Next chapter: shopping for new car as a single

Marie5656

Marie5656

SF VIP
Location
Batavia, NY
Not sure if I ever mentioned this, but my current car is a lease. The lease ends in the spring, so it is off to go shopping. First time in years I have done this solo. I mean, I have input from people I trust, but basically it is all on me this time.
I am going to buy rather than lease, this time. And going back to a gas car, rather than electric. The electric was Rick's dream, which I am glad he got fulfilled, but I no longer want one.

On the advice of several people, I went yesterday to a local Toyota dealer. I am looking first at the Rav 4. It is AWD, and great in the snow. I liked the one I looked at. I am going to go back soon for a test drive. Then go from there. I am really looking forward to this new adventure. I would like to travel some, and long distance trips are hard in an electric. There are not enough easily accessable public charging ports to make travel feasible in an electric. I will NOT miss it.

Except for the traveling I plan to do, I really do not drive enough to care much about gas prices and stuff. I am more concerned on how well the car handles, and how good a product it is for my money.
 

Marie5656 said:
TBH, I have the money to pay cash outright for a new car. No monthly payments. My brother
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but a leased car never gets old....so in the long run it doesnt cost you any money.....
ive had 6yrs of no expense car bills, A brand new car every 2 years , is so much cheaper.
 
I get what you all are saying. @Aunt Bea I have had the same insurance agent for over 20 years. Pretty satisfied with service I am getting from them. They have treated me well over the years.

As for my decision to buy, rather than lease. Our last few cars have been leases. So I get the advantages of it. But in discussions with others, and putting my own thoughts into the matter, I do want to buy this time. A Toyota can and will last me a long time, and will treat me well, as long as I treat it well. I do have the money to buy the car outright, with no hit to my investments and long term financial future. And to be honest, I am tired of HAVING to go car shopping every three years.

I do not put a lot of miles on a car any more, so there will not be as much wear and tear as when I was working. I am not making the decision to buy over lease without proper thought about each option. And there is that small part of me who wants to go without the monthly car payments. This way I can better use the extra money for small investments, and travel.

I still look forward to your input, and WILL listen. It is just that the decision to buy is pretty much set in stone for me right now. I have been weighing it for the past year.
 
Leasing a car is good if you want the latest every few years and don't mind making payments every single month for the rest of your life. I am the buy and hold car owner and as long as I like my vehicle I don't care if it's the latest every three years. My cars have lasted 9, 16, and 21 years and this last one is already 5 and will be my last. I have always bought new, though, except for my first car which was used and a lemon and only lasted me a few months.
 
@Marie I wasn't questioning the insurance agency or company that you use.

The Rav4 is a popular vehicle for car thieves and because of that the cost of full coverage can run higher than on some other vehicles.

I'm not sure what it would be in Western New York for a Senior but in some areas of the country the cost of coverage is pretty pricey.

I would touch base with the agent and get a quote so you don't have any surprises after the deal has been made.

Good luck!
 
@Aunt Bea Good point on insurance. I will ask them. @Catlady I get you. That is how I feel now. I want my car to be MINE. I never felt the leased cars were mine. Again, we are back to me having sat back and done what my husband wanted. He felt having a lease would work out best for us, at the time. And easier to get out of if something happened to one of us while we still had two cars.

Sigh, sometimes this thinking for oneself can be a bit draining. There is still that part of me that wonders what Rick would think of the decisions and choices I have made over the past year.
 
Marie5656 said:
Again, we are back to me having sat back and done what my husband wanted. He felt having a lease would work out best for us, at the time. And easier to get out of if something happened to one of us while we still had two cars. Sigh, sometimes this thinking for oneself can be a bit draining. There is still that part of me that wonders what Rick would think of the decisions and choices I have made over the past year.
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I was only married 4 1/2 years and back then I remember being very dependent on him, I did what he wanted to do. Being single was scary but also very liberating. I alone was responsible for my mistakes but also I alone had the credit for my successes. I like it better this way.

I feel about leasing a car the same way I feel about renting, at the end all you have is receipts and no ownership. I've never leased a car and would only do it for short term needs, like on vacation or waiting to buy my own car. To each his own, we should do only what is appealing to us. Do what makes YOU happy.
 
