Which is better, used for the same price of a better model, or new?
Posted by Equal-Fee770@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 12 comments
This is something I have pondered most of my adult life. It worked out once for me, but I’d like to ask the question into the ethos and see what people say. I’m gonna start here with I much prefer American brand cars and I know that makes me a glutton for punishment essentially. But let’s say I’ve got two kids and there’s a third on the way and I really like the expedition. And I don’t wanna get a base expedition, but I don’t know that I have the money for a top model expedition. If I didn’t really care whether or not it was brand new would it be better to get a used Lincoln navigator that’s only a few years old and probably cost about the same as a brand new expedition?
The situation that benefited me is back in 2018 I was looking for my first expensive car and I’m a huge Mopar fan. This was the first time I could actually choose to buy something from Chrysler Dodge or whatever though because I’m very aware that they are usually considered the least reliable of the big three American brands. I was on the market for a charger, but I ended up getting a Chrysler 300 with way more awesome tech inside for a very reasonable price, but it was about five years old instead of new or two years old fresh off a lease. At the time I got a 2012 Chrysler 300 limited with 42,000 miles on it for 15 grand and it had Bluetooth and heated seats and touchscreen and all the awesome cool things.
jrileyy229@reddit
2027 is going to be a new generation for expedition/navigator. Any analysis done now is useless. New generations massively impact couple year old models..
Equal-Fee770@reddit (OP)
It doesn’t necessarily have to be a comparison of expedition versus navigator. Just SUVs are some of the most common things People talk about in these sub Reddits, the point more so is if there’s the same vehicle offered by both the higher end and lower end brand and I’m not particular about brand new just want something. I’d be comfortable in long-term is lightly used higher end brand the better choice? Utilizing my example was it better that I got a Chrysler 300 if I wasn’t super particular about specifically getting a charger, but I was particular about being comfortable in it and enjoy enjoying some of the creature comforts, especially considering it’s at the same or less of a price point?
jrileyy229@reddit
The smarter purchase is the new expedition for less money than the couple year old navigator.
That basically gets to more miles for less money
alanbdee@reddit
These days, I hate the all the new cars anyway. They're too big. I feel like an old grumpy man complaining about these new fangled cars with a grill the resembles a skyscraper. So for me, older is way better. I'll save the money and take the slightly higher maintenance and not have something that might attract a terrorist attack.
The other problem with new is they don't really have a track record. If you want an expedition. I'd first research what years were the best. Which engines were great. Then try to find that year with the lowest number of miles you can find.
There's going to be some grandpa who bought one brand new, barely drove it, and now has passed on. It'll have a solid maintenance record, kept in a garage. You'll pay top dollar for it. But otherwise, it'll be an extremely clean vehicle.
Equal-Fee770@reddit (OP)
Absolutely valid on looking up which model years were better and if we’re in a generation that’s already tried and true or if there’s too much new stuff to know longevity. I would like to push back a little bit though about how everything seems bigger. Everything might look bigger, I know for a fact, full-size pick ups have gotten bigger and midsize pick ups have gotten bigger. But most sedans and crossovers are incredibly small inside even if the footprint or body size seems bigger. I’m about 6’3”, 6’4”, and 350 pounds. A lot of people say, I look very similar to Penn Gillette before he lost weight of Penn and Teller fame. New cards are so hard for me to find that I’m actually comfortable in. People talk about things like a RAV4 and a cross trek like they’re humongous just because they’re taller. But they’re still on a compact car platform. Maybe they do have more headroom, but they don’t have any more shoulder room. They don’t have any more hip room. They don’t have any more legroom.
alanbdee@reddit
You're right, its just the trucks and SUVs and it's 100% because of having to adhere to CAFE standards. Which in principle, I agree with. I think I just miss my little D21 Nissan Hard body. That was the perfect truck for what I do. But for a big fella like yourself, you need that larger vehicle just to fit.
I bet you could get a good deal from someone who's running from gas prices right now. I'd go used all day long, especially right now.
Equal-Fee770@reddit (OP)
that Nissan hardbody, is that what eventually became the frontier and the truck that everyone and their mother used to buy really cheap to learn stick shift on?
pretti@reddit
Before COVID, I could get the a 2yro car I liked, fully loaded for $20k cheaper then the base. A 4yr old one, $30k cheaper then base. Now, a 3yro fully loaded car is $8-10k cheaper then base. That makes a new car more reasonable to me.
Equal-Fee770@reddit (OP)
Even if you were to say look at a Toyota 4Runner New and Lexus whatever the hell they make it’s the same exact truck as a 4R two unner with a nicer interior and a small V8. I think it’s an LS460? That would be the model name and it uses a 4.6 L V8 last I checked, which was years ago.
omg4serious@reddit
in general, for me. a newer car is more preferable, b/c i've always had bad luck with cars and for me extended warranties are worth their weight in gold.
Equal-Fee770@reddit (OP)
Most of my life, I have driven incredibly cheap cars that are easy to fix that I could either do the simple thing in my backyard or pay a much smaller fee to have a local shop fix. I’ve never even thought about a warranty. That is something I should take into account too. I’m not gonna buy anything new right this second, but in the next year or so I’m probably gonna get something pretty from a dealership again. I’m not 100% which way it’s gonna go, but I’m tossing around different ideas and some of them are something like this where if I could get essentially the same vehicle but a much nicer model by going to the luxury brand and getting it may be fresh off a lease or something instead of brand new would it be worth it?
omg4serious@reddit
yes, 3 year old cars, fresh off lease, often times still with factory warranty (and available to buy extended factory warranties) are the best deals.