To buy or not to buy?

[Wabledoodle]

So here's the situation:
I have a job that starts this January, for which I will need a car to commute. I currently live in the city, and as a student don't need to commute. I have a 2001 Mercury Villager which my parents are kindly donating to my cause to either drive or sell.
My options are as follows:

1. Just drive the van
2. Trade in the van for a new car
3. Trade in the van for a used car

There are obviously pros and cons to each item on the list. Keeping the van obviously means less cost in the short term. However its a van, which I don't really look forward to driving in the city, and its getting up there in years. I'm terrified that it will break (no problems to date though) leaving me in a tight spot. It only has about 60,000 miles on it, which is pretty good for a car that age and the KBB is about 3,000 I think.
If I trade in for a new car I get the manufacturer warranty, I get the peace of mind that it will run well, I get excellent gas mileage, etc. But I obviously have to pay for a new car.
If I trade for a used car I alleviate my concerns about the car breaking on my, but not as much as a new car would. However it will obviously be cheaper than buying new.

I think I've narrowed it down to a Yaris however any other advice is welcome (I'm saying this knowing I'm posting on a forum called Yaris world so we'll see what I get from that).

If I were to buy a used car, I would probably shoot for a Toyota certified one just to add some peace of mind. What year/mileage would make it worth the difference from a new car?
Theres a 2007 3 door with about 45,000 miles on it that's going for about $10,500 at a dealership just down the road from me that seems like a good deal, but I'm questioning if thats too old or has too many miles for it really to be worth the money vs just getting a new car.

Any advice is welcome from those of you with more years and experience than me, but please keep in mind that I'm a student who doesn't have unlimited funds.
Thanks in advance.

[YarisOwnersDad]

My advice is to take a look at where each option will leave you two or three years or longer down the road. That has always been my problem about trading cars; I have based my decision to buy based only on my ability to make the monthly payment. I have done that way too many times and find myself approaching retirement age in debt up to my eyeballs.

If you are going to trade, let someone else take the huge depreciation hit, and buy a nearly new used car.

Tom

[Ivory]

I am all for living debt free where possible. There is peace of mind in that as well. 60,000 miles on a vehicle is young no matter what the vehicle year. With no mechanical problems in the history I wouldn't be "terrified" it would leave me in a tight spot. (AAA is probably cheaper than a loan payment). Now if the $$$ spent in fuel to commute in the van is going to Equal the loan payment + fuel of the newer vehicle, get the newer vehicle....same $$$ is going out your pocket either way. I also agree with YarisOwnersDad on getting one not new to save $$$

[JBIZZ]

Definitely buy a used one. If you decide to get a new one opt out of any extended warranty. The dealers are scam artists and will try to make one pay extra for things not needed. I broke the sensor near the alternator, will installing pulleys. went to the dealer to have the sensor replaced and the dealer said I needed a new computer. Glad I new better. The Yaris is a very fun car to drive, especially over a Mercury villager. If all your looking for is reliable transportation the villager will probably do, depending on how many miles are on it. If you decide to buy a Yaris sell the Villager as a private party 1st. This may give you a couple extra thousand dollars as a down payment on a Yaris. The dealer will only give you, at the most, $1,500 for the Villager, wear as you could sell it as a private party for @ $3,000 maybe more. If you personally sell the Villager make sure you get a notarized bill of sale so you are not liable for anything that happens with it. Research the Blue book value of both cars before you decide to do anything and realize the dealers play number games with trade ins.

[tomato]

Originally Posted by Wabledoodle

I think I've narrowed it down to a Yaris however any other advice is welcome (I'm saying this knowing I'm posting on a forum called Yaris world so we'll see what I get from that).

If I were to buy a used car, I would probably shoot for a Toyota certified one just to add some peace of mind. What year/mileage would make it worth the difference from a new car?
Theres a 2007 3 door with about 45,000 miles on it that's going for about $10,500 at a dealership just down the road from me that seems like a good deal, but I'm questioning if thats too old or has too many miles for it really to be worth the money vs just getting a new car.

Any advice is welcome from those of you with more years and experience than me, but please keep in mind that I'm a student who doesn't have unlimited funds.
Thanks in advance.

