New cars and trucks these days!

[fortyshooter]

Picked up my 2014 Ram truck yesterday at the dealer for it's annual State Inspection and a nice looking white Challenger with the
Shaker hood package caught my eye on the Used Car section. Sitting there facing me low and mean with those wide tires big chin spoiler and that black
Shaker hood scoop sitting on top of the 485 HP 392 Hemi....yeah it got my blood moving!
Found out it was a lightly used 2019 with 4500 miles on it and I am sure it was at least 39,900 Used based off of typical 46,000 new.

Anyway came to my senses this morning when I got a thing from the dealer in the mail about my 2014 Ram Hemi 1500 quad cab truck
which I bought from them about 5 yrs. ago for 29,000 out the door. It now has 27,000 miles on it and they happily tell me it's worth is now
an exciting 14,800! Duh.... worth more than that to me!

Yeah I could afford a new car but affording the huge depreciation is another thing given the high 40,000+ prices of todays iron!
According to them I lost almost 15,000 bucks in 5 yrs...OUCH! Makes that country property I bought 3 yrs. ago a REALLY good deal!

So when me and the wife are out an about and she ask me why I'm following so close behind that hot looking new Hemi Challenger
I just say I want to suck up some of the cash that's dropping off of it as it goes down the road!

[BrokenolMarine]

Yup, we usually got really great deals on the cars we bought because we made them SELL us a car and weren't afraid to walk out and actually leave, even after investing two or three hours in the attempt. The last vehicle we bought, we ate it on.

When we bought the car before it... I had bought a car the wife REALLY thought she wanted, and I got a great deal on it, 12k under retail. But, she ended up hating the dang thing, I hated it more, couldn't get in and out of it without a crane. We started looking to trade it after just six months... but in most cases, we couldn't come to terms. That 50k car was worth about half on trade in... After six months, with just 4k miles.

We finally made a deal, but really took a beating, first time in decades. Only excellent credit and like new condition got us out of that one. We are done buying cars, made sure we added another keeper.

Two trucks... Full size / mid size.

[BigAl52]

I hate buying cars and trucks. I looked at getting a new truck to pull our 5th wheel. The sticker shock was almost flooring. 75 to 80K for a new dually and then the thought of it losing about 10K when I sign the papers was more than I wanted to even attempt to do. My 06 Dodge is still in good shape I think I will keep it another 10 years.

[JEBar]

when we buy a vehicle we do so with a specific purpose in mind and we usually hold on it until it starts giving more trouble than we will put up with or the purpose is no longer there .... our 2000 Buick Park Avenue will soon be 20 years old and is a daily driver .... our 2005 Chevy Trailblazer will soon be 15 years old and is a daily driver .... my 2011 Chevy Silverado will son be 9 years old, its purpose is that of a truck and with it's 4-wheel drive, should an emergency arise in the winter, its the vehicle we would drive to my wife's home area in South Dakota .... my wife's 2016 Camaro is my wife's "I don't feel like driving a grandma car today" vehicle and is the one we would drive if for an emergency in South Dakota when snow/ice isn't a consideration .... our 12 year old, 2007 Sportchassis pulls our camper and is the only vehicle we have access to during the 6+ months we travel .... at some point we may replace my Silverado but, baring something totally unexpected, the earliest we will take a serious look at doing so won't be until 2022

[RanchRoper]

I can't wait for 2030 so I can get a 2020 F350....

[CT_Shooter]

I'll add my 2006 Chevy Colorado Truck and my 2008 Mercury Milan Sedan to this old car caravan. Both of them were bought new. The truck has 53,400 miles and the car has 109,000+ miles. Both have always been garaged, are regularly maintained, have no rust or dents, and perform today as well as they did when new. I have no reason to think I will purchase another vehicle for many more years, if ever. I certainly don't want one.

[Mags]

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We'll probably buy one more. But it will be a Certified Used.

[daytime dave]

My next door neighbor owns a used car business. His specialty is getting you just what you want. He kept after me until my last vehicle. It took him a month, but in the end, I had a choice of three colors. Not too shabby. I met him on his deck after dinner with his check in one hand and a vodka gimlet (his favorite) in the other. That was the best car buying experience I have ever had. I had a scotch and water in case you were wondering.
I saved a boat load by not going new. I got all the features I was looking for and several others I had not even thought of. His detailer made it look brand new. I like to hand wash and detail my vehicles, but I'm glad his guy did it first.

I would have been drooling over that Challenger too fortyshooter. Those cars can be a lot of fun. Not practical, but fun. Thanks for the fun thoughts.

