4 ms·

What percentage of people are buying new cars over used? I make six figures, never bought a new car in my life and don't ever plan to. Most I've paid is $19K.

WrongAssumption 3y ago
A lot more used cars are sold, but the average price of a used car last year was $30,700.
ndiddy 3y ago
It will be interesting to see where EVs fit into the used car market, as the battery is a wear item and is responsible for a significant amount of the price of the car (i.e. what the price will be on a 10 year old EV that will require an $8000 replacement battery).
- thinkcontext 3y ago
  Agreed. Perhaps a saving grace will be that run down EV batteries can be used for stationary storage on the electric grid. There's significant value there, but I haven't seen repurchase programs advertised. Maybe there just aren't enough used batteries available yet.
- vel0city 3y ago
  Yeah, it'll be an interesting to see in a decade. Maybe we'll have a healthy market of salvage/rebuilt/recycled batteries driving down the costs to "rebuild" an EV. Maybe we'll find out recycling batteries isn't what we thought. If batteries drop in price, even like 20%, a "rebuilt" used EV could be incredibly cheap as its operating costs and risks of drivetrain failure could be incredibly low. Coupled with reduced energy costs if charging gets ubiquitous for non-homeowners, it could be really nice.
galangalalgol 3y ago
I have bad luck selecting good used cars. I pay the premium for new, and then keep them for at least ten years. The used cars I find are either totally shot mechanically, or have unpleasant smelling destroyed interiors. Or both in the case of the one I lost the most money on.
- hedora 3y ago
  I suggest going for off-lease or rental fleet vehicles. They shouldn’t have either of the issues you mentioned, especially if you get one that is still covered by the manufacturer warranty. I bought two cars new, and with all the recalls and factory defects, (and ignoring price and depreciation) they were way worse than the used ones I’ve had experience with.
achates 3y ago
I've always done that too but the used car market has been so insane lately that it might make more sense to consider new as well going forwards.
aodin 3y ago
Cox Automotive (parent of KBB) estimates 35.2 million used [1] and 15.4 million new car sales in the US for 2023 [2]. So, about 30% buy new. [1] https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/estimated-monthly-used-vehicle-saar-and-volume/ https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/estimated-monthly... [2] https://www.coxautoinc.com/news/cox-automotive-forecast-august-2023-u-s-auto-sales-forecast/ https://www.coxautoinc.com/news/cox-automotive-forecast-augu...
geodel 3y ago
Well, I bought new car and old computer. For some reason I found $34K for car okay but $1000 for a computer too much. (I work in IT, if that matters).
jjav 3y ago
> I make six figures, never bought a new car in my life and don't ever plan to. Most I've paid is $19K. Yes, I'm in your demographic. Most I've ever paid for a car (a rare new one) was 20K. Nearly every car I've had (in over 30 years of having cars), I've bought for less than 10K. I like cars and driving. But cars are a depreciating asset. Never worth spending much on. Buy the cheapest used one you can find.

WrongAssumption 3y ago

A lot more used cars are sold, but the average price of a used car last year was $30,700.

ndiddy 3y ago

It will be interesting to see where EVs fit into the used car market, as the battery is a wear item and is responsible for a significant amount of the price of the car (i.e. what the price will be on a 10 year old EV that will require an $8000 replacement battery).

thinkcontext 3y ago
Agreed. Perhaps a saving grace will be that run down EV batteries can be used for stationary storage on the electric grid. There's significant value there, but I haven't seen repurchase programs advertised. Maybe there just aren't enough used batteries available yet.
vel0city 3y ago
Yeah, it'll be an interesting to see in a decade. Maybe we'll have a healthy market of salvage/rebuilt/recycled batteries driving down the costs to "rebuild" an EV. Maybe we'll find out recycling batteries isn't what we thought. If batteries drop in price, even like 20%, a "rebuilt" used EV could be incredibly cheap as its operating costs and risks of drivetrain failure could be incredibly low. Coupled with reduced energy costs if charging gets ubiquitous for non-homeowners, it could be really nice.

galangalalgol 3y ago

I have bad luck selecting good used cars. I pay the premium for new, and then keep them for at least ten years. The used cars I find are either totally shot mechanically, or have unpleasant smelling destroyed interiors. Or both in the case of the one I lost the most money on.

hedora 3y ago
I suggest going for off-lease or rental fleet vehicles. They shouldn’t have either of the issues you mentioned, especially if you get one that is still covered by the manufacturer warranty. I bought two cars new, and with all the recalls and factory defects, (and ignoring price and depreciation) they were way worse than the used ones I’ve had experience with.

achates 3y ago

I've always done that too but the used car market has been so insane lately that it might make more sense to consider new as well going forwards.

aodin 3y ago

Cox Automotive (parent of KBB) estimates 35.2 million used [1] and 15.4 million new car sales in the US for 2023 [2]. So, about 30% buy new. [1] https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/estimated-monthly-used-vehicle-saar-and-volume/ https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/estimated-monthly... [2] https://www.coxautoinc.com/news/cox-automotive-forecast-august-2023-u-s-auto-sales-forecast/ https://www.coxautoinc.com/news/cox-automotive-forecast-augu...

geodel 3y ago

Well, I bought new car and old computer. For some reason I found $34K for car okay but $1000 for a computer too much. (I work in IT, if that matters).

jjav 3y ago

> I make six figures, never bought a new car in my life and don't ever plan to. Most I've paid is $19K. Yes, I'm in your demographic. Most I've ever paid for a car (a rare new one) was 20K. Nearly every car I've had (in over 30 years of having cars), I've bought for less than 10K. I like cars and driving. But cars are a depreciating asset. Never worth spending much on. Buy the cheapest used one you can find.