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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:The problem with this One Weird Trick that Automakers Don't Want You To Know!!!! is that lightly used cars are ridiculously overvalued due to high demand, and cars are so reliable that depreciation curves are a lot flatter than they used to be (in the non luxury car class). Look at the Honda Fit. Before any incentives, going to your Honda dealer, not negotiating, and paying cash for an LX 5-speed is $16,750. The equivalent trim level of car, three years old used, out of warranty, of an older and inferior generation with fewer standard features, is currently listed on Carmax* in my area for $14,999. Add in the fact that hey, there are typically incentives on new cars, and the fact that interest rates on loans are lower for new vehicles, and that delta is nonexistent. If you're going private party, which would save you some money compared to Carmax, value your time and effort chasing down Craigslist retards, the amount of money you'll spend on pre-purchase inspections, etc in that split as well. For budget new cars, yes the depreciation doesn't hurt as much. Same for high-demand vehicles. A 2 year old used Subaru Forester in Dallas, TX costs nearly as much as a new one. On the other hand, a 3 year old BMW M3s within 50 miles of me are going for $41-47k while a 2016 average cost is $71k (numbers from Edmunds) .
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Mar 30, 2016 17:30
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Minivans seem to be in a weird spot on the used value curve too, where most of the 2-3 year old vehicles on the secondary market are former rentals with a hojillion miles on them and then a dead zone of used inventory until you start hitting 10+ years old. Part of that is probably that minivans are very out of fashion these days, with smaller families and parents electing to drive humungous SUVs or stupid crossovers instead.
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Mar 30, 2016 17:43
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The Mandingo posted:For budget new cars, yes the depreciation doesn't hurt as much. Same for high-demand vehicles. A 2 year old used Subaru Forester in Dallas, TX costs nearly as much as a new one. On the other hand, a 3 year old BMW M3s within 50 miles of me are going for $41-47k while a 2016 average cost is $71k (numbers from Edmunds) . Yes, high-end luxury goods still depreciate rapidly since part of the appeal of a luxury good to many people is it being "new". Also the upkeep and maintenance on an uber high-performance car out of warranty is not to be ignored, even if it is often exaggerated. However, 99% of people in this thread in BFC are not and should not be buying M3s. The majority of cars being discussed and recommended in this thread are a hell of a lot closer to a Fit or a Forester than an M3. I'm a gearhead and even drive a used BMW myself, since if you know what you're looking for and what you're getting yourself into it is a great deal buying used. But I would never recommend it to your average not-a-car-guy just looking for an affordable, hassle-free car. Guinness fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Mar 30, 2016 |
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Mar 30, 2016 17:46
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We have had pretty good luck with used cars but we put a lot of research time into our purchases. So far we have come out ahead on used car maintenance vs new car payments. Our biggest costs are routine oil changes, insurance, and gas. I'm lucky to have a husband who is a car geek and not only researches purchases really well but knows how to do basic maintenance at home. He's replaced brake pads, belts, tires, head gaskets... it's pretty cool and we save so much on labor costs. He works part-time so he's home anyway and at his current rate of pay he's more useful in the garage than at work and leaving the car with a mechanic. Higher mileage vehicles don't have to be super expensive. It helps to look for cars that were really popular in your preferred range of years... mid-2000s Civics are all over the place for example. It's hard to find one that hasn't been modded to hell and back or run into the ground, but if you're patient you can get a deal on one Grandpa kept in the garage and parts are cheap because there were so many made and aftermarket retailers still produce a lot of them. If you can get a cheap used car and cheap parts and run it until it falls apart while socking an average car payment into savings, why not? Like Gray Matter said... quote:a car is not an "investment". And yeah don't buy a used BMW.
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Mar 30, 2016 17:56
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You understand that a big part of why you are coming out ahead is your "free" labor vs. shop door rate, yes? And that for most people that's just not part of the calculus?
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Mar 30, 2016 20:19
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Since I've never owned a new car it had me thinking what the average difference is for insuring a new vs. used car. I understand there are all sorts of factors that impact insurance rates but I wonder how big of a difference there is, if at all, between the two. I've also read a boggleheads thread about when to remove collision coverage on an older vehicle which was interesting, but I haven't really looked into it more. I should check that out further being the owner of a 2003 model vehicle.
