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The basic principles for buying a car: - Don't buy new, on avg the first 2-3 years you take the biggest depreciation risk - Don't finance with the dealership,

The basic principles for buying a car: - Don't buy new, on avg the first 2-3 years you take the biggest depreciation risk - Don't finance with the dealership, go to a credit union like DCU - Negotiate, even in times like this you can negotiate - If you can't get outside financing and you have to get dealer financing for whatever reason, they make money from the financing, negotiate even further down because of this - Depending on your state some fees are illegal, check your laws, negotiate the fees off

ilrwbwrkhv 5y ago
I have never bought a used car. I have this unnatural fear of what people might have done on the seats. Also a new car warranty is great and maintenance is negligible. Also buy the full thing in cash.
- theandrewbailey 5y ago
  > I have this unnatural fear of what people might have done on the seats. Do you have this same fear of hotel room beds and avoid them for it?
  - ilrwbwrkhv 5y ago
    Haha indeed. At least they do change the sheets and so on but I try and avoid Airbnbs for that reason since they aren't really monitored.
_huayra_ 5y ago
The hardest part of buying used is that it's so hard to find people who have taken care of their cars. If someone has gone 20-30% over the recommended oil change interval, you'll end up paying for that a lot on the tail end. This isn't to mention the many, many people I know who barely put any miles on their car, but change the oil based on mileage (instead of time), putting a ton of hard miles of short trips on the car. If they sell them, it looks like a great low-mileage car! Some people have all the documentation of correct interval service for the car, but it's becoming rarer these days as cars just tend to work until they fail catastrophically, instead of years ago when they would sputter and fault in a gradual way before dying by the side of the road.
- _3u10 5y ago
  It depends on what kind of car you buy, an Audi that’s gone 30% over service interval is much different than a Toyota 30% over. Also, this is why you should buy high end cars (from a reliable brand) from affluent areas, they are devalued because no one wants them there, and they are well maintained because rich people tend to just take it to the dealer, who will religiously follow the service interval.
  - itslennysfault 5y ago
    Is the claim on this that the Audi can't go 30% over, but the Toyota can? or the other way around. The nicest car I've ever owned is an Acura. Others include Ford, Hyundai, and Honda, and I've been pretty bad at routine maintenance, but I've never had any mechanical issues as a result. Are premium car brands really so fragile? If so why would you recommend buying them if they're less durable? Seems like a rip off to me.
    - leetcrew 5y ago
      > Are premium car brands really so fragile? yes and no. german cars tend to have tighter tolerances than your typical economy sedan. they can be very reliable if maintained properly, but they can't take as much neglect as a Corolla. the tradeoff is that, subjectively, they are often more pleasant to drive. bmw would be an exception, being notorious for using plastic parts designed to last only the duration of the first lease.
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      > Is the claim on this that the Audi can't go 30% over, but the Toyota can? or the other way around. Yes, but that is kind of an irrelevant claim. There's wildly different engineering and service recommendation ethos between Europe and Japan and it shows. He could have just as easily said Volvo and Nissan and been just as correct but that's not a batting practice pitch over home plate for HN's biases the way <luxury German brand> and <toyota/honda> is.
      - 5y ago
brianwawok 5y ago
> Don't finance with the dealership, go to a credit union like DCU Not always true. DCU has to make a profit, so the floor of their auto loan is going to be like 1.5-2%. A car dealer is also making money from the sale of the car, I have gotten APRs like 0.9% from the likes of Honda, which is going to beat DCU. Basically, shop around and take the better deal. > Negotiate, even in times like this you can negotiate Well, some cars you can't. Tesla has a fixed price, take it or walk. It's quite refreshing.
- chucksta 5y ago
  Bad example, you aren't buying a tesla from a dealership its coming from the manufacture. And is highly contended by dealerships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes
beeboop 5y ago
My most recent car I bought at about a year old with 15k miles. It turns out it had previously been in a massive front end collision and the dealership described it as a "fender bender". The bumper and plastic under the engine starting falling off, parts started falling off that were clearly just glued on with gorilla glue, closer inspection in the engine bay showed a ton of bent metal structure, the paint color on the front of the car started to clearly not match the rest of the car after it had been exposed to sun for a year, the alternator died after a year and after removal it was clearly a really cheap non-OEM replacement. This was all from a reputable Toyota dealership in a major city. Not sure I want to go through this process again and may just buy new in the future.
pornel 5y ago
Unfortunately, most of the nicest cars to buy — modern EVs — didn't exist 2-3 years ago.

