Am I being unnecessarily cheap about new car purchase?

[Anonymous]

We have a HHI of $300K. My previous car purchases have all been used or CPO vehicles. I’m car shopping now and want a larger vehicle for our family (I currently have a 10 yr old grand Cherokee that is surprisingly too small for comfort and needs repairs that are close to its actual value. I don’t want a Yukon or anything that large but a minivan or 3rd row midsize SUV would work.

My problem is I really don’t want to pay more than $40K and I’m even uncomfortable at that level. My budget and financial advisor say I can afford a car worth more than that but mentally, I can’t wrap my head around a $600+ car note. I am leaning towards buying new because I want something extremely reliable and used car prices aren’t that much of a savings right now but when it’s time to pull the trigger, I get cold feet.

Am I being ridiculous? What’s the saying…a penny wise and a pound foolish? Or something like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a HHI of $300K. My previous car purchases have all been used or CPO vehicles. I’m car shopping now and want a larger vehicle for our family (I currently have a 10 yr old grand Cherokee that is surprisingly too small for comfort and needs repairs that are close to its actual value. I don’t want a Yukon or anything that large but a minivan or 3rd row midsize SUV would work.

My problem is I really don’t want to pay more than $40K and I’m even uncomfortable at that level. My budget and financial advisor say I can afford a car worth more than that but mentally, I can’t wrap my head around a $600+ car note. I am leaning towards buying new because I want something extremely reliable and used car prices aren’t that much of a savings right now but when it’s time to pull the trigger, I get cold feet.

Am I being ridiculous? What’s the saying…a penny wise and a pound foolish? Or something like that.

I just bought one for 30k and my car payment is more than 600 per month (but only put down $500 b/c rate was only 2.9% for 48 months)

You can't buy much with 40k

[Anonymous]

$40,000 for a 3 row new SUV is too low. minimum for the type of SUV that you want would be $50,000 including sales tax.

If safety and reliability are priorities, then $50,000 for a comfortable vehicle should be viewed as a reasonable and necessary expense in order to protect yourself and your family.

[Anonymous]

Keep the grand Cherokee a few more years. You say the repairs are near it’s value but the relevant metric is are the repairs more than 6000 per year which would be the price of your monthly payments on a new car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep the grand Cherokee a few more years. You say the repairs are near it’s value but the relevant metric is are the repairs more than 6000 per year which would be the price of your monthly payments on a new car.

Not sure if I agree with this comparison.

[Anonymous]

$40k I not that much. I'm surprised you were not worried about driving the cars you have been driving. Get a Honda or a Mazda.

[Anonymous]

Pay cash if you don’t want a note. It will be hard to find bigger fo that price.

[Anonymous]

Always buy used and pay cash. Never buy new. Save your extra money. Live practically and frugally as much as possible. The more you owe, the less freedom you have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always buy used and pay cash. Never buy new. Save your extra money. Live practically and frugally as much as possible. The more you owe, the less freedom you have.

In the current market,low mileage used vehicles that are up to 3 years old, often sell at the same price as a new vehicle. Some used vehicles are actually priced higher than a new vehicle because the used vehicle is on the car dealer's lot ready for delivery rather than waiting 3 to 6 months for a new vehicle to arrive. Additionally, new vehicles come with 3 year warranties.

[Anonymous]

Pay cash or get the car then pay off the note immediately. I wouldn't buy a car I couldn't pay for with cash, unless mine was totaled. It sounds like this is trying to replace a car before you end up stranded. Buy one for cash.

[Anonymous]

I don’t plan on ever buying a new car again. They’re all garbage now. Why pay a premium for garbage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always buy used and pay cash. Never buy new. Save your extra money. Live practically and frugally as much as possible. The more you owe, the less freedom you have.

Nowdays there is no extra money. If you put some efforts into finding a new car, you can buy cheaper than 1-3 yo used cars. I recently purchased a subaru and it was $1200 lower than 3 year old w/ 48000 miles from carmax. no joke. Same model, same trim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep the grand Cherokee a few more years. You say the repairs are near it’s value but the relevant metric is are the repairs more than 6000 per year which would be the price of your monthly payments on a new car.

Not sure if I agree with this comparison.

Well for a 10 year old grand Cherokee I’d be surprised if the repairs even added up to 6k a year on any given year. That’s a lot of repairs for a car that’s only 10 years old. The other hand is he is out literally tens of thousands on a new car, which may eventually need repairs as soon as it’s out of warranty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always buy used and pay cash. Never buy new. Save your extra money. Live practically and frugally as much as possible. The more you owe, the less freedom you have.

This is horrible advice when looking through the lens of the current car buying market.

[Anonymous]

Based on your reasons for buying a new car, I think you’re being extravagant.