Well, my first week at the new job is over. I’m exhausted, but happy. And with the job, comes a paycheck. A little over $1,000 a month, to be precise. And my current car is starting to wear out. So I went to the local dealership, and checked out a brand new, 2017 Ford Fiesta ST. Black body, black rims, black interior, 200hp turbocharged I-4, 6 speed manual.
First impressions: Holy cow. What a car. It’s fast, but not so fast that it overwhelms. Handling is spectacular, shifting is smooth as butter (except for my ineptitude in rev matching), and it’s comfy for such a small car. The sound system is great, it has that new car smell, I’m in love.
But here’s the tough part: $300/month payments. Now, because I’m married to a guy who makes a lot more than I do, I don’t have to worry about rent or bills, so all I need to pay for is food and gas, so I CAN afford it. But $300/month for 6 years is a big commitment, and I’m not sure I’m ready to make the leap. What do y’all think? My current car is a 2009 Ford Taurus, with body damage, a leaky rear differential, and a few other little problems. I can wait, if this one sells I can order one just like it, but if I wait too long my trade-in will depreciate and I won’t get as good a deal. So should I jump, or try to keep my Taurus going?
If you like the Ford Fiesta ST then I say go for it, but I would maybe keep shopping around for more inexpensive cars if you are on a budget.
But you only live once
What about leasing a car? If you lose your job you can just return the car. Or buying a car 1 or 2 years old. New cars depreciate a lot as soon you drive them out of the lot.
Been thinking about leasing, but my credit isn’t great so my lease options are limited. Worst case scenario, if I lose my job, The Husband can handle a few payments for me until I get a new job.
A new car depreciates by a few thousand dollars as soon as you drive it off of the lot. You may want to think of this if you buy this car and there’s a chance you may lose your income and have to sell it. You may be better off buying a 2016 model that will be just as nice as a 2017 model or at least almost as nice but cheaper and has a high resale value…
When you buy certain cars you may want to consider how easy they are to maintain and how easy they are for your mechanic to work on. I bought a beautiful 2012 VW Jetta two years ago. It was like new but something went wrong and when I brought it into my mechanic he initially fixed the problem but then it kept breaking and it took several trips and having to be without a car to get to work off and on for a month while it was in the shop.They are hard to work on and get parts for. My mechanic wryly said to me, “Nick, I sure wish you had bought a Camry”. Having fancy cars can cost more to insure too. I hate to be a downer, I’m just trying to be practical.
Maybe don’t get a brand new car? I got my Impala as an off-lease vehicle. It’s a year old and had 20,000km when I got it, but I didn’t have to be the one who ate massive depreciation on it.
I would caution you about Ford turbochargers… They have very ‘light’ designs so that they are more responsive (less material means they spin up faster and provide boost sooner when exhaust pressure rises). It also means they fail a lot sooner. There are a lot of Ford F-150 EcoBoost owners discovering that any fuel economy savings from their tubocharged six-cylinders are eaten up when the turbos fail around 180,000km. Many many thousands of dollars to replace them.
If you’re going to lease a vehicle for 2 years and ditch it, have fun with the turbo. If you’re going to own it for six years, get something normally aspirated.
Finally, insurance, yeah. You’re going to pay more for new. Also, you’d better have (and KEEP) a clean insurance history as insurance costs can rocket upwards with a ticket or accident (something I have to explain to shocked customers who drive like idiots several times per week – apparently it’s MY fault their driving abstract looks like Satan’s resume).
My wife and I each purchased 2016s this past month. She got a Dodge Caravan and I picked up a Chevy Impala. It’s the way to go.
I also want to exchange, my car is 2010 model, suzuki based. I want big car with a high road clearance because here road is not even. And I also require to go site on village areas.
I’ve pretty much decided to lease instead of buy, but I’ve also pretty much set my mind on this specific car. My local dealership doesn’t have any 2016s anyway, and I like doing business with them. I’ll probably keep it for 3 years and trade it in, maybe upgrade to a Focus RS or a Taurus SHO.
As for turbo problems, thanks for the heads up, but I won’t be keeping it past the powertrain warranty anyway, and turbos are covered (I checked). Maintenance isn’t a problem, I’m a certified mechanic so I can do most of the work myself, given enough free time.
Insurance is fine, I’m a very careful driver (occasional fun-having notwithstanding). And The Husband and I are selling the '76 Plymouth Volare we got a while back, so that’s going to make insurance a bit cheaper anyway. Overall, we’re in a pretty good place financially, so I think it’s a good time for us to get this car. The Husband is all for it, too.
