Have you ever bought or leased a new car?

[hunter]

Poll question: Have you ever bought or leased a new car?

I bought a new car once, many years ago. I'll never do it again. I don't like cars. If I need another car for some reason I'll buy a used one, and I don't care much what it looks like, only that it runs and isn't a fuel hog. It would be nice if I didn't feel I had to have a car.

[MrCoffee]

1. i bought my current ride new, but probably won't do it again

[Midlodemocrat]

2. I always buy new.

Except for TM. Her car was used because I wouldn't buy a new car for a teenager. My cars are all new because I keep them forever. I've been driving for 33 years and I have only had five cars. Mr. gets company cars, so mine last a long time.

[hunter]

4. I've been driving about that long.

As a teen I wrecked my first car, which was a family hand-me-down. That made it worthless, but I could still drive it after a few bailing wire and duct tape sorts of repairs. I even lived in it occasionally. I was a bit of a lunatic when I was young, and once replaced the car's head gasket in the parking lot of a K-mart.

Then I bought a new car in 1987, which I still have, but my wife wants me to get rid of it.

Since then my wife and I are on our third family car. These cars we buy used and we drive them until they are pretty much ready for the scrap yard -- 200,000 miles and more.

[flvegan]

3. When I buy, it's always a year or so old.

I let someone else take the depreciation hit. I'm looking at some recently off-leases for my next ride.

[Redstone]

5. Off-lease may be the absolute best way to go. I'd do it myself, but I can't, becuase

I'm one of those nitwits who won't own a car with an automatic transmission.

And try to find a leased car with a manual.

Redstone

[flvegan]

9. Most of the time, I'd rather a stick, myself.

I have one of those Tiptronic type automatics (clutchless maual shifter). I won't get a car that doesn't at least have one of those.

[Redstone]

21. Mrs R's S60 has one of those and it works pretty well, but it feels strange to not

have a clutch pedal. Handy for downshifting on highway exits and such, though.

Redstone

[Initech]

6. My last two cars have been new.

I got a Pontiac Grand Am in 2001, and then in August I got a brand new Nissan Altima.

[TommyO]

7. I've done new and used

My current ride is a 2005 Chevy Malibu, bought when it was two years old, with just over 33K on the odometer. It was driven by the sales manager at a Chevy dealership and in very good, if not great condition!

At this point, with new cars being as expensive as they are, I'll stick with off-lease cars that still have plenty of life left in them. In two or three years, I'll consider a 2008 Chevy Malibu, they're getting great reviews (far better than mine got when new).

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. My dear hunter!

We've been buying new cars since 1980...All of them Toyotas...

We did our homework, and have decided that for the money, those fit us best.

We now own two hybrids.

My husband has a Prius, and I have a Camry. Yup, a 2007 model, the first model year they offered the hybrid in the Camry model.

We love our new cars!

They run extremely well.

:hi:

[hunter]

11. We had a Camry. It was a great car, and ran forever.

It was easily the most comfortable car I've ever driven, with just about perfect feedback from the road. I dislike cars that feel like you are driving them by remote control, or cars that get squirrelly on rough or rutted roads.

I could parallel park our Camry so fast and into a such a small space that it scared people, which was always very handy whenever we visited San Francisco.

[bigwillq]

10. I've have leased new cars

but never bought.

[huskerlaw]

12. my current car is new

a 2007 Scion tC




Before that, I had a new (when I got it) 1997 Nissan Sentra. My first car was an absolute beater, bought very used.

I like new cars. I don't really understand how they work and I don't want to have to pay someone to fix my car, so I buy new ones that work without anything more than oil changes and tire rotations.

[Shakespeare]

13. I only buy new now, for two reasons.

One, I buy cars that I plan to drive for many, many years, and two, I've had horrible luck with buying used cars that *appeared* to have been well-cared-for, but evidently were not (and didn't show the signs of neglect/damage until it was too late). If I start with a new car, I can be completely confidence in how it's maintained, and never wonder if bad things were done to it before it came to me.

[Trailrider1951]

14. I bought a new Prius last July

I couldn't find any used ones. :shrug:

[Sanity Claws]

15. 2 new cars in my life

I had the first new car almost ten years. I still have the second new car, which I bought almost 13 years ago.
My philosophy is to buy a good new car and keep driving it until it gives up the ghost. I think that's the only to make sure you get your money's worth out of the car.

