By Jack
I’ve always considered myself a value shopper, others consider me a tightwad. But, there is a big difference between being tight and getting your money’s worth. For instance I’ve driven really nice cars my whole life and if you were to add up the cost of those cars, which include Mercedes Benz, Corvette, Cadillac, Jaguar, Buick Riviera, Daimler, Delorean, and Classics like the porthole Thunderbird or the big finned 59 Caddy, the whole lot would be just a few thousand dollars. And you wonder how could that be true? After all, we’re talking over 40 years of car ownership and 80 cars. Simple. I buy right. I never, never, never buy new or shop on a used car lot! I make all my buys from private prties. As a side note, I also do all my own repairs, but that is just a minor savings compared to the sticker price savings. I drive my cars until I’ve had my fun (12-18 months) and then I sell them for at least a break-even price or sometimes a little more…rarely do I sell for less than I paid.
Here’s an example: On ebay they just had a 2005 Cadiilac, CTS with 45,900 miles, $14,500, the new car price on the same type is almost $59,000! I also just found in the want ads a Lincoln, LS w/Luxury Pkg, 2004 LINCOLN in MINT CONDITION! with 4 new tires for $3100? High miles (100k), but a lot of life left and it retailed new around $29k. Not bad for a car that you can drive for a few years and still expect to sell for $2500.
Recently I bought my favorite brand, Jag. Now if you bought this Jag new you would expect to pay the MSRP $64,500.00 – $84,250.00 for the model show above. Nice looking car isn’t it? The JD Power report gave it high marks for super reliability, something Jags have had a bad rep for in past decades. So, what do you get for $80,000? A lot! You get heated leather seats, all the usual power controls, a fantastic sound system with 8 speakers and stackable CD’s, on-board navigation, sun roof, premium carpets, gorgeous wood grain accents throughout, auto dimming rear view mirror, 5 speed stick/auto transmission, sports gearing and overdrive, electric adjustable everything, inside and outside mirrors, seats, antenna, steering wheel, etc. It all works perfectly too, extremely reliable.
The suspension on this model is equal to a fine sports car; it turns on a time and the acceleration from a 32 valve, dual overhead cam V8 engine will set you back in your seat like the Gravitron ride at the carnival. And it even gets 25-mpg highway! You can just feel and see the luxury and attention to detail everywhere you look, from under the bonnet to the spacious carpeted trunk (boot). It’s an incomparable car of the highest quality and far better than a Mercedes, in my opinion.
I bought the Jaguar for $6000, no not $60,000, I said $6,000 and I got the perfect dream machine equipped with 70,000 mile radials too. The car shown on top is a 2007 the one shown just below it, is a 2001! Hardly any difference is there? The 01 actually has a few nicer appointments, like the chrome on the window trim as opposed to the flat black on the 07 model. Overall it’s virtually the same body style.
I’ll drive my Jag for a year or so and I will sell it for about $3k more than I paid for it. Wouldn’t you like someone to pay you to drive a luxury car? Then maybe you should reconsider how you buy your next car and in this recession the deals are incredble. It’s a buyer’s market!
Here’s my suggestion how to get the most bang for your car bucks: Of course, do your research, read some consumer reports, know the blue book price, then set your sights on a car 5-7 years old and remember luxury vehicles are the most discounted. Then carefully watch the car ads for a great deal. But, before you buy it get it checked over by a good mechanic you can trust! I do my own checking because I can and that is a big help. And for gosh sakes don’t you ever be hung up on the myth that if you buy a used car you are buying someone else troubles! The car dealerships would like you to believe that, but it’s not true. Not if you do it right. For the money that I’ve saved buying used, well, that very, very minor risk was more than justified!
I have always bought quality used cars (enjoyed the heck out of them) and I’ve never had a lemon in a 40 years. I cringe when I hear someone saying they always buy new and then they trade it off in 2 years before anything can go wrong. Yikes! That’s the worst thing you could do in terms of depreciation! The first two years cars take a real big hit in price. Those people are paying through the nose for a warranty…and I have to believe that with today’s highly reliable vehicles, this is more a statement about their vanity than any justifiable financial reason. Of course America depends on those buyers to keep the industry going. If everyone was like me, Detroit would be a ghost town!
So, call me a tightwad if you must, but I’ll be the guy smiling while driving my Jaguar that looks like it’s new and costs a small fortune.