Sigh; gotta buy a car.

Mosca · 12-11-04, 06:52

Well, I don't HAVE to, but the insurance deductible on our demos just went to $5000, and I don't feel comfortable with that, no siree.

Just so everyone knows, it's not any easier doing this even if you work at a dealership. Yes, I have no problem getting a good deal, but it''s not any fun spending $16000 instead of $17000.

If I go used, which I probably will, I'll probably go with a Malibu Maxx. I can pick one up at auction with less than 20K for around $16000. Not that it's the best car, but it's nice enough.

Tom

zevo · 12-11-04, 07:03

My way of looking at it, is that if you have a 5K deductible you only stand to lose 5K if you have a wreck. Chances are you won't use it. Now as we all know, any car especially an american car will depreciate rapidly. After two years or less you will lose at least 5K in value on a car you buy. However, with the demo you will be out zero dollars unless you have a wreck etc. I'd personally take the 5k risk, and collect interest on 5k in the bank and put wear and tear on the demo.

jvcn · 12-11-04, 07:39

Mosca,

I'm surprised you'd buy a relatively new car. Wouldn't you be in a better position to cherry pick the higher mileage luxury cars at a dealer only auction?

I figure for $16K you should be able to get some great Acura RLs or TLs, Infiniti G35s, Q45s, or Lexus GS/LS400s? Even in the >60,000 mile range, those cars should be nicer and more reliable than the Maxx, especially if you get the dealer pricing.

Wish I could go to dealer auctions.

Accumulator · 12-11-04, 08:03

I wouldn't worry about the deductible either. Accidents just aren't all that likely/unavoidable. My "deer incident" was the first one I've ever felt I couldn't have avoided had I been more on the ball, and looking back, I dunno about that one either...gets back to my "if you're the driver and it happens to you, it's on you" approach to driving. Buying a car you're not crazy about (let alone for that kind of money) isn't my idea of fun, or of a wise expenditure either.

Mosca · 12-12-04, 07:56

The other problem is, in PA, any damage over $500 and the car can't be sold as new. I would be responsible for any lost value when the car was sold, ie the difference between selling price and actual cost. zevo, even taking that into account as part of a pure calculation your numbers are correct, but there's value in spreading the potential loss over time. I can take the hit, but I don't want to have to. And, the hit isn't "once and then never again"; the potential is there for a repeat. One employee had his demo hit in his driveway by an uninsured drunk driver while he was asleep upstairs; it cost him over $3500, and that was when our deductible was $1000 (the deductible and $2500 lost value).

jvcn, I thought about that, but I'm a "warranty" guy. By my reasoning, I can get a 1 year old car that has depreciated between 30% and 50% of its original cost, and take $800 or so and "buy back" twice the warranty that the car had as new. Those are cool cars, but I wouldn't want to be on the hook for anything major, even if the risk is smaller. And, the GM cars are pretty reliable these days; you see the biggest differences not in repair statistics but in refinement, materials used, and fitment of cosmetic parts.

Both the "accept the risk" strategy and the "pass the risk" strategy are valid; a person has to go with which one he feels most comfortable. I'm more comfortable with spending a bit now to even out potential bumps later. I've had enough "that'll never happen" moments already.

Tom

Accumulator · 12-12-04, 08:38

Mosca- The "can't sell as new"/lost value thing didn't occur to me. Sounds like you've got this pretty well thought out. Just give the same careful consideration to *which* car you get

az57chevy · 12-12-04, 10:34

Could you buy an insurance policy to cover your deductible and lost value? I get a company car and put over 70 miles on it daily. Belive me that is a great fringe benefit (plus free maintenance and gas).

Aurora40 · 12-12-04, 11:04

Heh, so no one likes the Maxx, ehh? I think they are kinda neat and I'm glad to see GM get into station wagons again. Now if it only had a V8 and RWD...

medic · 12-12-04, 12:27

Quote:

Originally posted by Aurora40
Heh, so no one likes the Maxx, ehh? I think they are kinda neat and I'm glad to see GM get into station wagons again. Now if it only had a V8 and RWD...

dodge magnum srt

<drool>

Shiny Lil Detlr · 12-12-04, 01:50

Quote:

Originally posted by Aurora40
Heh, so no one likes the Maxx, ehh? I think they are kinda neat and I'm glad to see GM get into station wagons again. Now if it only had a V8 and RWD...

The only thing about the Maxx I don't like is that it isn't a *true* station wagon. It's got that half-cargo/half-trunk thing going which doesn't quite do it for me

Scottwax · 12-14-04, 09:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Aurora40
Heh, so no one likes the Maxx, ehh? I think they are kinda neat and I'm glad to see GM get into station wagons again. Now if it only had a V8 and RWD...

...and better styling, and a less bland interior....

Too much 'rental car' look for me, even though I understand underneath the ugly they are actually pretty decent.

jvcn · 12-14-04, 09:33

Mosca,

It does sound like you know what you want. But one last question: I thought that the top luxury cars are easy to warranty even at the 65K range? I've seen 3rd party warranties on Lexus and Acura go for <$2000 to cover up to 4 years. Again, since you're in the biz, I figure you would know which companies to go with. Here again, the reliabillity of these brands is in their favor. So I'm not sure where the greater risk is with say a 2001 Certified Acura RL vs a one year old GM anything.

The reason I ask is I'm trying to figure out how much extra info people like yourself have over schmoos like me who just have to deal with hearsay and Web research and who are locked out of dealer only auctions.

But what do I know?

Good luck.