Lately it seems like everybody is buying cars. We were finally able to purchase a second car a few months ago—after 3 1/2 years without one.
We purchased a brand-new (yes, I know I said I would never do that) 2013 Kia Soul base model. The funny thing is that once I bought it, my mom wanted one so bad. She was certain that she would one day buy one.
If you remember my post about my parent’s house, then you could probably gather that she could afford to buy one whenever she wants. Having a huge house doesn’t always mean people have extra money, but my step-dad is really good with money.
So I wasn’t really surprised when they drove up in a brand-new 2014 Cadillac on Sunday evening. Not my kind of car, personally I’d much rather pay off half of our mortgage, but it was pretty snazzy.
They were aiming to get a Mercedes, but it would have been an extra $35,000. They could have gone out and purchased a whole other car for that, or even a couple cheaper ones with that extra $35,000.
The Cadillac they purchased was $70,000, but through some exhausting negotiations (my step-dad’s really good with them), he was able to get the price down to $61,000. Saving $9,000 on a brand-new car is pretty nice.
It just goes to show that you can’t trust everything the car salespeople tell you. I was told when buying my Kia that they couldn’t go any lower because it was a new car. Yeah, that was an expensive lesson for me.
Just a month or so ago, one of my neighbors bought a brand-new Lexus too. It just seems like everybody is going for brand-new cars lately. I’m not sure why. Is the economy really doing that well?
Anybody else noticing a trend in your lives?
My wife and I recently bought a 2-year used Subaru that we expect will last us 8 years plus. My baseline for buying a “new” vehicle is something that is 2-3 years used, with an expected life span of 10-12 total years, giving us 7-10 years of use left in that vehicle. By alternating our vehicle purchases in our 2-vehicle household, this means we are only buying a new vehicle every 4-5 years.
But the real reason for my comment is what I did recently for our older van. It’s still running fine and we are keeping up with all the necessary maintenance, but I’ve also discovered what I think is a very good “hack” for saving on vehicles. I have just invested in a complete inside-and-out detail of the older vehicle. The dash has been cleaned, floor mats shampooed, outside washed and waxed, and rims and tires shined up. For around $100, the family van looks almost as good as new. And I know that “new car feeling” will keep us happy with our current cars longer, thus delaying the next new vehicle purchase.
So while paying someone $100 to clean your car for you might sound extravagant, the amount you’ll save by delaying a huge purchase makes it completely worthwhile in my mind.
Alternatively, of course, you can do it all yourself if you commit a Saturday afternoon to the project, but in my experience assembling all the tools and supplies necessary to do the job really reduces the cost savings. Plus it just feels luxurious to drop off your old car and pick up a brand new one a few hours later.
Anyway, I just thought I’d share what I think is a great investment in the longevity of one of your largest purchases.
Seems like everyone around me is buying a car too! Not me though – I have an older car that has been getting me through for quite a few years. Actually just got in an accident and thought it might be totaled since it’s not worth that much, but thankfully it wasn’t and I was so excited that it could be fixed. Now it looks like a brand new 1998!
Janine @ MoneySmartGuides recently posted..How to Negotiate A Car Price: How I Saved Over $5,000
Around me are new houses and apartment buildings coming up. Everywhere you move there are just new developments…I have to sometimes wonder where this people are plucking that kind of money
Here a building, there another…just everywhere; new houses, new houses!
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