New V Old

[OzriderXR8]

I had an hour to kill before the wife was home from work so I dropped into the Ford dealership today till look at potential new cars. The wife's Elantra comes out of warranty in 6 months and I need some tax deductions.

I spotted a little Mercedes C200 that I had considered a couple of years ago so I headed straight for it, 2 years old with 32000klms, sat inside and jumped straight out again.....the Hyundai is better quality inside.

Headed for an ex demo FGX XR8, 10200klms, $50k drive away....dealer told me it's almost impossible to get any new ones, I looked long and hard, compared it to a low KLM SSV in the yard, got to say, the SSV was pretty good, I think it may have been a Walkinshaw special though as it has Walkinshaw scuff plates on the door jams. I checked out the XR6 and G6E, sat in the new Mustang and watched a very happy family drive away in their new Blue one.

I walked away thinking I don't want to watch another high value vehicle depreciating in my driveway. That's why I got rid of the 4x4 in the first place.

So I'm thinking, for another $5K I could probably turn my current XR8 into a beast and be just as happy, the wife's car has only done 65000klms so hardly needs replaced.

My daughter will be old enough to drive in a couple of years so a 7 year old one owner, low KLM Elantra would be a perfect first car.

I'm sure I can find another way to get some tax deductions that are much more efficient than leasing another car like I've done for the last 15 years.

Decisions, decisions....

[Trump]

Consider a Honda Accord?

http://www.honda.com.au/cars/models/accord.html

[tranquilized]

Tax deductible or not you'd only lease a new car if you really wanted/needed it, otherwise it's a false economy, and in a big way.

But $5k in mods is dead money as well from a pragmatic financial perspective. You'll enjoy it no doubt, but it'll decrease the value of the XR8 so you're actually spending more than the $5k...

I don't think I've been of much help have I...

[Crazy Dazz]

Cars cost money, just like food, clothing, rent, etc. They're not investments.

As somebody that knows a thing or two about cars, can do my own servicing and most of my own maintenance, and knows how to get the best price, 2nd hand cars are highly viable.

For my daughters who aren't so inclined, I'm happy for them to have new cars with long warranties.

[OzriderXR8]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Cars cost money, just like food, clothing, rent, etc. They're not investments.

As somebody that knows a thing or two about cars, can do my own servicing and most of my own maintenance, and knows how to get the best price, 2nd hand cars are highly viable.

For my daughters who aren't so inclined, I'm happy for them to have new cars with long warranties.

I think my daughter would be happy to be given her first car, with Dad as the warranty.

[Express]

I wouldn’t dare choose a car for my wife, I’ve been down that road and if something went amiss then you can bet who got the blame.

These days I let her choose for herself which has another advantage as she never interferes when I’m buying one for myself.

When my children were starting out driving I went for the safest cars I thought suitable for the job.

Little SUV type things that sat them up high enough to help see through traffic with as much active and passive safety systems as possible.

[OzriderXR8]

Originally Posted by Express

I wouldn’t dare choose a car for my wife, I’ve been down that road and if something went amiss then you can bet who got the blame.

These days I let her choose for herself which has another advantage as she never interferes when I’m buying one for myself.

I supply a shortlist, she picks the final car.....unless she wants something insane. The we discuss it like reasonable adults and then I say no.

(She just wants another Elantra, she loves it.)

[FPV-800]

When my son was born we needed to upgrade my wife's Corolla to fit the pram etc ,so bought a EA S 5spd Wagon ( had to be a Ford ) . After 13 years and 300,000 Klm on the clock,we traded in the faithful old EA on a BF Fairmont which also served us well for a few years . The Mr's put her foot down and said she wanted to pick her own car, as she was paying for it , so we test drove a number of cars including Fords and other makes and finally settled on a new 2015 3.6 Outback AWD wagon ( last year ) . Been a very good car , love those heated seats in the winter . I have blue blood and love both my Falcons though.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Cars cost money, just like food, clothing, rent, etc. They're not investments.

As somebody that knows a thing or two about cars, can do my own servicing and most of my own maintenance, and knows how to get the best price, 2nd hand cars are highly viable.

For my daughters who aren't so inclined, I'm happy for them to have new cars with long warranties.

G'day..Totally agree generally with your comment that cars are not investments...but there are exceptions on some very hard to find ones..A prime example is a genuine , and I do mean genuine classic Falcon of the ilk of an XW/XY/XB GT or even lesser spec ones. Get it for a reasonable price from a friendly private seller and send it on it's way at a decent profit a few years later perhaps.. Otherwise it's exactly as you say.. My 2008 built ,first registered 2009 FG XR6 would have been high thirties grand when new..I probably paid too much for it a few months ago at a bit over $12,000...immaculate condition with only 65,000 kms. That's $25,000 plus loss in 7-8 years or over $3000 a year That's a lot by any standard but for some the decision isn't totally a financial one. Often the car decides for you if you buy it or not.. Cheers Rod..

[Mercury Bullet]

Spend a few dollars on the AU.

Don't mod the crap out of it and wreck it. Just keep it as a nice daily.
It won't cost much and will keep going forever like all AU's do.

Those XR8's are nice cars. I wouldn't mind one in the driveway.

The AU is now at the point where they are rapidly disappearing from our roads, coming up to 20 years old. It wouldn't surprise me if these start appreciating soon. They do have the reputation of being pretty much bulletproof.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by OzriderXR8

I think my daughter would be happy to be given her first car, with Dad as the warranty.

I have a daughter who lives in Canberra and is not interested in understanding or doing mechanical work on her car.
The other one with a new car has done her time with an older car and the "Dad Warranty" and just wanted reliability.