Do you REALLY need a new vehicle?

[JDgreen227]

My brother is coming out this morning to return my utility trailer that he borrowed last fall, and show off his new pickup. He has always been one of those guys who trades in for a new model every 2-3 years and never own one that is paid for. As for me, I have been driving the same full size SUV since Y2K and it has been paid off for ten years now, and I feel no urge to replace it as the body and drivetrain are still in excellent condition. Need to install new brakes this year and flush the cooling system and replace the coolant and replace the window motor in a passenger side window. So, doing all that means I am looking at $500 worth of repairs, maximum, which is about one monthly payment of about 100 on a new $55,000 Yukon XL. It always baffles me why people replace a perfectly good and paid-off vehicle and end up with another round of payments just to have a newer vehicle. My GF has a 3 year old Malibu, 40,000 miles and one more year of payments...it needs tires soon and brakes next year...and she wants to buy a new one NOW...makes no sense to me at all.

Did you buy a new vehicle because you NEEDED it, or because you WANTED it?

 

[SteelonSteel]

My brother is coming out this morning to return my utility trailer that he borrowed last fall, and show off his new pickup. He has always been one of those guys who trades in for a new model every 2-3 years and never own one that is paid for. As for me, I have been driving the same full size SUV since Y2K and it has been paid off for ten years now, and I feel no urge to replace it as the body and drivetrain are still in excellent condition. Need to install new brakes this year and flush the cooling system and replace the coolant and replace the window motor in a passenger side window. So, doing all that means I am looking at $500 worth of repairs, maximum, which is about one monthly payment of about 100 on a new $55,000 Yukon XL. It always baffles me why people replace a perfectly good and paid-off vehicle and end up with another round of payments just to have a newer vehicle. My GF has a 3 year old Malibu, 40,000 miles and one more year of payments...it needs tires soon and brakes next year...and she wants to buy a new one NOW...makes no sense to me at all.

Did you buy a new vehicle because you NEEDED it, or because you WANTED it?

Used to buy when I wanted one! Now I buy when the problems with the truck keep happening often enough that they limit me from doing things. This year I picked up my elderly mother to got to my sister's place for Christmas dinner and my linkage for my transmission broke due to rust. I squeezed my fat carcass under the running board and zip tied it. Replaced the zip tie a couple times too before going to a friend's garage where he knocked out the broken stud on the part and we welded in a bolt.

My truck is a 2004 Suburban, I like it, it has plenty of power, is clean inside and has less than 100k on it due to also having a company take home car. The downsides is it's blossoming body rust now, the brake lines are tinting my brake fluid so the lines need replacing, and as the mechanic friend of mine said; "your dashboard looks like Christmas tree lights", yep lots of the stupid codes coming up these days. In my state those error codes will trip me up at next inspection. Now that I've moved my household and don't plan on going anywhere for ten years I just might downside trucks. I haven't had a truck payment in 9 years. The cash I saved gave me a very sizeable chunk for the house deposit, enough set aside for adding a garage, and buying the Kubota outright. Yea you might say I have spending issues; I don't spend often!

 

[murphy1244]

My brother is coming out this morning to return my utility trailer that he borrowed last fall, and show off his new pickup. He has always been one of those guys who trades in for a new model every 2-3 years and never own one that is paid for. As for me, I have been driving the same full size SUV since Y2K and it has been paid off for ten years now, and I feel no urge to replace it as the body and drivetrain are still in excellent condition. Need to install new brakes this year and flush the cooling system and replace the coolant and replace the window motor in a passenger side window. So, doing all that means I am looking at $500 worth of repairs, maximum, which is about one monthly payment of about 100 on a new $55,000 Yukon XL. It always baffles me why people replace a perfectly good and paid-off vehicle and end up with another round of payments just to have a newer vehicle. My GF has a 3 year old Malibu, 40,000 miles and one more year of payments...it needs tires soon and brakes next year...and she wants to buy a new one NOW...makes no sense to me at all.

Did you buy a new vehicle because you NEEDED it, or because you WANTED it?

I will be replacing my 09 in a year or two. I also have a 95 WT chevy the 09 has 115000 and the 95 has 97000 very hard miles.

 

[arnoldziffel]

In our household we almost always follow our standing rule about keeping our vehicles: At least 10 years or 250,000 miles whichever comes first.

This has worked well for us.