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Mar 30, 2016 23:28
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:You understand that a big part of why you are coming out ahead is your "free" labor vs. shop door rate, yes? And that for most people that's just not part of the calculus? I get that, yes, which is why I mentioned it. We are in a particular niche that fits used cars really well.
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Mar 31, 2016 02:14
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So I just did my annual online credit pull. Two of the bureaus worked fine, but for experian I got the amazingly unhelpful (paraphrased, i moved on but should have copypasted) error message, "A condition exists the prevents us from retrieving your report, <link to snail mail credit request form>." Nothing untoward appearing on the other two reports so I don't think there's identity theft or anything going on, despite being in every breach under the sun during the last few years. Is there anything I should do here? Mail off the paper form and wait a couple months for a response? Go straight to experian's website?
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Mar 31, 2016 02:35
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Fuzzy Mammal posted:So I just did my annual online credit pull. Two of the bureaus worked fine, but for experian I got the amazingly unhelpful (paraphrased, i moved on but should have copypasted) error message, "A condition exists the prevents us from retrieving your report, <link to snail mail credit request form>." I was able to get all three electronically the first time I used the free service. But this last year I got a similar error. I think mine was from TransUnion, though. I did the snail-mail and it came in fairly quickly (~ 2 weeks). The conspiracy theorist in me thinks they randomly "fail" just so they don't have to service as many. In reality it's probably just a combination of sloppy programming and neglected infrastructure. There's no way they're investing the time and effort to make that service any more bulletproof than they have to in order to keep the feds off their back.
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Mar 31, 2016 05:48
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Is there a definite answer to this, or would it vary heavily between banks? Let's say I've made several credit card purchases in the month of March. The balance is due on like April 25. Is there any credit score benefit to paying the balance off while still in the month of March, or should I wait until April (obviously before the 25th)? (this might have been a better question if it wasn't literally the 31st)
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Mar 31, 2016 08:34
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Banks report to credit bureaus on irregular intervals from what I've seen. I personally wouldn't worry about it, but I could be wrong.
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Mar 31, 2016 12:45
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Fuzzy Mammal posted:So I just did my annual online credit pull. Two of the bureaus worked fine, but for experian I got the amazingly unhelpful (paraphrased, i moved on but should have copypasted) error message, "A condition exists the prevents us from retrieving your report, <link to snail mail credit request form>." I've had this exact error since February with Experian. Not sure what's going on.
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Mar 31, 2016 13:52
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Nail Rat posted:Banks report to credit bureaus on irregular intervals from what I've seen. I personally wouldn't worry about it, but I could be wrong. Piggybacking on this comment: for the two months prior to applying for a new mortgage, my wife and I started using just one of our credit cards for all of our purchases, and I began paying that account online every week or so depending on the current balance. This was mostly to keep our utilization low for whatever date they pulled our credit, but also to avoid explaining why we had balances on like 6 credit card accounts. We use them for various rewards/points/cash back and pay the balance in full every month, but the mortgage companies just see a balance and get nosy. All in all it probably only had a few points effect on our credit score, if any, but we did it anyway!
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Mar 31, 2016 15:02
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I'm sure I'm being stupid here... With a new baby, my wife convinced me to open a dependent care FSA this year for daycare. My co-employer has been dutifully socking the money away and during the last pay period I finally pulled the trigger on my first withdrawal. With today's pay period deposit, my Federal withholding was noticeably higher. I thought the point was to only tax dependent care FSAs over the $5000 limit, but I guess this is telling me I'm being taxed now and will get it "back" when filing taxes next year?
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Mar 31, 2016 16:02
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Is this thread seriously advocating buying a new car over a used car? The average car needs nothing but oil changes for at least 100k miles. A 2-3 year old car is 30% cheaper than a brand new car but has 90% of it's useable life left. Love the dude who used a Honda Fit as an example of high used car prices, the Fit is literally the most desired and unavailable cheap used car that exists! Go compare a 3 year old accord to a brand new one.
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Mar 31, 2016 17:03
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tesilential posted:Is this thread seriously advocating buying a new car over a used car? The average car needs nothing but oil changes for at least 100k miles. A 2-3 year old car is 30% cheaper than a brand new car but has 90% of it's useable life left. That's a bit of an understatement. You'll need tires and brakes atleast.
