New Car Feedback

We bought a 3 yo off-lease Subaru 3.6R. It was $12,000 less than new with 35,000 miles. The drivetrain warranty is 5 years/60,000 miles so we didn't see much downside to that choice.

It's a good choice, but it's not "crazy to buy new" - The 3.6Rs when new were often getting $4-5k off sticker so you really saved $7-8k, and if not CPO (which have big markups) there might be very little warranty. One big saver is excise tax - on a new 3.6R it'd be like $1000 first year, maybe $600 second year. With a 3 year old car it'd be like $200 and $100. Plus you save sales tax.
 
Subaru is a solid choice. I have an outback and it's a beast in the snow.

I find Subaru's misleading in snow - most people just use the stock all season tires in winter, so you have a car that drives great in snow when you're on the gas, and turns into a sled when you let off the gas. If you know what you're doing (stay on the gas while cornering), or you put decent snows on it, or just drive real slow, they are fine. Not sure what percentage of Subaru drivers puts snows on them, or knows what they're doing.

I've been driving FWD or RWD with good snows and prefer the predictability vs my wife's Subarus, when they had sucky stock tires on them. Soon as they wear out I put Nokian all seasons on them.

Another reason to buy 2-3 year old used - you can replace the used stock tires with good tires. :)
 
I find Subaru's misleading in snow - most people just use the stock all season tires in winter, so you have a car that drives great in snow when you're on the gas, and turns into a sled when you let off the gas. If you know what you're doing (stay on the gas while cornering), or you put decent snows on it, or just drive real slow, they are fine. Not sure what percentage of Subaru drivers puts snows on them, or knows what they're doing.

I've been driving FWD or RWD with good snows and prefer the predictability vs my wife's Subarus, when they had sucky stock tires on them. Soon as they wear out I put Nokian all seasons on them.

Another reason to buy 2-3 year old used - you can replace the used stock tires with good tires. :)
Great points. I had Nokians all weather (snow rated) tires. Amazing in the snow, then with 2 yrs and 6/32 on them I had to remove them as they became loud AF. I just couldn't take it anymore
 
I got it 5? Years ago and have done nothing but throw parts at it. Not super impressed with it overall.
So you bought a 10 year old vehicle and had to repair it multiple times? How many miles did it have when you got it as a 10 year old suv?
 
I find Subaru's misleading in snow - most people just use the stock all season tires in winter, so you have a car that drives great in snow when you're on the gas, and turns into a sled when you let off the gas. If you know what you're doing (stay on the gas while cornering), or you put decent snows on it, or just drive real slow, they are fine. Not sure what percentage of Subaru drivers puts snows on them, or knows what they're doing.

I've been driving FWD or RWD with good snows and prefer the predictability vs my wife's Subarus, when they had sucky stock tires on them. Soon as they wear out I put Nokian all seasons on them.

Another reason to buy 2-3 year old used - you can replace the used stock tires with good tires. :)
Been buying Subarus for decades. Wife and I have been through 5 of them and got an average of 150k out of each of them before selling and buying another new one. Never had any of them need any major repairs just tires breaks and general pm.

I have had snow tires for all of them. Change them out in November and April. They are all amazing with snow tires. I agree .. with the stock tires on a Subaru in the snow you may as well not even bother with awd.

My first non Subaru ever is my current 2015 Tacoma off road. Got into hunting big time and carting dead deer around in a Forester just sucks.....and we got a small camper. Had it 5 years now......will turn 100k any day now. One repair.....the radiator had rot on where a hose connected cost me $400. Other than that it's a tank of a mid size truck and In way more solid shape at this point than any of my subies had on then at 100k. The $400 repair on the tacoma is a bit of a piss off for me.....based solely on the fact that my wife and I ran 5 previous Subarus for 150k or more and have never had to repair one.....not a single repair ever.
 
Last edited:
Was a huge VW fan from 70's until 3 years ago, always had their quirks but were mostly bullet proof for major items, last one was a total disaster and when you talk to others you hear the same story. I would never ever buy another VW. Have had volvo's, BMW's, Fords and GM's along with almost every Japanese brand and VW issues were more than all of those combined.
 
So you bought a 10 year old vehicle and had to repair it multiple times? How many miles did it have when you got it as a 10 year old suv?
I actually got if as a partial trade from my dad. My wife and I had just moved back from Philly with our first born and needed 2 cars. He bought our Lexus RX from us and gave me that. My parents bought it new and he maintained it religiously
 
I find Subaru's misleading in snow - most people just use the stock all season tires in winter, so you have a car that drives great in snow when you're on the gas, and turns into a sled when you let off the gas. If you know what you're doing (stay on the gas while cornering), or you put decent snows on it, or just drive real slow, they are fine. Not sure what percentage of Subaru drivers puts snows on them, or knows what they're doing.

