In reply to dean1484:
Your system works well for you, but I've been trying for years to do that with Porsches. New-ish ones are thin on the ground here in MA and there's enough of a "look rich for cheap" market right next door to us in Rhode Island that the broken ones that I do find are usually very over-priced.
Suggestions to all then if you want to buy nice cars and retire early: say no to kids and barring that never get divorced.
Pre-divorce: I was rocking the Allroad while the Mrs enjoyed the Phaeton. We had a lifted Wrangler for playing around in and a Sequoia for big groups and trips.
Now I daily a beater NA Miata and my family truckster is a Suburban I picked up for scrap pricing and keep going by sheer willpower.
Maybe in my 50s I can get back to having nicer cars...
Joe Gearin wrote: I came to this revelation when I bought my mini-van. I'd never purchased a new car before, but with 2.5% financing, a very low price ($23K) and the piece of mind that the warranty provides it almost made more sense to buy new. I don't regret it for a minute. My whole life I've spent paying attention to little noises and vibrations a car makes--- always looking out for the next thing I'd have to repair. Now, even if something went wrong (which nothing has) I don't care---- it's the dealer's problem....I'll just bring it in, and let them deal with it. I was also shocked to find that I now have really good credit. I guess I am getting old!
I sometimes wish I had investigated new GC's when I bought my '08. While I don't really regret the decision, a few more options (like a nicer stereo) would have been nice. That said, I put so many miles on a car that when I buy something the value drops quickly due to the miles. Of course, when I bought my van I had every intention of fixing the TDI and having it back on the road a lot sooner than 18 months (and still not fixed).
You truly do only live once. Which is why I still may pull the trigger on a Focus RS next year after I get settled into my new condo.
Remember guys, you can't take it to the grave, and does your (presumed) 40 hour work week really take up that much of your time?
If I stay where I am at, I'll have 8 weeks of vacation a year before I retire at 55. I can't even spend the 5 weeks I currently get, I can practically do whatever I want.
Having said that, I would rather a super modified, used car for $30k or less than a new "amazeballs" car for $70k.
In reply to M030:
We should talk more sometime. Sounds like what I can get cheep would sell well where you are and visa versa.
EDIT. I think I o u a call yes?
HiTempguy wrote: You truly do only live once. Which is why I still may pull the trigger on a Focus RS next year after I get settled into my new condo. Remember guys, you can't take it to the grave, and does your (presumed) 40 hour work week really take up that much of your time?
I keep having that thought: "life is too short to drive boring cars..." but then I just can't pull the trigger and buy bikes and guitars instead... Still... 2016 will be an interesting year. There's the Focus RS (very possible), Mustang GT350 (long-shot), and the Volvo V90 coupe/wagon (availability and MSRP still unknown). Not to mention a few other options.
My problim us all the cars I said I will wait and get later when they get cheaper have all gone up in price. Yes my net worth and income have improved with time as well but nothing like the price of a 70s 911. Or a GTO. My problem is I remember when they were $3500 cars. Now look at them.
The question now is what do you get today that when you think you want it later will actually be a better deal now than later. I am actually thinking that the original NA Miata may be a car that in 20 years is going to be a pricy car. Another may be the original brz in 40 years.
If I wanted a car when it was new, I still want it 20 years later. I don't need the newest things, I just like what I like, and I don't stop liking it when it's not new anymore. Cool stays cool. I'll mod the e36m3 out of it anyway. Older cars generally have better aftermarket support, better knowledge base to mod and repair them, emissions restrictions tend to lessen as they age and swap componants tend to be plentiful too.
Don't get me wrong, Even though I could go out and buy a new cayman, doesn't mean I will. Instead, i have 2 used cars that I bought for half the price of new with both having under 25K miles on them. Combine that with a 5 year extended warranty and I'll have both for a long time. I'll never finance a toy. I refuse to. So maybe once the house, cars and my student loans are all paid off in 5 years, I'll maybe look at something up the food chain. It'll really depend how much I really enjoy the Barracuda I'm building.
What about buying a Porsche from Carmax with one of fattest 6-year extended warranties? There's a blog out there about a guy who bought one for his 6 year old Range Rover. IMS may just stand for I'm MaxCare Serviced!
Mitchell, That's basically what I did minus the Carmax stupid prices. My credit union has a great service program that they resell. It's already paid for itself when the nav/entertainment system in the Wife's car went crazy.
I've got service warranty till 2010 on both cars and up to 100K miles on both cars. Considering mine has the most at 32K miles on it now, We will not run out of miles.
I will definitely do it again. We have have 2 great low miles cars with warranty for a while and no stress about that. They also provide a loaner car for the service period. Overall, I'm happy with it.
dean1484 wrote: My problim us all the cars I said I will wait and get later when they get cheaper have all gone up in price. Yes my net worth and income have improved with time as well but nothing like the price of a 70s 911. Or a GTO. My problem is I remember when they were $3500 cars. Now look at them.