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Mar 31, 2016 17:07
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tesilential posted:Is this thread seriously advocating buying a new car over a used car? The average car needs nothing but oil changes for at least 100k miles. A 2-3 year old car is 30% cheaper than a brand new car but has 90% of it's useable life left. So you're saying the usable life for a car is 20-30 years? I think you're overstating it a smidge. Also tires and brakes, see above. Depending on the car and where you go (and where you live), that can be an extra 1k, probably due around the time the car is 3-4 years old.
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Mar 31, 2016 17:08
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tesilential posted:Is this thread seriously advocating buying a new car over a used car? The average car needs nothing but oil changes for at least 100k miles. A 2-3 year old car is 30% cheaper than a brand new car but has 90% of it's useable life left. I'm not specifically advocating buying a new car. I'm responding to the common concept that the only financially prudent course is purchasing a used car. For instance, if you want to buy a Honda Fit, you should not buy a used one.
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Mar 31, 2016 19:59
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tesilential posted:Is this thread seriously advocating buying a new car over a used car? The average car needs nothing but oil changes for at least 100k miles. A 2-3 year old car is 30% cheaper than a brand new car but has 90% of it's useable life left. I think the easiest way to address this is with specific examples. I will be buying a new minivan this year. I want a nice, reasonably reliable van with leather seats. I have great credit and am flexible on price, but as low as necessary to get a good van. Which car should I buy where the used car is a way better deal than the equivalent new van? A link to a specific listing would be useful.
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Mar 31, 2016 21:28
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The Mandingo posted:For budget new cars, yes the depreciation doesn't hurt as much. Same for high-demand vehicles. A 2 year old used Subaru Forester in Dallas, TX costs nearly as much as a new one. On the other hand, a 3 year old BMW M3s within 50 miles of me are going for $41-47k while a 2016 average cost is $71k (numbers from Edmunds) . Sure but that specific comparison is to a new generation car
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Apr 1, 2016 05:37
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:For instance, if you want to buy a Honda Fit, you should not buy a used one. For the reasons you have outlined as an unusually high demand reliable used compact, also because at the end of the day it's a $17,000 car where the worst possible mistake you can make buying it is a couple thousand dollars and who the gently caress cares
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Apr 1, 2016 05:44
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BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:Sure but that specific comparison is to a new generation car
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Apr 1, 2016 05:51
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Nail Rat posted:This is not always true nowadays, because so many people have heard and parroted this once-true claim that demand has changed to favoring slightly used cars. I don't disagree, but do you have any data on this? I'm looking at buying a minivan and 3 year used ones are ~$28ish and new ones are ~$35kish. For 3 years that doesn't seem like much depreciation...
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Apr 1, 2016 06:03
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Crossposting from the stupid questions thread since I'm in the middle of a panic attack and it's kind of related to my personal finance.... Today while walking to mail an important document it slipped out of my pocket and I've completely lost it. It has my full name, address, social security number, and account information on it. I've already called the bank and froze the account. I've called the 3 credit bureaus and placed security freezes on my information. What else do I need to do, and what else do I need to look out for? I'm freaking the gently caress out and I can't calm down.
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Apr 1, 2016 14:59
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SeaWolf posted:Crossposting from the stupid questions thread since I'm in the middle of a panic attack and it's kind of related to my personal finance....
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Apr 1, 2016 15:18
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OK, that's reassuring and I'm calming down a little bit as much as I can while scolding myself for being so loving stupid losing something so important... I don't plan on opening any accounts, loans, cards, or doing anything that would require a credit check in the near future, hell probably even a couple of years... So it would be OK to leave the freeze on my credit in place for 6 months+ or until I find something that's going to need a pull?
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Apr 1, 2016 15:26
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When I did that one time, somebody picked it up and dropped it in the mailbox and it eventually came back to me.
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Apr 1, 2016 15:28
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Get pockets that zip.
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Apr 1, 2016 15:30
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SeaWolf posted:Crossposting from the stupid questions thread since I'm in the middle of a panic attack and it's kind of related to my personal finance.... I don't know if this will be reassuring or troubling, but using actual mail to do identity theft is so 1990's. Thieves used to dumpster dive back then to find old mail, addresses, statements, balances, etc: bless their souls. No one does that anymore. Identity theft is bigger than ever but now information is stolen 10 million credit card numbers at a time. Someone who is interested in stealing and doing real damage isn't going to fool around with a piece of mail and the effort it would take to use it. They are going to buy thousands of credit cards neatly organized on a spreadsheet on the dark web using bitcoin. The new way is so much quicker, easier, and doesn't involve digging through your banana peels. But you did the right thing and there is nothing else you can realistically do.