I drove old cars to school, and sometimes they broke down (usually 3 days b/f finals) and that was a PITA, but I survived and I passed, so driving an old car to school is not the end of the world and your van does not have a lot of mileage. You could give that a shot. Parking is a different story, though.

I went with the option in bold because it seemed like the one that made the most sense for me at the time. Whether or not it's "worth it" (as opposed to getting a new car for a couple thousand dollars more) is really up to you and depends on the used car condition.

I didn't ask myself the question at the time because I just needed a "grocery getter" for city driving and parking, and drive very few miles these days. So to me, a new car was overkill.

I got a certified used Yaris, with 55K miles on it out in the country where people routinely commute 50 to 60 miles a day (I know I used to drive close to 100 miles a day when I lived out there). I do not regret my decision based on my current driving needs. I cannot speak for all used cars, but a Toyota (or a Honda) with 50K is pretty much "like new" and has plenty of life left in it, IMO.

You need to tell us a little more about the used car (is it auto, manual, what options, etc.) so we can tell you if it's worth it or it you'd be better off getting a new car. I know used Yarii are hard to find and if you hadn't mentioned that one, I would have uggested you get a 3 year-old car from a dealership, when they come back at the end of their lease, they're usually close to perfect and someone else has already taken the depreciation hit for you.

Hope that helps and welcome to the board!

[tomato]

PS. They only certify cars that are fairly new and in good condition.
If you go that option, they'll try to shove the extended warranty option down your throat so be sure to check back here, as there are a couple of threads about that already that may help you make that decision.

[supmet]

I agree mostly with what tomato says about used cars, but personally, the first 45,000 miles are worth more than 3 grand to me. If you could talk them down to about 9,5 I might take a look.

The thing is this - If someone is not responsible enough to keep their yaris past 45,000 miles, how do you know they are responsible enough to keep up with all the maintenance. Of course there will be some out there with impeccable service records, but is it worth the risk? I understand 36k, getting rid of your car no longer under warranty, or whatever, but 45k is just really random. To me someone was scraping for money and trying to hold on to their car til the bitter end, and probably didn't even think about maintenance the last 6 months.

certified is cool, but the result of improper maintenance has a habit of rearing its ugly head after any warranty is over.

[wooverstone8]

My advice will differ from the rest. IMHO Buying a new car is only good investment if you're planning to keep that car for a longtime and do the regular maintenance. If you're planning to keep that car for a few years or can't be bothered to do the basic maintenance of the car you're better off buying used.

[supmet]

Hmmmm actually now that I think about it, I would way rather buy a new one..

45,000 miles is:

about half way to new struts, springs, brakes, tune up/spark plugs, belt, tranny flush

half the price of all of that = 4-500 dollars

about a quarter of the way to a new engine/transmission(yes I know trini has 350k - that's all perfectly flat highway miles..)

quarter price installed = 500 dollars

I'd do a good check of the paint and underbody rust since your in MA, paint is hard to quantify, but you basically lost 2 years of sun damage before you have to repaint, and 2 years of underbody damage from salt before you have to fix that.

So with no other wear and tear considered, you're already looking at around 1200 dollars extra you'll be spending over a brand new yaris. I hope the used one comes with brand new tires.

If it were me, I would set up an excel sheet, and calculate what you'll need to do to each car by the time it hits 200k miles, and see how much that 45k miles is actually costing you. They are gonna be close, and if any maintenance was missed on the used, or it was abused by hard driving, the new one will be cheaper.

[eht13]

Originally Posted by Wabledoodle

My options are as follows:

1. Just drive the van
2. Trade in the van for a new car
3. Trade in the van for a used car

The fact that you're even here and asking this (and also saying "I think I've narrowed it down to the Yaris") means the gears are already turning in your head as far as visualizing getting a new car goes. A car purchase can be hard to back away from permanently once you've started thinking about it.

Having said that, though, the fact that the new (or used) car you're considering is inexpensive for what you get, very reliable, and very fuel efficient means you're thinking about this wisely and responsibly. I personally would not blame you for having second thoughts about continuing to drive an older minivan, and if you can afford the Yaris it is true that peace of mind is worth a lot. I have driven more expensive cars that were not always there for me when I needed them, and that is a bad feeling.

