Well, what happened with us was that we spent good money to buy a used Oldsmobile, only one previous owner and only two years old. The dealership certainly managed to screw us over, unfortunately when the engine blew on the autobahn a few years later we had to spend 3K to get it replaced. Yep, 3K in 1988, on a Warrant Officer One's pay and me not working outside the home. ACK! And, we lived 37 miles from where he worked, to boot. He had bought a putter vehicle when we arrived in Germany, so thank God IT was reliable. Then, months before we knew he was going to deploy to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm, the transmission went out. So, here I am with two kids under 6 and stuck in a tiny German village 37 miles from my mailbox, the clinic, commissary and PX. Fortunately I spoke German by then or it could have been tons worse.
Anyway, we went and bought a brand new Corsica at the post exchange auto concessionaire, and it served me faithfully while hubby was deployed and afterwards. And since our credit has always been stellar, between 750 and 810, we get the absolute rock bottom financing. My brand new Genesis was financed for 1.9%; a used vehicle would cost more in financing. Since we keep our new cars until they are old (my Chrsyler lasted 10 years), we consider it an investment for our peace of mind. My husband started life as a tank mechanic and his dad taught him all about maintaining trucks and cars, so when we have a new car and my husband takes care of it, we are assured it's going to last (unless it's a lemon, which actually has never happened to us).
Obviously everyone has a different philosophy about whether to buy new or used. I just never wanted the vulnerability of owning a used vehicle when we were basically out on our own w ithout a familial safety net. I did have casual friends, but no one I would've ever been comfortable asking for transportation favors if a used vehicle let me down. And now, living within hailing distance of my grown kids, well buying new is a habit more than anything I suppose.
