Know that when you buy a more expensive car, the cars have more things go wrong and higher service costs. We drove a crappy VW for 10 years, and never worried about maintenance because it was just a cheap car. We only spent $1000 over 10 years on any fixes, including new tires. Got an Audi after that, and couldn't believe the cost for regular maintenance. And then how much stuff is constantly going wrong in nicer cars. talked to my friends with peer cars and they're all in the same boat.

Also, we have historically been all about trying to save a little cash by buying used. But... we weren't looking to buy off craigslist or anything. So we found that once you start looking only at reputable sellers (dealerships, carmax etc), the discounts for used aren't that great. They basically reflect the depreciation of the car. But it's not that 30% nosedive in value that people always say that happens with cars as soon as you drive them off the lot. For us (and sounds like you too), we hold on to our cars for 10 years. But 10 years life is probably the best you can hope for before any car starts to require some major repair costs. So if you buy a 2 year old car, you can only count on 8 years before you start to count on problems. Given the only nominal discount you received for buying used, you are probably better off buying new and getting the full 10 years out of it. Just my experience.

CPO is the way to go. Most CPO are off leased vehicles so they are about 3 years old. You can search the local dealerships but I went straight to the USA websites (of the makes that you are interested in) and search for CPOs that way. I then narrow down to the Eastern region and target neighboring states. I got a better deal outside MD/DC/NoVA area (and the car was delivered to me at no charge, from NC, after a testdrive)

I'm very fiscally conservative, and I only buy cars with cash. We've just bought new, reasonably priced cars to save ourselves the hassle of doing tons of research on used cars. I figure if we are going to keep a car 12-15 years, I don't mind spending a little extra for a new car.
We go through internet dealers, and get the best price for the car we want and then go into the dealership and pick it up. No haggling/negotiating. Done'

First, decide whether you want a car to drive (German cars, Mazda, Subarus to some degree) or an appliance that gets you from A to B (Honda/Toyota, Hyundai...)
Then decide how much you can spend to buy and on an annual basis for maintenance, fuel
Put the two decisions together and you'll have the best car for you

BMW is going to kill you on parts and repairs in the long term (so will any german car), I would stay away.

Bear in mind that used vehicle certification from a dealer adds cost to the car, it's not free to the dealership and they pass the cost to you.

Get 1-2 year old car with low mileage. Check "True Price" to see for how much other people bought a similar car.

Find a good mechanic (if you don't have one) to inspect the car before purchasing (this was you dont' need certification to be sure it's not a lemon).

Go with a brand that has low maintenance costs and sells in high volume. Don't pay the luxury premium on BMW or Acura. Honda CRV is a good choice, if you want a third row of seats - Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander.

Anonymous wrote:We bought an Outback last year, and after tons of research, the "lightly used" vehicles were hardly cheaper than brand new with warranties (sometimes not cheaper at all). I'm guessing Foresters are similar. We waited until there were a few new but "last year" models on the lot and bought the new Outback, and like the previous poster said, rates were SO low (I can't remember, like .8%?) that we ended up financing about 1/2 of the purchase even though we could have paid cash. They seemed more inclined to drop a bit more off the price if we financed, and more came off the price than what we'd pay in interest on the finance, so that made the most sense.

That's just an example of a car that really holds its value though, and we knew we wanted an Outback. For less in-demand makes/models, it'd definitely be a different approach.

I bought a forester last year using this approach. I put $10,000 down and financed the rest at a ridiculously low rate. If you are not particular about color or accessories you can get better deals buying from the previous years inventory that the dealers want to get rid of to make room for the current year stock.

A lot of people have luck with the Costco car buying program.

We bought an Outback last year, and after tons of research, the "lightly used" vehicles were hardly cheaper than brand new with warranties (sometimes not cheaper at all). I'm guessing Foresters are similar. We waited until there were a few new but "last year" models on the lot and bought the new Outback, and like the previous poster said, rates were SO low (I can't remember, like .8%?) that we ended up financing about 1/2 of the purchase even though we could have paid cash. They seemed more inclined to drop a bit more off the price if we financed, and more came off the price than what we'd pay in interest on the finance, so that made the most sense.

That's just an example of a car that really holds its value though, and we knew we wanted an Outback. For less in-demand makes/models, it'd definitely be a different approach.

Why tie your cash up when rates are so low.

We bought a Forester in 2014. We had a hard time finding gently used ones on the market. I took that as a good sign, since people tend to buy them and hold on to them. It seemed you could save $5k to get a vehicle a few years old, but they all had about 80K in mileage. That wasn't worth it to me so we ended up buying new. If we'd had more time to wait for a good deal to pop up (a year or two old and low mileage to save a few thousand) we would have. But we didn't have the time to watch for it.

If you're concerned about long-term cost, you would look for a CRV over its RDX sibling, which also requires premium fuel, and you wouldn't even mention a BMW with their horrendous reliability and expensive repairs.

First set your budget. Than search through cars.com, craigslist etc. for the models that you want. Not sure how you can cross shop the X3 and the Forester even in the used space. You can't tell the cars are a good deal unless you have done your research online and than look for cars in the mileage and year you want.

If you don't know much about those different makes and models, I would test drive all of them for space, practicality, and if you need to carry car seats in them. This also includes sitting in the back seat.

Lastly, factor in maintenance and gas. The BMW and the older Acura RDX takes premium fuel. The BMW will cost alot more to maintain.

Anonymous wrote:Get quotes from multiple dealers. Are you going to decide on the car first and then shop around, or look for different cars in your price range and decide which one seems like the best deal?

I'm not tied to a particular brand, so I'm going to shop around but I only have about two weeks to buy the car....

Get quotes from multiple dealers. Are you going to decide on the car first and then shop around, or look for different cars in your price range and decide which one seems like the best deal?

After 8 years of living downtown and not owning a car, we are going to buy one. Paying cash. Looking for a suv - considering Acura RDX, BMW X3, Subaru Forester (and similar cars.) I assuming buying a couple years old is the "best deal." What else can we do to get a good deal? Thinking maybe like Carmax or certified pre-owned from the dealer - buying directly from a person is too stressful and worrisome. Any other tips for car buying to get the best deal?