave.

If you want to save money with cars, then it's important to know a little bit about car mechanics and repair costs, so that you can hustle in used car market and spot the ones that has relatively best repair history. That will save you so much money in the long run if you are a regular car user. A car dealer can sell you a shiny 20k car that you will end up fixing for 5k in the next couple of years, if you don't know what to look for.

[mojsterr]

 

Could probably sell it for about 200.

 

[luckypenguin]

The more I read the reviews, the clearer I realize it's time to look for a good auto mechanic. Otherwise I won't even find common ground with my new car. In any case, I need a car and probably should start with an inexpensive variant

[tochisel]

I drive my dad's car. He owns it. I don't.

[Average Investor]

@luckypenguin Learning the basics will really help a lot. There are some mechanics that will take advantage of someone who doesn't know what they are talking about. Typically, I tell my mechanic what he needs to fix. 

A big part of it to is how much are you paying for the service. I know mechanics that are cheaper, but they are trying to get a lot more cars in. I would rather pay a couple extra hundred bucks to not have to come back and get it fixed again a few more times. This has actually happened before to over one repair, I came back 3 times because it was not done right. 

Another tip is that I typically try to bundle all of my repairs and maintenance into one trip. So I only go once or twice a year and it cuts down a bit on the hours to get it done. 

If you buy new or used you will not be able to get away from needing repairs. 

Edited April 10, 2022 by Average Investor

[Michael569]

Wv Golf 1.4 Fsi. A second-hand (or more like 4th hand). Manufactured in 2009 and works well. I had to replace a few things that were just worn out and change a water pump after leakage but haven't had any other issue. The car cost me 2600 British Pounds. 

If you don't know anything about cars, it is a good idea either to buy from an authorised reselling dealer or go with someone who knows more about this stuff to help you review the state of the car if buying from previous user. 

Things to keep in mind: 

• diesel cars are being pushed out of the market in Europe & UK, I wouldn't buy one
• consider cost of fuel if you are going for bigger engine especially if you're gonna be driving in cities a lot (costs of fuels are skyrocketing across the world and are only gonna go up from now on) 
• consider how common that car is (spare parts & repairs cost) 
• consider utility - no point buying pickup if you're gonna be commuting. Unless you want an exceptional performance something with 1.4-1.6 engine volume should do the trick. Go for the best fuel consumption you can get while not completely sacrificing for performance (Golf, Polo etc). Also, I think 6th gear is a nice thing to have if you do a lot of long-distance travel but I don't know enough about cars to really be sure this makes that much difference 
• check if you'll have to pay emission tx where you live
• check the annual cost of car tax beforehand 
• check the annual cost of car insurance beforehand
• make sure the car you bought is not reported as stolen or previously crahsed  (authorised dealers will know this) 

Generally second hand car purchase is probably a better idea if you are on a budget just make sure to buy from reliable seller. You can't usually go wrong with German cars, Toyota, Honda or Ford (ppl who know more about cars may disagree) The more complex the engine (e.g. turbo and that sort of stuff) the higher the likelihood of issues (from what I've been told) 

[Terell Kirby]

2008 Honda .. I'm totally satisfied lol.

[Arthogaan]

I recently sold my chevrolet lacetti 1.6 from 2006 - Damn it was hard emotionally. Great car.

[Godhead]

A 300k€ Mercedes, driven by my personal chauffeur

 

[Husseinisdoingfine]

To be serious, I drove a brown 2010 Toyota Venza.

I disdain having to drive a car and do intend to live in another country. Cars are bad for you and are expensive to maintain.

 

[luckypenguin]

I will think and decide. So far, opinions are different)) I've now started to research this topic more and have found a lot of interesting things here. It turns out that even by the windows in the car you can tell how the car was watched, by the tires yet. I knew about the vin-code, but I had no idea about these little things. 

Edited April 14, 2022 by luckypenguin

[Tristan12]

On 4/13/2022 at 8:20 AM, Godhead said:

A 300k€ Mercedes, driven by my personal chauffeur

 

Dang man, sweet Benz! Can't imagine how many bitches you pull with that. Certainly has room for them

[Insane butterfly]

And the BMW in the back 

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by Insane butterfly