I've been driving FWD or RWD with good snows and prefer the predictability vs my wife's Subarus, when they had sucky stock tires on them. Soon as they wear out I put Nokian all seasons on them.

Another reason to buy 2-3 year old used - you can replace the used stock tires with good tires. :)
Yup definitely adding snows. 20" wheels though 🙄
 
I actually got if as a partial trade from my dad. My wife and I had just moved back from Philly with our first born and needed 2 cars. He bought our Lexus RX from us and gave me that. My parents bought it new and he maintained it religiously
How many miles did it have on it? Religiously maintained or not........imo past 160k any vehicle might start throwing repairs at you. That is kind of my reason for buying new cars when my old ones hit 150k to 160k. In all honestly.....if I had a 10 year old vehicle with 160k plus that never threw any repairs on it......and I was just starting to do 2-3 repairs a year costing me $2k to $3k a year to keep it running I wouldn't be complaining about that model......I'd be looking to buy another one brand new.
 
Last edited:
How many miles did it have on it? Religiously maintained or not........imo past 160k any vehicle might start throwing repairs at you. That is kind of my reason for buying new cars when my old ones hit 150k to 160k. In all honestly.....if I had a 10 year old vehicle with 160k plus that never threw any repairs on it......and I was just starting to do 2-3 repairs a year costing me $2k to $3k a year to keep it running I wouldn't be complaining about that model......I'd be looking to buy another one brand new.
He barely drives so it only had 70k when I got it, but he had already replaced a number of parts himself.... radiator, alternator, 2 starters, window motors and dealt with some rust issues. Has 110k currently. I know its low for a Toyota..
 
Well, my last truck was exactly 2 years old with 26,000 miles when i bought it. Brand new it sold for $36,000. I paid $21,000. I paid cash and ive been driving it for a little over 9 years.
Unfortunately, the truck market has gone full retard in the past 5-10 years. Deals like that are pretty hard to find. Newer used trucks dont make much financial sense these days.
 
Unfortunately, the truck market has gone full retard in the past 5-10 years. Deals like that are pretty hard to find. Newer used trucks dont make much financial sense these days.
Nonsense. It always makes sense to let some other sucker pay the new car premium. You'll save AT LEAST 20%, usually a lot more. Not to mention your excise tax and insurance will be lower too. Plus, if you save up and pay most or all with cash you won't pay any interest either.
"Our data shows that cars can lose more than 10 percent of their value during the first month after you drive off the lot. The amount your car is worth will just keep falling, too. According to current depreciation rates, the value of a new vehicle can drop by more than 20 percent after the first 12 months of ownership."
20 percent the first year, and that's conservative.
 
He barely drives so it only had 70k when I got it, but he had already replaced a number of parts himself.... radiator, alternator, 2 starters, window motors and dealt with some rust issues. Has 110k currently. I know its low for a Toyota..
Yeah wow that's not normal for Toyota suv or trucks.
 
Everyone uses MSRP for the new car when calculating their used car savings. Nobody pays MSRP (except my dad).
Exactly, you need to look at what you pay/save

for example I wanted a Toyota Tundra Crew Max to fit my 3 kids in the back.
Bought it 3 years old 37k miles
I looked into new and the best deal I got was $37,500
When I found my current truck they where asking $31,500
I gave them $25k and a 14 year old 180k mile hurting tundra.
They hit me up on sales tax
 
Last edited:
Nonsense. It always makes sense to let some other sucker pay the new car premium. You'll save AT LEAST 20%, usually a lot more. Not to mention your excise tax and insurance will be lower too. Plus, if you save up and pay most or all with cash you won't pay any interest either.
"Our data shows that cars can lose more than 10 percent of their value during the first month after you drive off the lot. The amount your car is worth will just keep falling, too. According to current depreciation rates, the value of a new vehicle can drop by more than 20 percent after the first 12 months of ownership."
20 percent the first year, and that's conservative.
That value only seems to be low when “we” are trying to sell or trade our own stuff.
The big problem these days is finding even 2-4 year old vehicles with low miles.
 
Well, my last truck was exactly 2 years old with 26,000 miles when i bought it. Brand new it sold for $36,000. I paid $21,000. I paid cash and ive been driving it for a little over 9 years.
What truck ? And how do you know how much the new truck actually sold for
 
Been buying Subarus for decades. Wife and I have been through 5 of them and got an average of 150k out of each of them before selling and buying another new one. Never had any of them need any major repairs just tires breaks and general pm.

