US Cars Being Kept To Record Age - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

aklim · #31 01-18-2012, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jplinville

When you can take a few months and save for the purchase versus taking on debt, it's even better.

I've been eyeball deep in debt in the past, and vow to never get that way again. as long as I can save for something, I will.

It's called living within your means. The whole "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality is part of what has screwed up our economy. I see people dropping perfectly good cell phones for the latest and greatest, when the old one was perfectly fine and worked quite well. I've seen people do the same with cars...it happens all the time, and they wind p getting deeper in debt for it.

Hey, if you can afford to throw good money away like that, then go for it...just don't go into debt for it.

When someone defaults on a loan, it drives up the cost for the same product in the future...companies need to recoup their legal fees somehow.

As I have always said, part of the reason for default is simply a lack of consequence for the default. As long as the consequence is low, why not? I'd borrow till it went past my eyeballs and say "Sorry, Mea Culpa. Default time" when there is no real penalty. OTOH, if you tossed those that didn't pay into prison, I'll bet you will see a drop in the default rates.

mgburg · #32 01-18-2012, 01:39 PM

My stable is averaging 35.6 years old...and that's including the bike. NOT included is the "daily ride" since it's a "company vehicle" and not mine to buy/sell/trade.

Also...paying cash for the vehicles is the way to go...save for an anticipated purchase, maintain/fix what you own and buy only that which you can afford to maintain/fix.

Most folks talk about their new vehicle, but you never hear them talking about the everyday items...like tires, wash & waxes, filters, blades, etc....and when that stuff comes due...then they 8!tch...'cause they didn't save up for it, either because they're extended too much in everything else or they're upside down in the car to begin with. Insurance is the neccessary evil, so either with, or without, a car payment, you'll still need to feed that meter...and newer cars are ALWAYS more expensive to cover than an older one...another savings most folks forget to factor in.

Me? My insurance for the 2 MBs, the Van and the bike run me around $700/year...and that's with a $500 deduct. and 4xs the state minimum coverage...

jplinville · #33 01-18-2012, 02:44 PM

My stable here in PA averages out to 17.75 years old.

Those in Ohio average 30.25 years old.

I've never been one to get rid of a car if it's still running and in decent shape. I've owned only 2 brand new vehicles in my life. I can't imagine buying another in my life. The car depreciates by 10% before the ink dries on the paperwork. I'd rather buy good, used cars because it makes more sense.

aklim · #34 01-18-2012, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jplinville

My stable here in PA averages out to 17.75 years old.

Those in Ohio average 30.25 years old.

I've never been one to get rid of a car if it's still running and in decent shape. I've owned only 2 brand new vehicles in my life. I can't imagine buying another in my life. The car depreciates by 10% before the ink dries on the paperwork. I'd rather buy good, used cars because it makes more sense.

I don't know how true this is but I heard that a Porsche depreciates 40% after a couple of years. I bought a new car back in the end of 91 when they were trying to get rid of them to make way for the 92s because I knew nothing about cars and didn't know how to maintain them and needed a warranty till I could figure them out. Now, I will buy them when the come off lease.

tbomachines · #35 01-18-2012, 02:54 PM

Mine average out to 17.3 and that's with a 4 month old car in the mix. Buying new works in some situations. Depreciation is something that you'll need to accept but shopping smart can mitigate it. The one I bought conveniently has excellent resale value thankfully, should I have to get rid of it I would not have much of a financial hit. If anything the peace of mind and convenience of a bran new waranteed car are worth the price sometimes (this after toiling with MBs for years)

aklim · #36 01-18-2012, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbomachines

Mine average out to 17.3 and that's with a 4 month old car in the mix. Buying new works in some situations. Depreciation is something that you'll need to accept but shopping smart can mitigate it. The one I bought conveniently has excellent resale value thankfully, should I have to get rid of it I would not have much of a financial hit. If anything the peace of mind and convenience of a bran new waranteed car are worth the price sometimes (this after toiling with MBs for years)

