1999 Subaru Outback Impreza, 79.6k miles -- trade in for a new Ford Fiesta, Fusion, or wait?

[Deja Q]

(or a last year's model and save big bux.)

[malta blue]

1. I'll trade you my 2003 Subaru Outback 68k on it.

:shrug:

[Deja Q]

6. Not bad mileage...

Still, Ford's reputation has gone up from everything I'd read and it's time for a new car anyway... :)

[flvegan]

2. If I could get the snazzy 0% interest rate, I'd be all over it.

Unless you're paying cash. No idea your monetary situation.

[Deja Q]

3. Net negligible difference is 0

I've some debt, but I have money in an emergency account that will be used toward the purchase... or to eliminate enough standing debt.


I will vie for the 0% APR... Ford has some spectacular incentives right now and the latest I read today shows they are reliable.

So's the Subaru but it's just as possible for a major problem to happen to older cars - even ones not driven much (seals wear out; you should see my 12 year old rubber spatula...)

And I want to go hybrid if possible.

I'll know more tomorrow.

[NJmaverick]

4. If you are in the market for a car

and can afford it, now is the time to buy. The deals are incredible.

[Deja Q]

5. Thanks! ...

I will have to do financing (~6 years, at 0 or 1%, and my credit rating is high enough), but it is within my overall budget.

I won't have to dip out of retirement account as well, though given 60% of that is gone I'm still nervous about leaving it in. I know people who took out their savings just as the crash began and I'm really beginning to wonder if I'm the bigger sucker...

[NJmaverick]

7. I hear ya about the retirement savings

my feeling is that I should ride it out though. One sure way to lose money is buy high then sell low. I am thinking that things will eventually get better and we all will recoup at least some of our losses.

[Lars39]

8. What kind of mileage does it get and how many miles do you put on it

in a month? If it gets good mileage I'd think about just keeping it. Even expensive repairs are cheaper than car payments in the long run.

[Deja Q]

10. 20MPG city, 23MPG highway. Only do city driving. And it needs some repair work...

Including replacing the engine block heater... in MN winters, that's a biggie. That one is the most major aspect...

But even going from 27MPG city to 20MPG city, that made a HUGE increase in gas payments.

[Lars39]

11. That's not real good gas mileage.

It's your call, DQ. :D :hi:

[Deja Q]

12. Thx! I am thinking of biting the bullet...

I'll try for the hybrid, but if not the non-hybrid and Taurus look very nice and have high reliability ratings (source: US News and World Report...)

And other options, I have time...

[RebelOne]

17. Get the Taurus. I am on my second one.

It's a very reliable car, but the gas mileage is not too great. I only get 22 mpg on the highway.

[Deja Q]

18. I read up on them; they are VERY reliable... and now a rant because I love mewling...

I'm still thinking Fusion (non-hybrid unless something really inexpensive comes my way).

The 2009 Fusion (not 2010) will save money left and right, though a 2010 would be nice... I prefer frugality when updating. (that and 25mpg city mileage is about on par with my previous Corolla...)

And they are said to be very reliable too. :)

The last Ford I had was a Probe, and it had problems. In hindsight, the person who I brought it from... he may have treated it badly.

Because of a bad experience at my local Toyota dealer in 2001, I will NEVER get another Toyota. Not to mention my 95 Corolla started leaking oil at 70k (2003) and by 90k (2005) transmission fluid was leaking.

Suburus are great cars too, but for the next few years Ford appears to have the most going for them.

[kentauros]

9. Can Top Gear help you decide?

:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIeu7_-iwdw

[midnight armadillo]

13. Keep it. Do the math, or just read cause I did it for you.

Keep it. Your Subaru is just broken in. Compare your gas savings vs. the cost of a car payment. Let's see...

Assuming you drive 9000 miles per year. Your Subaru runs ~22 mpg mixed. At $2.75/gal, that's $1125/year. A more efficient car getting 30 mpg is $825, at 40 mpg that's $619.

Cost of your car, fully owned: Maintenance. New engine block heater...$500? $500/12 = $42/mo in costs. Meaningless, really.

New car, $20k, 5% down at 7.78% interest for 48 months: $388.95/month.

So...to make up the difference in gas savings for your 40 mpg car, just considering purchase price and mileage, you will need to drive it for... 442 months, or 36 years. Reality won't be as bad since the Subie will need more maintenance in the future and gas prices will rise in the future, but I would say a 20 year payback period is a pretty shitty way to save money at the pump.



In my book, get a new (used) car to replace a car your OWN if: a) the old one consistently does not meet your needs, b) it can no longer be operated at a high enough level of reliability, or c) a new car has features (safety, comfort etc) that you decide you simply cannot live without or d) you like to spend large amounts of money on a rapidly depreciating item

[quakerboy]

14. That assumes that

a 10 year old car and a 20 and 30 year old car have similar maintenance costs. Which has not, in my experience, true. I have always observed those maintanance costs to rise on a curve with increases in age and mileage.

I tend to agree with your end statements though. In my book a new car is for when you Need it, and is not something that should ever come out of an "emergency fund" unless its actually an emergency. And I don't ever expect to have the discretionary cash to outright buy a new car, nor at this point the faith that the economy will ever be good/stable enough to justify taking out a 20K loan for a car, when waiting a year and buying used will cut that in half.

[Deja Q]

16. There's only one type of post I would never read...

And it wouldn't be from you in the first place... :)

Second, I dig math... I certainly agree, for gas reasons alone, it's a very shitty way to save at the pump. :D

Then insurance costs go uppity-up... Bob Dole on his viagra would blush by how much it would go up.

Only with a 0% APR for 5 (or 6) years would I consider it, in which case it's $300/mo. (For a non-hybrid; I've budgeted a $18k cap, but I've read some have gotten the Fusion hybrid for $160k/w 0%...)

I might also go for a slightly used model (if possible) or last year's, to help save on depreciation -- year one's depreciation alone is astronomical.

Maintenance on the Subie is horrible - when something does happen. Right now it's only if a tire goes flat; being AWD, all 4 tires must be replaced.

Hybrid or otherwise, from your final paragraph, I'd say "C" is my main reason.

The other is because there are great financing deals right now. MY credit rating is high enough; I would balk at anything over 1.99%. I would also balk if they tried to shortchange me on the KBB value of the car; I know how much it's worth and it's a great car for someone starting out.

[TrogL]

15. For God sakes keep it

I've got one from a similar year with 256k and it's running perfectly.