Car upgrade will set me back 3 years

I was thinking of buying a 2 year old car but how can you be sure you are getting a good car. You dont know how a person has treated the car. Even if you get a mechanic to do a thorough check on it before you buy it. And yes I know I could save heaps if i went this option. Prob 10 K.

ok, i think i have an idea! Mum said in the next couple of years she needs to upgrade from her hyundai sportswagon. Its an early 2000 model i think. I'll have to ask her. Anyway I know that she has treated the car well. Its in pretty good shape, hasn't done that many k's. I'm thinking I might buy it off her when she decides to buy a new car. This could be a good option. I wonder how much id have to pay for it? Any ideas?
 
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anyone that buys a new car is a mug in my opinion...

i buy 12 mths-18 mth old vehicles from auctions in sydney....

im in qld so no real dramas for me, no idea why others dont do it.

had some bargains over the years;

in 2006 i scored a 05 camry for $10k, still have the old girl and will flick it next mth and get my money back up where i live, then start all over again..

you should be doing the same cause new cars depreciate way too quick...

tax advantages etc for business are well and good but the depreciation still kills vehicles big time now days..
 
Hmmm, new car and put investing off for 3-4 years.
Or, keep investing....
Close call there.

How is a 15 year old car dangerous to drive, especially if you owned it from new?
 
My '95 Lancer gets me around just fine... I'll buy a 'used' government car if I have to (read: if it dies completely) from the auctions. Until that day however, the Lancerghini serves me just fine. No A/C, No CD player, 3/4 Windows work... But it does what I need it to do.
 
I'm in the same boat as Alex (my thread here if anyone wants to recommend a wagon ~ $35k! )
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67915
/hijack


How is a 15 year old car dangerous to drive, especially if you owned it from new?

Don't know about Alex, but my 16 yo sedan has no airbags, ABS, etc... most older cars don't have great ANCAP ratings.

Csc, what auctions do you go to? Do you mean things like pickles auctions?
 
Hmmm, new car and put investing off for 3-4 years.
Or, keep investing....
Close call there.

How is a 15 year old car dangerous to drive, especially if you owned it from new?


It just doesn't feel safe to drive anymore. Its feeling sluggish too. Before I do anything though I will talk to my mechanic after he has serviced it. If he says thats it fine and hang onto it then I will. Maybe it just needs a service and it will feel a bit safer I dunno. lol every year or so I have this same discussion. I am going to try to hang onto to it for as long as possible lol
 
Ideally if I can I'd like to buy property #3 in 2012 and then if I need to I'd buy the new car aftwards sometime. But I dunno if I would be able to finance a car loan if I were making repayments on 3 properties. I wonder if the banks would lend me money for a car?? Can someone help with an answer please
 
ya know what... i dont think i could bring myself to buying again

i want another property more!!!

arrgggh dilemma. hmmm maybe i should just wait until it dies on me and then buy another car. i could just hang onto my car for as long as possible.
 
But I dunno if I would be able to finance a car loan if I were making repayments on 3 properties. I wonder if the banks would lend me money for a car?? Can someone help with an answer please
This is what I'd do - Contact the lender of my PPOR and ask if I could refinance for an extra $10k. I'd rather pay 7% on the loan than up to 15% for a car loan.. Then I'd buy a Toyota Corolla with the minimum number of k's (for $10k). I wouldn't touch a Hyundai with a 1000ft pole.. There is a reason they're so cheap :rolleyes:
 
This is what I'd do - Contact the lender of my PPOR and ask if I could refinance for an extra $10k. I'd rather pay 7% on the loan than up to 15% for a car loan.. Then I'd buy a Toyota Corolla with the minimum number of k's (for $10k). I wouldn't touch a Hyundai with a 1000ft pole.. There is a reason they're so cheap :rolleyes:

my ppor is cross x with my ip. would i need to uncross the loans first? Also my ppor loan is interest only
 
we had that argument with ourselves this year too.

both hubby and i were due for new cars, having bought 2nd hand and held them for 10 years.

i scored a very nice 2yr old corolla hatch with only 37,000km for $16,000 ... hubby got a :eek: 2009 mitsubishi pajero diesel with only 10,000km for :eek: $47,000.

so, all up we spent (including stamp duty, rego's etc) $70,000 ... ! two ip deposits!

sheesh that was a big year. won't be getting anything new for another 10 years+ ... but both the old cars were to the stage that serious money was going to have to be spent.
 