As far as new vs. used, I think that with a Yaris it really just depends on what you find and what kind of deals you can get. Think about body style, options, etc. and see what you find. No Yaris is going to be "too old" because they've only been out in the US since '07 anyway. On the other hand, their rate of depreciation is not bad compared to most other cars, and the prices are also inexpensive compared to most other cars, so you should not necessarily rule out buying new either. Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

[specialeducator]

Originally Posted by supmet

Hmmmm actually now that I think about it, I would way rather buy a new one..

45,000 miles is:

about half way to new struts, springs, brakes, tune up/spark plugs, belt, tranny flush

half the price of all of that = 4-500 dollars

about a quarter of the way to a new engine/transmission(yes I know trini has 350k - that's all perfectly flat highway miles..)

quarter price installed = 500 dollars

I'd do a good check of the paint and underbody rust since your in MA, paint is hard to quantify, but you basically lost 2 years of sun damage before you have to repaint, and 2 years of underbody damage from salt before you have to fix that.

So with no other wear and tear considered, you're already looking at around 1200 dollars extra you'll be spending over a brand new yaris. I hope the used one comes with brand new tires.

If it were me, I would set up an excel sheet, and calculate what you'll need to do to each car by the time it hits 200k miles, and see how much that 45k miles is actually costing you. They are gonna be close, and if any maintenance was missed on the used, or it was abused by hard driving, the new one will be cheaper.

no belt- timing chain

[supmet]

Originally Posted by specialeducator

no belt- timing chain

you still have a belt that isn't gonna last forever

[tomato]

Originally Posted by supmet

If it were me, I would set up an excel sheet, and calculate what you'll need to do to each car by the time it hits 200k miles, and see how much that 45k miles is actually costing you. They are gonna be close, and if any maintenance was missed on the used, or it was abused by hard driving, the new one will be cheaper.

That's really good idea.

Getting a used car v. a new car also depends on how much he drives.

For my current driving habits (I get around using public transportation mostly, and use the car on the week-ends and maybe 5 miles a day during the work week, if that) a car with 55K miles on it is going to last a while and was the right decision.

On the other hand, if I still commuted 60 to 100 miles a day, I might have gotten a car with fewer miles on it, or possibly even bitten the bullet and gotten a new one, especially with zero % financing they have these days.

Right now, for me, it didn't make sense to go with a new car and just let it sit outside and depreciate in the parking lot most of the time.

I think the OP should evaluate how long he wants to keep the car, and especially what his driving needs are.

A car is a transportation expense, so take the total cost of the car, plus gas and expected maintenance, insurance, the number of years you plan on keeping it, and do the math. A used car may require more maintenance and less up front. A new car, less maintenance, but if you pay interest on it, IDK Spreadsheet is a great idea.

[nemelek]

I am not sure of the vans reliability. Try to find a web site and see what problems to expect for that year. In your place I would probably keep the van. Plan on spending $500 to $1,000 for 60K service. New tire, belts, battery and whatever else it might need. The gas mileage might be better for the Yaris, however the van would have cheaper insurance and no interest on a loan. Buy your new car when you get out of college.

[SmartYaris]

Normally I am all for getting a new car (or new to you used car) but this time it sounds like the Villager may not be so bad except that it may become a luv shack that might cost you in the long run...even up to 18+ years down the road long after the van is gone. :)

Take the money you would of spent on car payments and send that money to a savings account. In about 5 months you should have enough socked away to cover anything that will go wrong with the van. Continue to save after that to include $ for maintenance. Maintain that van meticulous and it should be at the lowest point of its depreciation scale right now.

My 2 cents...FWIW.

[specialeducator]

My wife had a '94 Quest that fell apart last year with 94,000 miles on it.

[RUFFSTUFF]

Mileage is an often misused indicator of a vehicles worth. I'll take a well maintained 60,000mi car over a trashed 30,000mi car any day. Buying used is just that, buying used... there's a reason why the original owner gave up the car, do you really know why or just what a dealer says?


Too bad you didn't use Car Allowance Rebate System... you could have gotten $4500 for the Mercury and a brand new car for really cheap.