Catlady said:
Leasing a car is good if you want the latest every few years and don't mind making payments every single month for the rest of your life. I am the buy and hold car owner and as long as I like my vehicle I don't care if it's the latest every three years. My cars have lasted 9, 16, and 21 years and this last one is already 5 and will be my last. I have always bought new, though, except for my first car which was used and a lemon and only lasted me a few months.
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my last owned car ,was 8yrs old, and in one year, the car cost me over 2000 pounds in repairs...so thats not for me anymore...
 
charry said:
my last owned car ,was 8yrs old, and in one year, the car cost me over 2000 pounds in repairs...so thats not for me anymore...
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Just curious, did you ever tally up how much you spend each year leasing your car? I bet it's more than $3600 EACH year. Decent cars don't have large repairs EVERY YEAR. I don't care if you lease or rent and like it that way, we all should do what makes us happy. I like to own and that makes me happy.
 
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@charry - By the way, I have NEVER leased a car so I did a quick google. Sounds like a lot of fees added to the monthly payments. Like I said, leasing is good for people who like new cars every three years. I used to know a 28 year old guy who used to BUY expensive cars every three years. But he lived at home with his parents, I bet he stopped doing it after he married and had a family to support.

https://www.creditkarma.com/auto/i/cost-to-lease-a-car/
 
Catlady said:
Just curious, did you ever tally up how much you spend each year leasing your car? I bet it's more than $3600 EACH year. Decent cars don't have large repairs EVERY YEAR. I don't care if you lease or rent and like it that way, we all should do what makes us happy. I like to own and that makes me happy.
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I paid 1.800 for my Brand new Skoda Yeti....a year for 3 yrs catlady.....and my Mercedes is only slightly more....
The only fee i had monthly was an extra 10 pound a month for all maintenance work, i didnt need MOT, it didnt need servicing .......but i never needed anything done....it was a dream, and my merc is the same ....

Is so much cheaper.....i ll always lease ...
 
We leased a couple of cars a long time ago, and bought a couple brand new, but moved to purchasing 2-3 year old vehicles for the past 20 years, replacing them only when absolutely necessary. Reliability is the #1 factor when we're winnowing the choices of what to purchase.

@Marie5656, best of luck with this rather daunting process. Like you, we pay for our vehicles outright. No financing.
 
charry said:
I paid 1.800 for my Brand new Skoda Yeti....a year for 3 yrs catlady.....and my Mercedes is only slightly more....
The only fee i had monthly was an extra 10 pound a month for all maintenance work, i didnt need MOT, it didnt need servicing .......but i never needed anything done....it was a dream, and my merc is the same ....

Is so much cheaper.....i ll always lease ...
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So roughly $200 US per month. Not a bad deal, Charry. I can understand why you'd lease.

To lease the 2020 version of the 2017 RAV4 hybrid we just bought: $4400 down and $483 a month. So after 36 months we'd have a sunk cost of $21,788 and walk away with no asset.

Bought a used one with low mileage for $27K. It wasn't even a close call.
 
StarSong said:
So roughly $200 US per month. Not a bad deal, Charry. I can understand why you'd lease.

To lease the 2020 version of the 2017 RAV4 hybrid we just bought: $4400 down and $483 a month. So after 36 months we'd have a sunk cost of $21,788 and walk away with no asset.

Bought a used one with low mileage for $27K. It wasn't even a close call.
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christ, thats expensive over there .....actually , it was 160.00 a month.....
 
i thought in the usa, once a car was old, they used to drive them into a car park, leave the keys in, and let anyone take their pick !! 😂😂
 
charry said:
..i bought it when it was 5 yrs old.....no lemon .. liberty.....a car is like a body, it falls apart in time !!
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We always used to buy old cars...most were high end cars to begin with though. Love a good low mileage 3 yr old car and then drive it for another decade or more. What do you expect from someone who "names" her cars?!

We have right now a classic '91 Jeep Renegade (about 45,000 miles on it I think) bought a couple years old or so, a 2014 Caddy CTS Coupe (we bought this cherry new) with 37,000 miles on it and a 2006 Ford Escape Limited (bought it 3 yrs old off e-bay) with about 28,000 miles on it. All are in good condition and we've been happy with them over the years.

Hope my body is holding up that good, too...lol!
 
I hold onto my cars as long as I can I’ve been able to pay them off in full, nowadays I have the money saved that if something is in bad shape and very old I can purchase another one. I don’t buy very expensive cars but they’re only a year or two old and it works great for me.
 

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