I recently purchased a brand new car. I know what you’re going to say: I wasted my money, that I lost at least $3000 the minute I drove it off the lot, that I could have got a better deal with a used car, blah blah blah. I don’t care.
Normally, I would have bought a demo or courtesy car with low mileage in the “going out” model year (2010), but, after some fabulous negotiating, we were able to buy the 2011 for the same cost so we went for it.
Buying A Brand New Car
When we have purchased a brand new car in the past, we kept it for 12 to 15 years. Used cars we have purchased lasted us only about three or four years and cost a lot in repairs and service.
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I bought a 5-year-old Bonneville from a co-worker. Even after an independent mechanic inspected it and gave it the thumbs up, we had nothing but trouble with it from day one.
The “check engine” light was on more often than off, and it continuously lost power. For a big car, it had no guts on the highway and could barely climb a hill. It even stalled out about 2 feet from the LRT tracks – talk about hair-raising.
After putting in thousands of dollars to try to fix it, I finally walked away from it when it stalled on a 2-lane road during rush hour. I never wanted to see it again.
Another used car disaster I bought was a Mercury lease vehicle that had been turned in after the four-year lease was up.
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This lemon was in the shop more than in my possession. Warranties were still in effect so the costs to me weren’t as high, but the car dealership just couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it.
It finally died on the highway on route to a family gathering that I had to miss while I had the car towed back to the city. The motor had burned out and the dealer offered me a whopping $500 towards another used vehicle because they couldn’t repair it. I gave that a pass.
I may have just had bad luck, but used vehicles just don’t work for me. When I buy a new car, I know all the regular service is being done on a timely basis and I know how the car has been driven.
I’m leery of cars being sold that are only one or two years old – what is the matter with them? You might think I’m an idiot, but ultimately my time and (especially) my peace of mind are much more important in this case than saving some money.
