As I am still working on my 1st quarter numbers, my Internet went out and who knows how long it will be out...Charter Sucks! So I am knocking out this post as I eat a sandwich at my desk and dream of holding these Ninja Bills at bay!
Neat report on Yahoo today about new cars that lose their value the quickest. Nothing is a better feeling then driving home in that new car, neighbors saying, "Hey Bob...Nice Car!" no spilled Cheerios in the back...or dog hair (we don't even have a dog either). But all of this is balanced out by one little personal finance fact: Buying a new car is a horrible financial decision!
You take 10%+ of the value of the car and flush it for just driving off the lot. And to make it worse, most people finance them...and not great rates. So you are spending current dollars in the future for something that's always losing value.
Just buying a 2-3 year old car can save thousands of dollars and will probably still have most of its warrantee intact. As bad as this call can be you can make it worse by driving a car that depreciated even quicker!
- Kia Sedona
- Lincoln Town Car
- Suzuki Reno
- Suzuki Forenza
- Suzuki Aerio
- Mercury Grand Marquis
- Dodge Durango
- Chevy Uplander
As a point of reference the KIA only retains 20% of it purchase price value after a typical five year ownership! Five years isn't uncommon of car loans anymore either, which makes the impact worse.
A new car is fun and feels good, but is it really worth this big of an economic impact on your personal finances and budget?
2 Comments:
It's pretty insane. I can't imagine how depressed I'd feel if something I bought immediately lost a lot of its value. And in 3 months, who's going to be able to tell it's not just last year's model anyway. Even a single year can keep you stylish and save a lot. It's not like they don't make used cars look awesome anyway.
Great Point Mrs M - Feel great for 2 weeks, pay for it for four+ years? No thanks!
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