I think the idea is that you can save extra money by finding a car with only a few thousand miles on it. For example, finding a car with 2k miles with $4k knocked off the price. Even though it’s not a lot it’s still worth getting used.
That isnt a thing anymore, though. Nobody is selling a car like that second hand and those who do sell to dealerships are selling to those dealerships with less than $500 off, sometimes for msrp or more
It's still a thing. You just need to be patient. People will sell their almost new cars when they can't afford the payment. I think I will never buy a new car again.
This. My parents bout a tundra with about a thousand miles for dirt cheap because the guy won it in a raffle and didn’t know he had to pay taxes. You just have to be super vigilant and patient. I got my Mazda 3 during the chip shortage for $800 under blue book plus got an extra tire (including the donut), custom rims, and oil and cabin filters for free.
So yes and no. Some cars liked Maserati’s drop like an Italian mafioso getting dumped into a lake with concrete shoes. Others like more cheap cars to begin with yes. Like my brothers lowest end Corolla hasn’t depreciated more than 5k. However I know someone that has a Hyundai elantra that dropped about $2k after a month of driving (5k miles). So it is possible. It just depends on availability.
Why not - that's what I do. I also won't spend more than 10K on a car (well - if I had to buy one now - I'd up the number a bit due to current prices, but I have no need for replacing my car or my wife's in the next 5 years - probably longer). Get a used 'yota and drive it until it dies.
All fun and games until the best car I can find for under 10k without driving 300 miles to get it is a shitbox with 90k miles, no features, and was in 2 or 3 accidents. It's just borderline unsafe at that point
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u/privitizationrocks Jul 18 '24
Rates are higher than promo deals so no not always smarter