 

[Diamondpilot]

My brother is coming out this morning to return my utility trailer that he borrowed last fall, and show off his new pickup. He has always been one of those guys who trades in for a new model every 2-3 years and never own one that is paid for. As for me, I have been driving the same full size SUV since Y2K and it has been paid off for ten years now, and I feel no urge to replace it as the body and drivetrain are still in excellent condition. Need to install new brakes this year and flush the cooling system and replace the coolant and replace the window motor in a passenger side window. So, doing all that means I am looking at $500 worth of repairs, maximum, which is about one monthly payment of about 100 on a new $55,000 Yukon XL. It always baffles me why people replace a perfectly good and paid-off vehicle and end up with another round of payments just to have a newer vehicle. My GF has a 3 year old Malibu, 40,000 miles and one more year of payments...it needs tires soon and brakes next year...and she wants to buy a new one NOW...makes no sense to me at all.

Did you buy a new vehicle because you NEEDED it, or because you WANTED it?

You are the exception on miles. I put 20,000 plus miles a year on my truck. I bet I put 12,000 of them miles actually doing work. IE pulling a serious trailer behind, my lightest load is 7,000#, or with the bed stuffed to the gills. 5 years is about where I feel comfortable depending on it daily. When they hit 130,000 miles or so it's time to go for me.

If i can dump them at 95,000 miles before the magic 100,000 mile number its so much easier to sell them.

Chris

 

[forgeblast]

My last car was a freebie I was going to drive it until my wife's car was paid off and then buy a truck. Well the freebie died so we donated it to our local career and technical high school, and I had a choice, get a car I did not want because i could afford it, or lease. I chose the lease and we were able to pay off my wife's car almost 10 months early. The lease is up in October, and then I will be looking at trucks. I am thinking of a 2013. Still new enough for a warranty, but old enough to save the $$ of driving a new car off the lot.

 

[newbury]

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"
We tend to keep them well repaired, lubed and good condition. I've had 3 vehicles towed off in almost 50 years of owning road vehicles:
One '81 Dodge van that had an EXPENSIVE engine problem at about 12 years that we finally got rid of about '07
A '78 Cutlass that my stepson attempted to "fix" the dash on about 1998 and couldn't put back together
A ''?96? Saturn we bought used for my daughter that developed a bad rust condition in the frame when she left a window open over the winter at college about 2004 and we got rid of it about 2009.

My Dad used to get a new car about every 4 years, I always have found that shiny penny wise and pound foolish. I've a "Fleet" of 5 road vehicles, average age 15 years, all except my 2002 F350 bought new (Couldn't find a new 7.3 dually). Of course that doesn't include my '59 basket case Harley

New cars used to be a "driving" force in the US economy, just like new houses. Neither need to wear out if well built and well maintained, just like tractors.

 

[jlgurr]

Bought my current vehicle because it was needed to pull new-to-us our travel trailer. Traded a 50,000 mile Tacoma (loved that truck) for a 90,000 mile 2000 Tundra. It's been paid for so long that I can't even remember what the payment amount was. Rolled 272,000 miles last week and just replaced the water pump for the FIRST time. Didn't do it because there was a problem only because it was time for the third timing belt and you have to remove it in order to replace the pump. No major problems, very dependable, so why get rid of it.

My wife's vehicle was great too but we needed to upsize from a G6 to an SUV before the twins arrived. There was no way we could haul our family around in either the G6 or the Tundra and Jeff is not going to drive a mini-van.

The only car bought because I *wanted* it was the Pontiac Fiero in 1986. Sure wish I still had that car...

 

[buickanddeere]

I buy new or a dealer demo. Then drive it until it's cheaper to buy another they vehicle than repair the old. Of course around here road salt destroys an non oiled vehicle in 10yrs or less. Even if oiled the road salt plays havoc rusting everything away or stuck tight.
A couple of $2000 repair bills on an old vehicle makes payments on a new vehicle with warranty look pretty good.

 

[Turbys_1700]

When I was younger I wanted new...
As I have gotten older the last 5 vehicles I have purchased were used...
The last 3 cars had high mileage but were one owners so I got into them inexpensively...
Guess I have been fortunate but I do have an excellent mechanic that has his own shop and repairs are low compared to dealer costs...
It has worked out great thus far...
I figure that when I retire whenever that is I will buy my last "new" vehicle as a present...