ilrwbwrkhv 5y ago

I have never bought a used car. I have this unnatural fear of what people might have done on the seats. Also a new car warranty is great and maintenance is negligible. Also buy the full thing in cash.

theandrewbailey 5y ago
> I have this unnatural fear of what people might have done on the seats. Do you have this same fear of hotel room beds and avoid them for it?
- ilrwbwrkhv 5y ago
  Haha indeed. At least they do change the sheets and so on but I try and avoid Airbnbs for that reason since they aren't really monitored.

_huayra_ 5y ago

The hardest part of buying used is that it's so hard to find people who have taken care of their cars. If someone has gone 20-30% over the recommended oil change interval, you'll end up paying for that a lot on the tail end. This isn't to mention the many, many people I know who barely put any miles on their car, but change the oil based on mileage (instead of time), putting a ton of hard miles of short trips on the car. If they sell them, it looks like a great low-mileage car! Some people have all the documentation of correct interval service for the car, but it's becoming rarer these days as cars just tend to work until they fail catastrophically, instead of years ago when they would sputter and fault in a gradual way before dying by the side of the road.

_3u10 5y ago
It depends on what kind of car you buy, an Audi that’s gone 30% over service interval is much different than a Toyota 30% over. Also, this is why you should buy high end cars (from a reliable brand) from affluent areas, they are devalued because no one wants them there, and they are well maintained because rich people tend to just take it to the dealer, who will religiously follow the service interval.
- itslennysfault 5y ago
  Is the claim on this that the Audi can't go 30% over, but the Toyota can? or the other way around. The nicest car I've ever owned is an Acura. Others include Ford, Hyundai, and Honda, and I've been pretty bad at routine maintenance, but I've never had any mechanical issues as a result. Are premium car brands really so fragile? If so why would you recommend buying them if they're less durable? Seems like a rip off to me.
  - leetcrew 5y ago
    > Are premium car brands really so fragile? yes and no. german cars tend to have tighter tolerances than your typical economy sedan. they can be very reliable if maintained properly, but they can't take as much neglect as a Corolla. the tradeoff is that, subjectively, they are often more pleasant to drive. bmw would be an exception, being notorious for using plastic parts designed to last only the duration of the first lease.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    > Is the claim on this that the Audi can't go 30% over, but the Toyota can? or the other way around. Yes, but that is kind of an irrelevant claim. There's wildly different engineering and service recommendation ethos between Europe and Japan and it shows. He could have just as easily said Volvo and Nissan and been just as correct but that's not a batting practice pitch over home plate for HN's biases the way <luxury German brand> and <toyota/honda> is.
    - 5y ago

brianwawok 5y ago

> Don't finance with the dealership, go to a credit union like DCU Not always true. DCU has to make a profit, so the floor of their auto loan is going to be like 1.5-2%. A car dealer is also making money from the sale of the car, I have gotten APRs like 0.9% from the likes of Honda, which is going to beat DCU. Basically, shop around and take the better deal. > Negotiate, even in times like this you can negotiate Well, some cars you can't. Tesla has a fixed price, take it or walk. It's quite refreshing.

chucksta 5y ago
Bad example, you aren't buying a tesla from a dealership its coming from the manufacture. And is highly contended by dealerships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes

beeboop 5y ago

My most recent car I bought at about a year old with 15k miles. It turns out it had previously been in a massive front end collision and the dealership described it as a "fender bender". The bumper and plastic under the engine starting falling off, parts started falling off that were clearly just glued on with gorilla glue, closer inspection in the engine bay showed a ton of bent metal structure, the paint color on the front of the car started to clearly not match the rest of the car after it had been exposed to sun for a year, the alternator died after a year and after removal it was clearly a really cheap non-OEM replacement. This was all from a reputable Toyota dealership in a major city. Not sure I want to go through this process again and may just buy new in the future.

pornel 5y ago

Unfortunately, most of the nicest cars to buy — modern EVs — didn't exist 2-3 years ago.