You can mitigate depreciation by driving it into the ground. So if you buy a new car today, you will take the hit in the shorts tomorrow but the longer you hold on, the less painful it will be. Drive it into the ground and it will feel like a good job that was done on you. I got my E300 at 55K and we put 300K on it so far.

jplinville · #37 01-18-2012, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

I don't know how true this is but I heard that a Porsche depreciates 40% after a couple of years. I bought a new car back in the end of 91 when they were trying to get rid of them to make way for the 92s because I knew nothing about cars and didn't know how to maintain them and needed a warranty till I could figure them out. Now, I will buy them when the come off lease.

That's how I've been buying the newer ones over the last 8 years. Lease returns are generally well maintained and still under a small warranty. They are much cheaper than new.

tbomachines · #38 01-18-2012, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

You can mitigate depreciation by driving it into the ground. So if you buy a new car today, you will take the hit in the shorts tomorrow but the longer you hold on, the less painful it will be. Drive it into the ground and it will feel like a good job that was done on you. I got my E300 at 55K and we put 300K on it so far.

Yep, I plan on keeping it a good 10+ years at least...was bought with that intent (such as 4 doors so kids can get in...kids...

). Cpo is a great option too, mainly if you're paying outright. For me it didn't make much sense (and I had trouble finding nice cpo vehicles in my case). I could either take out a loan at like 12% for a used vehicle, or get 0% for a brand new one and obviously pay more for the car itself. A lot of manufacturers have special cpo offers but they're still nowhere near as good as the new car offers. In the end with interest factored in, I end up paying less or about the same for a new car bs something with 30-40k of mystery miles and the bank owns less of my money in the end. I love my old Mercedes but keeping them on the road takes time and space that I don't really have

gatorblue92 · #39 01-18-2012, 08:41 PM

I'm doing my part to push it in both directions with a 35 and 28 year old Benz but I also have a 2011 Honda and 2012 Nissan...

The Clk Man · #40 01-18-2012, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gatorblue92

I'm doing my part to push it in both directions with a 35 and 28 year old Benz but I also have a 2011 Honda and 2012 Nissan...

Is Nissan the one that is offering a lifetime warranty?

tbomachines · #41 01-18-2012, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gatorblue92

I'm doing my part to push it in both directions with a 35 and 28 year old Benz but I also have a 2011 Honda and 2012 Nissan...

What models are new, out of curiosity? Always like hearing "real world" feedback

Hatterasguy · #42 01-18-2012, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spdrun

If you have a paid-off home and want to borrow against the equity at a low rate to finance things that may be more expensive to finance by themselves (used cars, student loans), why not? Borrowing > 75% of the value of the home isn't a good idea. But taking cash out of the home isn't a bad idea BY ITSELF! Debt isn't good or bad. Debt is a tool that's often abused.

I don't buy that.

If you have good credit you can get just as low of a rate on a car loan as a HELOC. Heck GM hands out 0% financing like candy, most car manufactures do.

I'd rather have a car loan and a paid off house vs a paid off car and a $30k note on the house.

If things go bad let them take the car, who cares its just going to ding your credit a bit. Let the bank have it and go buy a $2k 300D.

However if you can't make payments on your HELOC they will come after you, they have a lot more recourse.

spdrun · #43 01-18-2012, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

If you have good credit you can get just as low of a rate on a car loan as a HELOC. Heck GM hands out 0% financing like candy, most car manufactures do.

But it's a lot cheaper to finance a non-dealer used car with a HELOC. What kind of f***ing moron buys new or from a dealer. Dealers are almost all crooks. Initial depreciation is for some other dumb prick to eat.

Hatterasguy · #44 01-18-2012, 10:41 PM

New makes a lot of sense I really don't know what your talking about.

But if you insist on financing a used car which I really don't understand why anyone would, and you have good credit you can go to a credit union and get just about the same interest rate as a HELOC.