I'm a high mileage driver also not quite as high as you at 25k miles a year and it's never penciled out to me to change out cars often. The best payback has always been to drive the car as long as possible. Case in point, my previous vehicle, a 2006 Honda Civic driven to about 160k miles and got my present 2012 Prius late in the year. The car still worked perfectly fine. Worth about $5k or so. I got the itch for something new same as you and got a PiP. I had no car payments for nearly two years. No way I would want to be saddled with $500 a month payment perpetually. Doing the math 2 years worth of non car payments plus $5k used, I may be able to pay for my next car outright if I actually saved my money.
What a bummer.... unfortunately Mr. Beachbummm used 750,000 miles instead of 75,000. I would be happy with $9k after 750,000 but would certainly get more with 75,000 miles.
Mr. Beachbummm thinks car's depreciate 75% after 2 years, but when he sells his cars, he gives a modest 75% depreciation after 10 years.
Just a little solitary confinement in Texas would be fine A guy I know has paid cash for his cars for decades. He gets a new one and starts putting the "payment" amount in a separate account every month. He gets a little interest and buys a new one again four or five years down the line.
Since depreciation happens because of condition, age and miles driven, your usage pattern already racks up a big number for the last. Since Prius are known to easily go 250k miles with proper maintenance, why not just drive it to that point? Your depreciation per year will slow down. Your insurance cost will drop. You'll be saving money each year in an account that will help pay for the next car is 7-8 years. And who knows what great advancements there will be by then. Our last three cars were each driven 9+ years by us before we bought a new car. I intend to keep these 2 a similar time. I pay cash. With the cost of money these days, 0% deals don't help much and they only clutter and confuse the negotiating.
My 2006 Civic was the last time I had a car payment. I paid it off early and didn't look back. I have the full amount to pay off my PiP. It isn't paid off because it is a 0% loan. Might as well get some interest. It's quite liberating and easy to afford to live in SF Bay Area without car payments. You can afford a home and a stay at home spouse without 2 car payments.
Thanks everyone! Yesterday was a long day of exhausting negotiations but in the end I received $15300 for my 2013, got the zero percent financing and upgraded to a 2015 Prius v four with the Softek seating. I am super happy with deal and it was worth it to do my research and go into the dealership prepared. They certainly tried to beat me down but I was completely fine with walking away and keeping my current vehicle. Thank you for all your comments. I am one happy girl
How much did you pay for the 2015 v four? What was the agreed upon sale price before the trade? Thanks and congrats on the new ride!
I owed $14800 on my old car, they gave me $15300 for it. I bought the new car for $29,200 total yes I paid the difference on the taxes...I believe the taxes were $888 so I saved around $1000 on the taxes and I received the zero percent financing for a total payment of $486.66 for 60 months. I was paying $463.22 per month on my 2013 so my payment did go up $23 per month but I got the Pruis v four this time with the Softek seats and the upgraded audio and nav system and I also added the gap insurance in that payment so I think I did really well. It took ALL day and a lot of back and forth but I wanted a new one with the same payment and I got a better one for a few dollars more. Plus they deferred my first payment by 90 days. I am happy...I'm sure others will think I didn't get a good deal but I'm happy!
Thank you for your suggestion. I really thought I would have to sell the car privately but you were 100% correct. You saved me a lot of time and aggravation!
That is what matters. As for good deal or bad -- who knows. Would you have bought a higher trim car regardless ? What would the new car have cost if not bundled with the trade-in ? You do make a very fair point though that your annual mileage (assuming it stays the same) equals a car every 6 years or so. So if your payments stay about the same you are doing fine and enjoying a new car and improved safety features a bit earlier than you would otherwise, while reducing repair and maintenance costs.