Yeah... I know that feeling... I passed on a '69 Charger 383/727 (General Lee replica) for $2200 back in 1990 because it had a bit of rust in the trunk (otherwise ran/drove fine). Now my budget for a reasonably running '69 Charger needs to be around $20K. If I could find that same car in the same condition for around $10K I'd be scrambling to write a check.
Mr_Clutch42 wrote: In reply to dean1484: Is it because of the laws in your state? The junkyards near me say that they're not allowed to sell their junked cars.
To answer this, they haven't turned the title in as junked. They still have a dealers license and can hold on to it to resell without turning it into a junked title. My old fairmont from hs was bought from the local jy with a clean title in 1992....
bmw88rider wrote: Mitchell, That's basically what I did minus the Carmax stupid prices. My credit union has a great service program that they resell. It's already paid for itself when the nav/entertainment system in the Wife's car went crazy. I've got service warranty till 2010 on both cars and up to 100K miles on both cars. Considering mine has the most at 32K miles on it now, We will not run out of miles. I will definitely do it again. We have have 2 great low miles cars with warranty for a while and no stress about that. They also provide a loaner car for the service period. Overall, I'm happy with it.
I do this for all the wife's cars through a credit union. I would do it for mine as well, but I tend to change my mind far too often to get the full benefit, so I have self-imposed a price range for myself (that makes it okay to go from one car to another every 6-12 months) that hovers around the $10k range. Sure, I could go higher, but then I burn myself when I change my mind and want to get in to something else.
jv8 wrote: ...Then again life can be short so who knows. But it can also be long after you're not employable. Personally I don't want to run the risk of living 30+ years in the poor house. And I want to get out of the workforce a little early. YMMV.
Yeah that's been hitting home lately. Between my dad passing away, him retiring a year younger than I am now, watching mom heading downhill, them having built the house we grew up in, me working at the same place for the last 20 yrs, being middle aged, and driving through an area where I found myself wondering, "What's land here cost", it really makes a guy start thinking. What you said above getting out of the workforce early... yeah, that. Sure, not quite as much in the bank, but that can be managed to a point. What can't be managed is that big unknown of health care costs.
I'm sorry, was this car related? I still have Midlana, she's coming along wherever we end up :)
Ian F wrote: Yeah... I know that feeling... I passed on a '69 Charger 383/727 (General Lee replica) for $2200 back in 1990 because it had a bit of rust in the trunk (otherwise ran/drove fine). Now my budget for a reasonably running '69 Charger needs to be around $20K. If I could find that same car in the same condition for around $10K I'd be scrambling to write a check.
It's not quite as bleak as it sounds...That same $2200 simply invested in a DJIA or S&P 500 tracking fund would have have turned into $13k-$14k, with no additional costs for insurance, maintenance, repairs, restorations, wear/tear, or fuel. It would have been significantly high if the equivalent funds from such costs would have been reinvested at the time of their occurence as well. Invested in Disney, it would be worth $27,500. Invested in Microsoft, it would be worth ~$170,000. And invested in Apple, it would be worth ~$240,000. Ok, maybe it is as bleak as it sounds...Just not in the expected way. 
Wait until you buy a really nice, expensive car and some dumb berkeley kid destroys it for you on the way to work some morning.
In reply to Driven5:
It's actually much bleaker than you think, but that's a different story... 
Regardless, I don't buy cars as investments. A better gauge would be inflation. I'll look at that later.
In reply to Dr. Hess:
Oh... that thought crosses my mind often.
It looks like total inflation would be a little more than 1.8x over the last 25 years. However, has the depreciation/appreciation curve of used goods over time ever really been tied to inflation?
The way I see it, everything is ultimately an investment of some sort. It's just that some have much better returns than others and some returns are more tangible than others. It seems that you didn't buy something because you thought was overvalued at the time, or at least would not provide sufficient additional value over time. But if you could have seen the future value of it you would have bought it, and now lament that lost opportunity. Call it what you want, but that sounds a heck of a lot like an investing decision to me.
If you want to compare value against 25 years of inflation, you should probably also do so against the 25 year newer closest equivalent as well...What does $4000 get you in a 1994 Dodge Stealth compared to that $2200 Charger?
In reply to Driven5:
Who knows... buying that car would have been an investment in the local under-taker as I'm damn near certain I would have killed myself driving it - something that became apparent during the 15 min test drive. Or an investment in preserving my license...
I still want a '69 Charger, but not one with 60's technology. Even back then I wanted a "pro-touring" version, even if the term didn't exist at the time. I'm closer to being able to attain that now at 45 than at 20.
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