Do you REALLY need a new vehicle?

[smstonypoint]

Here are some visuals that demonstrate that we are keeping our vehicles longer. (I couldn't find a graph that covered 1970-2013).

Steve

 

[DFB]

Last "NEW" vehicle I bought was back in 1984! :laughing:

 

[Bird]

My '01 Ford Ranger has about 105k miles on it, the '02 Crown Vic has about 75k miles on it. If you look at Kelly Blue Book and/or NADA Guides, you'll find each of them is practically worthless. But I wouldn't take double the book retail value for either of them. Everything on them works as well as new, and any time something doesn't work right, they go to the dealer to be fixed. I probably have more "maintenance"; i.e., flush coolant, change transmission fluid, etc. done than most people. I may have to replace some tires this year, but I wouldn't hesitate at all to take off on a cross country trip in either of them on the spur of the moment. I figure there's a pretty good chance they'll outlast me.

 

[nirion]

Definately a want situation.

I decided to start leasing my wife's van because I realized I was going to trade it often anyway, so I might as well have cheaper payments. I am trying to do better about it, but I get bored and enjoy looking for a deal on a new purchase. The only one I buy brand new anymore is the van. Last year I bought a 2003 Ram 2500 quad cab diesel to replace my 94. I can almost call it a need because 3 people in a regular cab wasn't working well if you had to take anything with you inside the cab. Earlier this year, I bought a used Rav4 to drive to work, but since we have the Sienna and Ram, it wasn't a "need" either/

 

[hhsco]

Getting close to 200k on my '02 Chevy. I'm planning on keeping it "forever" but at some point it will have to be more a farm truck than a highway truck. At this time in its life it just seems like something always needs replacing- still cheaper than buying a new $40k truck, but just time consuming to have to keep working on it. Still, gonna be hard to find a new one with manual windows!

 

[Thomas]

New England winters mostly tells me to think about trading...4-5 years.
Don't mind paying little extra (new HD) if it means not lying in snow/mud etc..tinkering keep pickup running

 

[arrow]

Anyone can do whatever they want with their own money. Because its not a fit for me to rush out and buy new every 3 or 4 years, (maybe a little more as I have a 95 Dakota) doesn't mean someone else is thinking differently. As long as a person feels they are managing their finances well, no reasoning or comparisons are actually applicable. "Do you really need a new truck (or anything else "new" for that matter) can be justified depending on who you're talking to. My Dakota is quite quick. I put a lot of money into the engine and drive gear. Some think it absolutely ludicrous. I don't "need" to go as fast as the truck can but its just fun. Life is short and its something I can enjoy. Some things can't be measured with a $ sign as there are several kinds of "needs" that cannot always be objectively measured.

 

[Travelover]

I made a lot of money off people buying new vehicles and it still continues to fund my pension. That said, I'm in the "keep them for 10 years or more" club. Spend your money on whatever you want, just please don't whine later that you have no savings for a rainy day or retirement.

 

[grsthegreat]

i for one will NEVER buy another new vehicle... unless i win the lottery, then all bets are off.

I will only purchase something if i can pay cash for it. Back in 2009 i purchased a 2004 1/2 Diesel F350 4x4 extended cab with about 30,000 miles on it for $16,000 cash. its worked flawlessly. HAd the cash, so not an issue. In order to get a new one would have required a loan or other financial garbage that i wasnt willing to do.

50-60,000 for a truck is INSANE. Now i guess if i had a business that REQUIRED lots of hauling and driving things might sit differently, but heck i have 140,000 miles on a 2003 chevy van that i have to have for business, and im not in the market to upgrade. it moves alot of miles every year, but gets me there. Some day ill have to replace it, but it will NOT be a new rig. My 1994 dodge ram diesel has 260,000 on it. I did splurge and get it repainted though.

Lets see, 60,000 will get me a nice new play toy, or purchase 50-60% of a rental house here in north idaho. That truck would sure look good sitting in the gas station filling up with $150.00 worth of Diesel, while that rental house would be making me 900-1,000 per month income.

Guess what wins.

 

[smstonypoint]

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.

Pardon my language (economics), but you are applying a rule that will minimize your cost of owning and operating a vehicle over time. Replace your current vehicle (the defender) when the cost of keeping the vehicle an additional period (i.e., its marginal cost) exceeds the average periodic cost of a replacement (the challenger), assuming that the replacement is kept for an optimal amount of time (i.e., its average cost is minimized).

Steve