[AnneD]

16. Too much depreciation ...

in the first 5 years. I buy used and pay cash. Cars run forever these days.

[grace0418]

17. We bought our Subaru used, and probably won't ever buy used again.

It just has too many quirks and we don't know whether that's due to the car, or bad maintenance by a previous owner. The make and model of our Subie gets great reviews on all the car review sites, so either ours is a bit of a lemon or somebody didn't take good care of it. We bought it through Carmax and checked its vehicle history as well. Everything seemed fine, but we've never been totally satisfied with the purchase.

[Coyote_Bandit]

18. Seven cars

in 30 years. Two were short-termers - but I usually try to keep a car at least five years. Two I bought new. Some domestic cars some imports. The car I most enjoyed driving and the car that was the most mechanically reliable were both used cars.

The new cars? One had fully documented timely maintenance - and a cracked engine block before reaching 50,000 miles. The other had to have the alternator replaced at about 15,000 miles.

Then there was the car whose warranty paid for itself four times over. Among other things the repairs included air conditioner compressor, later an air conditioner condensor, wiring harness for the transmission, turn signal arm and switches controlling the headlights, radio and cd player.

[femmocrat]

19. We always lease them.

They are in warranty during the term of the lease and you don't have to worry about selling them down the road, so to speak. :)

[harmonicon]

20. none of the above:

Where I live now, there'd be no point in having a car - it would be a luxury (though I do get a parking spot that I don't use in my rent).
When I lived in LA county, a car was absolutely necessary. If I could have afforded to buy a new one (or maybe just a more reliable used one) I would have.... it was expensive and a pain in the ass getting my car towed to the mechanic every few months, not to mention the potential danger of driving an unsafe car on freeways with no shoulder in the mountains.

No car is the best though. Maybe if I were rich some day, I'd buy a car. I can imagine it would be cheaper than when there are 2 of us and a dog going some place a few hours away on the train - that's a pain too.

[Redstone]

22. If you do buy a new car, year-end closeouts are a terrific deal. Mrs R's Volvo S60 has

ALL the goodies - all-wheel drive, Sport package, Geartronic, cold-weather package, and was NINE THOUSAND DOLARS off sticker without even having to negotiate anything, because it was "last year's model" and the dealer needed to clear the space in his lot.

And, here's a plug: The Volvo S60 may very well be the single best family sedan / sport sedan ever made. Superbly comfortable seats, very good acceleration and cornering, large trunk, 31 MPG on the highway, smooth, pretty, and classy.

And durable: Even considering that we always take good care of our cars, it's bulletproof. 40,000 miles, and drives like the day we brought it home, with not one squeak or rattle, and NO trips to the service department except scheduled maintenance.

Buy one if you can. End of plug.

Redstone

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. Bought our first new car this year. :^) Figure we can never afford a house so why not at least

have a decent car, right?

[RoadRage]

24. I'll buy.. won't lease again

We got screwed at the end of a lease a few years ago.. we leased through a bank instead of the car company - and they had no interest in having us "release" again by offering to over look a 4 hail-damage dings, a scuff on the back seat, and a broken tail light. All told, we ended up paying $1300 at the end of that lease, where my brother had the same car (Chevy Blazer) with a lot more damage and they let him turn it in 4 months early with no penalty as long as he bought or leased another car from that dealer.

I don't mind buying new.. i like having a full waranty if things go wrong. We have a Honda Accord & a Pilot right now.. the Accord is 6 years old and doing great.. the Pilot is 2 years old with no problems. We keep cars about 8 years.. try to sell 'em ourselves and buy another one.

[THUNDER HANDS]

25. I bought a car that was less than a year old

does that count?

I got it for $3000 less than the new car value. It has 14,000 miles on it.

[Awsi Dooger]

26. I would never buy a new car

Talk about horrible value. I prioritize getting the best of it, and buying a new car is so far off the charts in terms of sensible value that I think I'd twist myself into a death spin if any part of me even considered buying new.

The best advice I ever heard regarding car shopping: Never buy a car within the same decade it was built. You'll never go wrong with that advice.

Meanwhile, the absolute dunces are people who trade in cars after only 3-4 years. I've talked to new car salesmen who say they have to restrain the laughter when the same ones do it over and again.