Looking for a New Car
Posted on June 25, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized |
My brother bought his first car yesterday. It cost him a whopping $200, and it’s in surprisingly good shape. It’s actually in damn good shape. It’s missing a mirror, and will eventually need to have a bit of work done on the head gasket, but it looks to be in otherwise great shape. There might be something we’re not seeing, and it may die in 6 months but, for what he paid, that would still be a great deal.
Checking out his new car, and sitting inside of it for a couple of minutes made me think about getting a new car. My current car is slowly dying on me. It’s making strange noises, and it doesn’t quite get the same mileage it used to (likely because it’s no longer running even close to top shape). It’s at the point where I’m debating whether it’s worth paying money to get it fixed up and extend its life, or if that money would be better spent saving toward a down payment on a newer vehicle.
I don’t know that I’d buy a brand new vehicle. I would like to, but I don’t know that I can afford it at this point. I also know that buying a used car is an infinitely better financial choice than buying a new one. I still really want to buy an Escape Hybrid, though.
I never thought I’d ever want to buy an SUV, but it just fits for the lifestyle I live (camping is something I enjoy doing, but it’s very difficult to go camping with more than two people in my tiny car–I’ve done it, and I’m not sure I want to attempt it again). Thankfully, hybrid SUVs are now available (both Ford and Toyota make one, though the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is significantly out of my price range, and apparently doesn’t get anywhere near the rated gas mileage).
Most likely, I’ll be able to just drive the ol’ Acura until it dies. By then, I should have all of my remaining debts paid off, and will be able to afford the monthly payments on an Escape Hybrid.
I imagine a few people might be reading this and thinking about suggesting that, if I really want a new car, I could always lease one. There are a few reasons why I wouldn’t do this. Mainly it’s because, although the monthly payments are usually less, unless I buy out the lease, I’ll never own the vehicle, so I’ll have essentially been paying rent for 24 months.
If I did decide to buy out the lease, I’d be paying significantly more money overall than if I’d simply got financing to purchase the vehicle in the first place. Additionally, for reasons that I’m not 100% sure of (though I have heard speculation from people who have worked for Ford), the Hybrid Escape actually costs more per month to lease than it does with purchase financing (by almost $100 a month). If the Escape is the vehicle I end up buying, the cheaper option would obviously be to purchase it rather than lease it.
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