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I feel like it's a bit disingenuous to talk about this in the context of 1) paying MSRP and 2) buying new. He even mentions the second point, then goes on to c

I feel like it's a bit disingenuous to talk about this in the context of 1) paying MSRP and 2) buying new. He even mentions the second point, then goes on to completely ignore it: - Never buy new. - Just buy something 2-3 years old after it comes off someone else’s lease. A quick look on Kelley Blue Book says that $51,790 Ford Expedition drops to $24,925 after 3 years and 55,000 miles. Using the same parameters for the loan comes out to payments of $418 per month. That's still a chunk, but it doesn't have quite the same shock value as the brand-new MSRP prices presented... Now, $418/mo is still a far cry from the $165/mo you can get out of a lowend, 3-year-old Kia Rio, for sure. I drive something similar now. But the article still kind of rubs me the wrong way...

Retric 8y ago
It's not just the extra 250$/month it's also going from 29 city / 37 highway to 17 city / 24 highway plus higher taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs. Compound this with a family having 2 cars and a couple could be looking at ~2,000$ / month less in retirement. Which for many people would be the difference between comfortable and not.
- loco5niner 8y ago
  My new car actually had lower insurance because of the safety features built in.
  - Retric 8y ago
    We are comparing both models and ages not just one or the other. Compare a new Ford Expedition vs a 3 year old 3-year-old Kia Rio.
    - loco5niner 8y ago
      Understood. I was specifically referring to this part: > plus higher taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs.
scrooched_moose 8y ago
It's very dependent on the car though. I just bought a new Subaru for about $24,000. A 3 year used in an identical package ran about $19,800. For that level of a price difference I couldn't justify going used, with some likely impending mechanical issues and effectively no warranty. If I had financed, the used car payment payment is actually far higher - about $577 vs $432 because of the shorter loan duration (yes, total cost is still lower). It's one of those "/r/askreddit-style" pieces of gospel that people endlessly parrot without ever testing if it's still true, or at least realizing the truth is a lot more complicated.

Retric 8y ago

It's not just the extra 250$/month it's also going from 29 city / 37 highway to 17 city / 24 highway plus higher taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs. Compound this with a family having 2 cars and a couple could be looking at ~2,000$ / month less in retirement. Which for many people would be the difference between comfortable and not.

loco5niner 8y ago
My new car actually had lower insurance because of the safety features built in.
- Retric 8y ago
  We are comparing both models and ages not just one or the other. Compare a new Ford Expedition vs a 3 year old 3-year-old Kia Rio.
  - loco5niner 8y ago
    Understood. I was specifically referring to this part: > plus higher taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs.

scrooched_moose 8y ago

It's very dependent on the car though. I just bought a new Subaru for about $24,000. A 3 year used in an identical package ran about $19,800. For that level of a price difference I couldn't justify going used, with some likely impending mechanical issues and effectively no warranty. If I had financed, the used car payment payment is actually far higher - about $577 vs $432 because of the shorter loan duration (yes, total cost is still lower). It's one of those "/r/askreddit-style" pieces of gospel that people endlessly parrot without ever testing if it's still true, or at least realizing the truth is a lot more complicated.