The Chicago Auto Show is held at McCormick Place
Rarely am I surprised by by poll results, but it happened Sunday. Nearly three-fourths of readers that resounded to the non-scientific Sunday Poll indicated their new vehicle will be new or nearly new.
Q: Your next vehicle purchase will be how old:
- Brand new 16 [47.06%]
- Nearly new, possibly certified pre-owned 9 [26.47%]
- Used 4 [11.76%]
- Well used 1 [2.94%]
- N/A — won’t be buying a car 3 [8.82%]
- Unsure/No Answer 1 2.94% [2.94%]
I’ve had many cars in the last 34 years — most used or well used. I have had two new cars — both costly mistakes. The best financial times were when I was car-free, but that’s not an option with my husband’s job.
Our last payment on our 2007 Honda Civic will be in early October, we’ll be actively shopping for a replacement then. The Civic was 7 years old and had 90k on the odometer — just under the 100k our credit union would finance.
Because we want a fairly loaded midsize sedan new is beyond our budget — plus I don’t like owing more on a car that its resale value. Depreciation on a new car is steep. Many people now finance them for 6 years!
Now, if you buy a new car and keep it 10 years depreciation isn’t really an issue. What you can’t control is the other driver that totals your car and their insurance paying you thousands less than what you still owe on it, Sure, their are insurance plans that will replace your car but you pay more for that coverage — increasing your cost of ownership.
Later this year we will be looking at late model cars:
- Hyundai Sonata Limited w/Tech Package (2015)
- Honda Accord EX-L or Touring — 4 cylinder (2013-2015)
Why these two? As I explained last year, these are the two most affordable cars with memory seat — the Sonata also has memory mirrors.
We’ll potentially spend twice as much as we spent on our current car, but will be much newer with significantly fewer miles. Because we’ll be financing it for longer we’ll keep it longer.
Still, the appeal of a new car is strong. We’re heading to Chicago today for two days of auto show media events — the Chicago Auto Show opens to the public on Saturday February 11th, closing on Monday February 20th. Will be posting to Twitter & Facebook starting tonight.
— Steve Patterson
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