Advice on Buying a Car

[davisgroup]

As a FE newbie, I am noticing how quickly I am racking up the milage on my 13 yr old car. I am close to trading it in for a new ride. For tax purposes, is leasing ever a good option or is it always better to buy and deduct milage? Thanks.

 

[lsalmans]

In my opinion. This is a great question, and it can help you save money. IMO buy a foreign car because of its longevity, and it can really pay off for you from a deduction stand point. IF you buy a toyota corolla, maybe a turbo diesel like a jetta, or a honda accord. These cars are on the record exceeding 250,000 total miles, usually 300,000 total miles if you take descent care of it.

If these are all work miles, which they should be. this should be your "work car". 300,000 miles at $.55 per mile is $165,000 worth of deduction. Assuming a 15% tax rate this is nearly $25000 is tax liability saved.

also, you will probably far exceed the per year miles that the leasing agreement is wanting you to try to stay within. Leasing is for commuters. People who drive 20 miles a day, things like that.

I personally drive a corolla. and i buy.

 

[G.Gordon]

Toyota or Honda, 2-4 years old, 25-80k on the odo, drive it until it blows up. I have two vehicals, a Rav 4 with just shy of 300k and a Tacoma with just shy of 200k. Drive em both like I want to. Paid off and still running.

In this biz, your car is only important in getting you to the money. As long as it is not butt ugly and smoking... drive it until it stops.

 

[Rearden]

Anything foreign will work (Sorry JD).

'98 Lexus is just starting to give me minor problems at 263,000 miles.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

13 year old car here - I'll replace it when it blows up. Cannot stand car payments.

That said, always buy. 95% of leases when I sold BMW's was companies for their employees.

If you want a new car but want max savings, ask for one model year old but new. So ask for a year 2012 - most lots will be all but giving them away. If you want bigger savings than that, buy a 2012 used. Chances are it'll still have a decent warranty left regarding mileage and someone else took the depreciation hit.

 

[Josh]

As has already been said, just buy a cheap car that'll run forever. A Corolla is a great choice, the Jetta can be a nice option too. I had a passat I drove til it died (premature death due to a guardrail jumping in front of it during a storm). I'm on my second Passat and have a Jetta too. I don't drive much at all because I work from home and/or drive like 10 miles to my office (Fairfax to Vienna), but when I started I made the huge mistake of buying a V8 jeep and that got expensive in a hurry. Anything good on gas, reliable, and comfortable is going to be a great deal.

 

[agentexhorter]

Buy, don't lease.

Pay cash for what ever you buy.

 

[davisgroup]

Thanks for the good advice. Gas can sure eat into the profits. I am thinking diesal may be a good option. Not sure why the Asian cars have not tapped in to that area yet.

 

[jtow]

Thanks for the good advice. Gas can sure eat into the profits. I am thinking diesal may be a good option. Not sure why the Asian cars have not tapped in to that area yet.

My '93 BMW has 290K miles on it, still drives like new. Rarely anything ever cause a problem, biggest expense was a new alternator 4 years ago.

 

[nfl72]

I sold Toyotas for 14 years and for the money you can't beat them. Toyota and HOnda I belive are the best guilt cars in the world.

I driv a lexus sc400, a 740Il a Lexus rx300 and a Porsch 911 carrera for pleasure. When I work i drive a gmc truck.

For selling FE the Prius cant be beat. I drove one for a month and it got 50 miles a gallon in the city. Over the long haul it will be much cheaper to drive than a VW diesel. It is more durable and gets better MPG