I get ya. My DH needs a new vehicle badly but the thought of forking out roughly 10k makes me sick. I want that on our PPOR. We are very lucky in that he is Mr Fixit and has saved us thousands by repairing it himself.

I agree with the others, we buy at auction and generally go for ex-govt vehicles. Again we are lucky in that DH can look over a car just as a mechanic would and know if it's sound and a good buy. My lovely car was 8K and only a few years old.
 
...he is Mr Fixit and has saved us thousands by repairing it himself.

That's a big bonus. I used to always say a new car is a waste of money and couldn't understand why people did it. I had old cars for the first 10 years of my driving and dad could often fix them when they broke down, but it was a constant case of nagging and begging which I got sick of and wanted to be totally independant.

I got fed up with them breaking down after 10 years of it and one day when it broke down in the middle of an intersection in the rain, that was the final straw. I decided then and there I was going brand new. However, I went for something that was cheap (Mazda 2) and something I could afford to pay cash outright for.

Alex, I can appreciate where you are coming from, although if I were you, and if the car can get you through another couple of years without any expensive repairs I'd try and hold out and save up the cash for something a bit cheaper. Is it really essential you need a sportswagon? I certainly wouldn't be financing a brand new one over the next five years or so at this point in your investing. However, as a female myself who knows nothing about cars other than where the oil and water goes, I can appreciate wanting something new that is almost guaranteed to be reliable.
 
Don't know about Alex, but my 16 yo sedan has no airbags, ABS, etc... most older cars don't have great ANCAP ratings.

It didn't have all that stuff when you bought it, and now, all of a sudden, after all this time; you must have it? :confused:

For anyone who isists on buying cars on Ebay or any of those private sale sites; buyer beware.

We have seen some very, very sad results at our workshop.

Yes; you might be saving a bit of dough to do this rather than do it through a dealer, but there is no warranty.

We saw one which had no compliance plate on the car - and it had been issued with a roadworthy certificate :eek:

If you are going to do it the Ebay/private sale way, insist on getting it checked over buy either a local mechanic or have an RACV check done. Cost? about $150-$200 to get a report on anything wrong.

As for new cars; don't ever do it - it financially a dumb move, and these days most cars are still very good after 18 months - virtually brand new, and about 2/3rd of the new car price.
 
We need a new car. Like our house, the old one is too small (government regulations for car seats ... have you seen the SIZE of car seats?). We are going to get a 1 or 2yo station wagon, budget of $20k, at the auctions when we've sold our house. My current car I bought 2 years old 8 years ago and it is just fine. Has a few holes in the carpet and lots of stone chips in the paintwork, but I can live with those.

I have the option of having a paid off house AND buying a car cash, I'd rather do that than have 2 properties, 2 mortgages and a car loan :p

I still want to buy the land down the road though, they've reduced the price. Could get a solid $400k out of that block over a few years.
 
SA government auctions are a good source of used cars if you want something large at a good price. Think 2 years old, maybe half new price.
 
Hi Alex,

I have a Hyundai Getz '05 & I love it! I reckon you could fold the back seats down & get a bike in the back no worries.

A car gets you from A to B, that's it. If it has 4 wheels & is waterproof, I don't think I need much more.

If yours is still running fine, why trade it? I have a sneaking suspicion you're going through a phase where you 'want' this new car, but don't actaully need it? Keep focused on your investing goals & one day you can buy your dream car outright & not even worry about the immediate depreciation as soon as you drive it off the lot :)
 
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