I have had snow tires for all of them. Change them out in November and April. They are all amazing with snow tires. I agree .. with the stock tires on a Subaru in the snow you may as well not even bother with awd.
//
Subaru Outbacks used to come with the Bridgestone RE92 or 92A A/S. On TireRack they were ranked 23rd out of 25 A/S tires. They were so bad that we literally drove the 2006 we bought new from the dealer in Manchester to the Nokian dealer in Manchester - and sold the four brand-new takeoffs for $100.

As someone mentioned OEM tires are designed for low price, high MPG, smooth ride and low noise. Wear and traction are way down the list. The OEM's on our Tahoe have 20-25,000 miles on them and I'll replace them next spring when the winter tires come off.
 
Subaru Outbacks used to come with the Bridgestone RE92 or 92A A/S. On TireRack they were ranked 23rd out of 25 A/S tires. They were so bad that we literally drove the 2006 we bought new from the dealer in Manchester to the Nokian dealer in Manchester - and sold the four brand-new takeoffs for $100.

As someone mentioned OEM tires are designed for low price, high MPG, smooth ride and low noise. Wear and traction are way down the list. The OEM's on our Tahoe have 20-25,000 miles on them and I'll replace them next spring when the winter tires come off.
I use blizzak snow tires on the Subarus.....and kept oem tires for summer. Never has any issues in summer with oem tires and the blizzaks were very good in snow.

On my Tacoma......it came with bfgoodrich rugged trails.... Got 65k out if that set and I replaced them with bf Goodrich all terrain ta. The rugged trails I probably could have pushed a other 20k miles.....I rotate every other oil change and they last much longer.....Toyota is not skimping on their oem tires on their trucks. I just wanted a more aggressive tire is the reason I bought new bf Goodrich tires......even with 65k on em they had life left.

The all terrain ta tires are awesome in snow and in unbelievable Durning hunting season in the power lines and old tank trails I travel at fort devens. Off roading at devens during hunting season is as much fun as the hunt.
 
Last edited:
//On my Tacoma......it came with bfgoodrich rugged trails.... Got 65k out if that set and I replaced them with bf Goodrich all terrain ta. The rugged trails I probably could have pushed a other 20k miles.....I rotate every other oil change and they last much longer.....Toyota is not skimping on their oem tires on their trucks. I just wanted a more aggressive tire is the reason I bought new bf Goodrich tires......even with 65k on em they had life left.
//
Our Ford Econoline came with OEM Michelin LTX and lasted 55,000. We replaced them one Fall with aftermarket Michelin LTX, and they lasted 30,000 miles longer.
 
Nonsense. It always makes sense to let some other sucker pay the new car premium. You'll save AT LEAST 20%, usually a lot more. Not to mention your excise tax and insurance will be lower too. Plus, if you save up and pay most or all with cash you won't pay any interest either.
"Our data shows that cars can lose more than 10 percent of their value during the first month after you drive off the lot. The amount your car is worth will just keep falling, too. According to current depreciation rates, the value of a new vehicle can drop by more than 20 percent after the first 12 months of ownership."
20 percent the first year, and that's conservative.
This is true with many manufacturers but when I was looking for a Tacoma the price difference between used and new was minimal. Two year old Tacoma with 30k +/- miles were around $3k less than new. I was very surprised that Toyota was offering discounts off msrp on new Tacomas when I purchased mine.
 
This is true with many manufacturers but when I was looking for a Tacoma the price difference between used and new was minimal. Two year old Tacoma with 30k +/- miles were around $3k less than new. I was very surprised that Toyota was offering discounts off msrp on new Tacomas when I purchased mine.
This was my experience. When I bought my Tacoma in 2012, one dealer was asking more for a CPO than the same truck new. Walked right out the door.
 
Quick searches for F-250 crew cab XLTs.
New 2019 $52,700 on a $60k MSRP
CPO 2019 with 43k on it $43,600
CPO 2017 with 33k on it $41,900

Everything I've read from people posting in different places says that dealers dont really budge on used much these days, while I've still seen some movement below the listed deals like the one I posted.

Those numbers dont make me want to buy used.

I will add that I need to buy a new car for work, as I'm losing my company car in an acquisition. I'll buy a CPO sedan for 1/3 less with 25K on it. Luckily, nobody wants sedans these days.
 
///Everything I've read from people posting in different places says that dealers dont really budge on used much these days, while I've still seen some movement below the listed deals like the one I posted.
//
Our experience is that new car dealers will usually go 10% under their asking price on used cars, unless it's some high-demand vehicle.
 
Our experience is that new car dealers will usually go 10% under their asking price on used cars, unless it's some high-demand vehicle.
Good to know. Worth a shot if the new car in CT falls through. They quoted $16k, 35% off MSRP, then emailed me back later that it was a mistake. We went back and forth, and I'm at 17k final offer.
 
Back
Top Bottom