if you do craigslist do a car facts check. my brother and dad almost got swindled a month ago.

td11 wrote:my budget is like 6000 max. this is going to be terrible

is that what you have saved or you doing a loan?

I do think the conventional wisdom regarding used v. new is weakened by the high cost of used cars and the risk of a used car. That's offset I suppose by the increase durability of all cars. That used care with 40k probably has another 100k left in it. But still, a 20% discount isn't enough.

new vehicles are the new market inefficiency

MONEYCAR

really depends on what your need is, too. for 10 years I either drove 2 minutes to the train or lived in center city, so getting a beater was the smart thing to do. Especially considering the amount of times my car got hit while parked

6k is a comfy used car budget.

The Dude wrote:

td11 wrote:my budget is like 6000 max. this is going to be terrible

is that what you have saved or you doing a loan?

i think i could put down 3K maybe 4, and would do a loan for the rest. my commute is 70 miles a day, really really wish i could just get a beater but that would be dumb.

re: the car stuff.

It just depends...

I had no car from March 1997 to December 2009. I didn't get the scooter until Sept 2007. And I'm not a 'car' person. I'm not a guy who is going to spend his weekend 'wrenching on his ride'. I don't have that skill set or interest. I've never been a person who identifies deeply w cars and at this stage of life, I don't really like to drive all that often. If it's a get-away weekend up the coast or a road-trip, that's cool, but the day-to-day grind - hate driving the car. (love the scooter).

My car was my recently deceased grandmother's car and while it's pretty old, it still has less than 60K miles on it. While the engine is good, it has had a series of issues as its pretty old and I've been thinking about what to do about replacing it and have had the same conversation. What's the budget? And would I rather just get a solid used car with good gas mileage or whatever, OR, lease a new car and not look at it as a investment with equity. I drive so little and am so much more oriented to disposable that the lease-a-car kind of appeals more to me. 3 years later I can get another one or something I like better or whatever.

The key to a used-car buy, is to have a go-to mechanic and having them do a once-over, get it on a lift and really see what's going on. They'll see if there a leaks or if it's been in an accident quickly. I'm lucky I have a guy out here, where I was one of his first customers back in 89-90 and he'd even come with me to see a car and look it over on the spot.

td11 wrote:

The Dude wrote:

td11 wrote:my budget is like 6000 max. this is going to be terrible

is that what you have saved or you doing a loan?

i think i could put down 3K maybe 4, and would do a loan for the rest. my commute is 70 miles a day, really really wish i could just get a beater but that would be dumb.

motorcycle!

td11 wrote:

The Dude wrote:

td11 wrote:my budget is like 6000 max. this is going to be terrible

is that what you have saved or you doing a loan?

i think i could put down 3K maybe 4, and would do a loan for the rest. my commute is 70 miles a day, really really wish i could just get a beater but that would be dumb.

Is it at all feasible to move closer to your job?

warranties on new cars now a days make it worthwhile to go new over used.

Does anyone lease?

TenuredVulture wrote:

td11 wrote:

The Dude wrote:

td11 wrote:my budget is like 6000 max. this is going to be terrible

is that what you have saved or you doing a loan?

i think i could put down 3K maybe 4, and would do a loan for the rest. my commute is 70 miles a day, really really wish i could just get a beater but that would be dumb.

Is it at all feasible to move closer to your job?

not even a little bit. dover is a hellhole

WheelsFellOff wrote:Does anyone lease?

my gf does, and i'd consider it, but they usually have pretty restrictive mileage limits. she gets 1000mi/month

td11 wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:

td11 wrote:

The Dude wrote:

td11 wrote:my budget is like 6000 max. this is going to be terrible

is that what you have saved or you doing a loan?

i think i could put down 3K maybe 4, and would do a loan for the rest. my commute is 70 miles a day, really really wish i could just get a beater but that would be dumb.

Is it at all feasible to move closer to your job?

not even a little bit. dover is a hellhole

Qft.

td11 wrote:

WheelsFellOff wrote:Does anyone lease?

my gf does, and i'd consider it, but they usually have pretty restrictive mileage limits. she gets 1000mi/month

Do not lease. Seriously. Do not do it. I leased a car when I was younger because I lived 5 miles from my job. Then about six month later I changed jobs and was commuting 100 miles a day. I even upped my miles to 1500/mo and I owed so much at the end of my lease I had to buy the car out. I was so upside down on that car I wound up spending the next fee years trying to unfuck myself. Don't do it.

thanks, bill. was already leaning that way but that pretty much cements it. my commute alone is like 1400/mo

A lease probably isn't the best situation for someone looking to get the most bang for their buck, like in your case.

is bang for your buck a phrase that has its beginnings in prostitution?

no, my first girlfriend came up with it

the rest is history