I have generally bought new as I don't want to have to worry about the maintenance that a previous owner may or may not have done.
With this being said, are there any real savings to buying a used car? The old adage that you lose $5K by driving it off the lot I believe is a myth.
I will go back and detail my car purchases since 2001. I will detail cost from maintenence (not including routine maintenance as ALL cars need this).
2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac XLT
I bought this vehicle for $23575, traded for $6500 in 2008 with ~95000 miles.
The 4.0L engine in the Sport Tracs from that era had EGR sensor problems(Ford knew about it and did nothing), so I had to replace the EGR sensor every 2 years to pass emissions. I replaced 3 EGR sensors at a cost of $35 each. Had to clear the codes, drive for about 20 miles, take it to the emissions place, and get my 2 year plate renewal. This was a total cost of about $$120.
Rotors got warped and had to replace the rotors, front wheel bearings, and grease seals. This was about $300. I was able to do the work myself. Is this considered normal maintenance?
2008 Silverado LT
I bought this truck for $22500, traded for $18000 in 2012 with ~73000 miles.
$100 maintenance to have passenger seat air bag sensor wiring harness cleaned. Apparently some slight corrosion got into the wiring harness and made the BCM(Body Control Module) go into an Immobilizer Theft Mode.
2013 Silverado LTZ
I bought this truck for $38700, still own.
No maintenance costs besides normal maintenance.
So over the last 14 years I have spent ~$500 in maintenance costs outside normal maintenance. No transmission, engine, drivetrain, computer, oil leaks, steering linkage, shocks, ball joints, interior stuff.
Needless to say the Ford definitely cost me the most money. We won't get into a debate of Ford vs. Chevy, but needless to say my Silverados IMO are 10X the vehicle the Sport Trac ever could be.
All in all, while you do pay more buying a new vehicle, you make up for it by not having to fix stuff that WILL need to be fixed as a vehicle gets to be 100K miles or older.
FYI, I don't keep a vehicle for longer than 100K miles.
With this being said, are there any real savings to buying a used car? The old adage that you lose $5K by driving it off the lot I believe is a myth.
I will go back and detail my car purchases since 2001. I will detail cost from maintenence (not including routine maintenance as ALL cars need this).
2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac XLT
I bought this vehicle for $23575, traded for $6500 in 2008 with ~95000 miles.
The 4.0L engine in the Sport Tracs from that era had EGR sensor problems(Ford knew about it and did nothing), so I had to replace the EGR sensor every 2 years to pass emissions. I replaced 3 EGR sensors at a cost of $35 each. Had to clear the codes, drive for about 20 miles, take it to the emissions place, and get my 2 year plate renewal. This was a total cost of about $$120.
Rotors got warped and had to replace the rotors, front wheel bearings, and grease seals. This was about $300. I was able to do the work myself. Is this considered normal maintenance?
2008 Silverado LT
I bought this truck for $22500, traded for $18000 in 2012 with ~73000 miles.
$100 maintenance to have passenger seat air bag sensor wiring harness cleaned. Apparently some slight corrosion got into the wiring harness and made the BCM(Body Control Module) go into an Immobilizer Theft Mode.
2013 Silverado LTZ
I bought this truck for $38700, still own.
No maintenance costs besides normal maintenance.
So over the last 14 years I have spent ~$500 in maintenance costs outside normal maintenance. No transmission, engine, drivetrain, computer, oil leaks, steering linkage, shocks, ball joints, interior stuff.
Needless to say the Ford definitely cost me the most money. We won't get into a debate of Ford vs. Chevy, but needless to say my Silverados IMO are 10X the vehicle the Sport Trac ever could be.
All in all, while you do pay more buying a new vehicle, you make up for it by not having to fix stuff that WILL need to be fixed as a vehicle gets to be 100K miles or older.
FYI, I don't keep a vehicle for longer than 100K miles.