[GunnyGene]

Ditto. I still drive my '87 6 cyl Ranger. It's a little beat up, but still runs and don't leak or smoke. Around 160K miles on it. I figure it'll last as long as I do, or until I can't drive anything.

[RanchRoper]

Still runnin' my 2010 F350....wife is in her 2005 F350.

[markiver54]

I will never buy a brand new vehicle.!

[cooperhawk]

I've had many new cars, that said now I purchase one year old vehicles since I retired. Right now I'm driving my 2015 Explorer which I got in 2016. This is my fourth Explorer. I purchased new a 1992, 1995 and then a used 2002 and now the 2015. They have served very well indeed.

I really liked the 2002 but my Wife said if I got a newer one our daughter in law needed a better vehicle and I could give it to her. Worked for me.

My Wife has a free car right now. Let me explain. In 2005 she purchased a new VW Jedda Diesel and liked it so well she traded it in 2012 for a Passat Diesel. Both vehicles got over 50 mpg on trips. Awesome!

Then of course the govt sued VW and demanded they get the diesels off the street. She loved the car so she waited until the last month to sell it back to VW. In return we drove out with a brand new VW Passat with a gas engine. All she paid was sales tax.

Wish we could do that every five or six years.

[cooperhawk]

And Oh Yeah, we are currently working on upgrades to my 1983 ford Bronco that I purchased new. In 1990 I put a snow plow on it and am still using it to plow. Our drive is half a mile plus I do two neighbors who have similar drives, and also the service road. All with the heater blowing and radio playing.

I don't think it owes me much more.

[Mags]

.
Although we don't buy new, I sure do appreciate the reliability and durability of the late model used cars we have gotten. Time was that a vehicle was considered high mileage and worn out as it approached 100,000 miles. Did my own maintenance back then, tuneups every 10-12,000 miles, brake jobs, etc.
These days, can't really work on these computerized engines, but then I haven't even had a reason to.

[clovishound]

I would disagree. You can work on the newer vehicles. Often, it takes a different set of skills than in the past. Some things haven't changed that much, other than there being little room to get to the offending item. Timing belt on my 72 Pinto was a 20 minute job. On my 91 Celica, it was an all day procedure.

[JEBar]

I sure do appreciate the reliability and durability of the late model used cars we have gotten. Time was that a vehicle was considered high mileage and worn out as it approached 100,000 miles. Did my own maintenance back then, tuneups every 10-12,000 miles, brake jobs, etc.

agree .... I well remember the days when a good running car/truck gasoline motor with 100,000 miles had probably already been rebuilt at least once .... the bodies would be in great shape but the motors wouldn't .... now days it hard to find a vehicle that hasn't been wrecked on a used car lot with less than 100,000 miles on it

[Mags]

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I wouldn't consider either of those vehicles as examples of 'newer' vehicles. Otherwise yes there are some low hanging fruit kinds of things to work on in newer model vehicles. But I almost never ever need to. I use cleanable air filters and quit changing my own oil. Too difficult to legally get rid of used oil. I do have a diagnostic tool to read the trouble codes. Every single time it's been an O2 sensor. Except for the 2001 Camry they were easy to replace.

I would disagree. You can work on the newer vehicles. Often, it takes a different set of skills than in the past. Some things haven't changed that much, other than there being little room to get to the offending item. Timing belt on my 72 Pinto was a 20 minute job. On my 91 Celica, it was an all day procedure.

[JEBar]

in 1978 I custom ordered a Jeep J10 pickup .... kept it 24 years, personally rebuilt its 360 cu in V8 twice .... no way I'd tackle an engine rebuild on one of today's production motors

[clovishound]

"I wouldn't consider either of those vehicles as examples of 'newer' vehicles."

Well, I consider the 72 Pinto an older vehicle. The 91 Celica is built like the newer ones. FWD, computer controlled, EFI.

The Pinto was toast at 140K, the Celica at 310K. Actually, at 310, the Celica engine was still going strong. Needed the transmission pulled and the car just wasn't worth it at that point. I think my transmission pulling days are over.

[BrokenolMarine]

My wife bought her Ford Festiva new, and I did all the maintenance, including changing the timing belt every 80,000 miles. I'm not, or ever been a formally trained mechanic, but I bought a Chilton's and "For Dummies" manual... Took my time, AND pictures when necessary, and laid the parts out on an eight foot folding table in groups and in order as they came off.

The little shoe box with wheels got 45 miles per gallon right up to the point I took the largest buck in the County with it when it jumped in front of the car on the way home from work... Taking out the entire right side. We had 240,000 miles on the car. The insurance company totaled the car, we bought it for $600.

Tina found another Festiva with a blown engine and I promised to transfer all the parts. I came home from work, she had it done. Drove it almost another year.