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Apr 1, 2016 17:43
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A couple of years ago. I posted that I was 2500$ in debt and overdrew my bank account by 700$. Things have been looking up this last year. I graduated last year with zero debt. Student loan fully payed off. My bank account is healthy with an average of 1400$ leftover each month. Opened a savings account which now has 1500$ on it. I can supply my mother with 250$ each month. Things are going great. I pay the full amount of my credit card each month so that doesn't go wrong anymore. Thank you goons for the advice back then. I was a stupid kid back then. I think i'm going to save up this year and maybe buy an house next year.
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Apr 5, 2016 11:37
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Nice work!Sefal posted:I think i'm going to save up this year and maybe buy an house next year.
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Apr 5, 2016 13:20
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Houses are great for making all your money disappear.
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Apr 5, 2016 20:48
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Looking for some retirement/money advice! Between my wife and myself, we make approximately $6,500 a month post tax due to a recent promotion. I pay 5% of my salary into a state pension plan, while her work offers nothing for retirement. Our non-negotiable bills run roughly $2,000 a month, although they might go up slightly if we move into a nicer place. We have no meaningful non-student loan debt, and do not own a home. Month to month, we save between $1,000 - $2,000, depending on expenses, and it goes straight into a savings account. If need be, we could cut spending down considerably. Neither of us know anything about retirement or investing. Right now we have $21,000 sitting in savings account doing nothing. Should we open IRAs? How much would be a good number to set aside? My pension plan vests in another 2 years, and after 25 years (in the state) pays out at my highest 3 mos. salary. Is there something to do with our savings that's better than .05% savings account from Wells Fargo? Our upcoming spending goals are we might buy a house in the next few years (maybe not) and might have to buy a second car, probably something used in the 5-6k range and we'd pay in cash.
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Apr 6, 2016 23:27
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Max your IRAs.
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Apr 6, 2016 23:34
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Max your IRAs. Do this before the end of next week and you can max out your 2015 IRAs and your 2016 IRAs. e: to clarify, this would mean contributing $5,500 each by the 4/15/16 and characterizing it as your 2015 contribution, and then contributing an additional $5,500 each anytime between now and 4/15/17 and characterizing it as your 2016 contribution pig slut lisa fucked around with this message at 00:01 on Apr 7, 2016 |
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Apr 6, 2016 23:58
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Seven Hundred Bee posted:Should we open IRAs? How much would be a good number to set aside? My pension plan vests in another 2 years, and after 25 years (in the state) pays out at my highest 3 mos. salary. Is there something to do with our savings that's better than .05% savings account from Wells Fargo?
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Apr 7, 2016 00:03
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Most likely Roth IRA unless the traditional is getting you a tax break.
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Apr 7, 2016 01:20
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I have a couple of questions for future My wife is a 1099 contractor. When we attempt to figure out how much to set aside for taxes, do we need to also put 1 dependent for her calculations if I'm already claiming our son on my W-4? If this doesn't make sense, I apologize. Secondly, is there a place where I could use to get the amount we should be setting aside for taxes? I've used PaycheckCity.com for a bit but wanted to be sure I'm not seeing a better tool.
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Apr 7, 2016 15:23
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I know this isn't recommended, but I am tempted to pull Roth IRA money out to pay off a large chunk of debt now and begin maxing IRA and 401k contributions once those are paid off. What's the process for that? Sell everything so it's in cash, then request a check? I'll get a 1099-R, then fill out a 8068 form to show what's been contributed right? It's been open only a couple years, but I guess you can withdraw contributions at any time? Part of the balance is from an old 401k I rolled over and converted to a Roth IRA- that counted as contributions for this scenario?
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Apr 7, 2016 19:38
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A 401k loan is probably a better option if you have any 401k funds available, since you can pay it back and not forego tax advantaged space. Don't know much about IRA withdrawals, sorry.
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Apr 7, 2016 22:08
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