4/16/2012

Used Cars

In the past couple of weeks, my Facebook pages have been filled with people asking if anyone has a used car to sell.   I am afraid that most of us finally have arrived at the point where we are driving the miles out of our used cars rather than buying new or at at the least newer.   Look at your paper and see that the Auto ads that were a couple of pages not long ago are now less than a page.  I have been a long proponent of using a car for as long as it is feasible and buy used low mileage cars as much as possible.  The good news is that cars today are good for more miles than in the past.


Not many years ago, you needed to tune up your car about every 10,000 miles.  You would have to do a valve job about every 50,000 miles and at 100,000 miles you had to rebuild the engine.  Today the spark plugs last 50,000 miles.  heck, I can remember when I had my car lubed about every 1,000 miles and now some of the ball joints don't even have grease fittings.  They don't last longer, they seem to need replaced but not greased as often.  I replaced the tires on the Ford this last year and spend nearly $1,000 for a good set of Michelin tires.  As a kid I would buy tires worse than the one's I took off the Ford.  If you couldn't see steel cords back then, it was a good tire.


I think that most people somewhere in their life need to have a new or newer car that still has that new car smell and reliability.  It is the payment for that excess that bothers me.  Drive a new car off the lot today and they immediately lose three or four thousand dollars in depreciation.  Probably the best bargain out there here in the Heartland are the Program cars that are coming off the rental and lease fleet.  No, I didn't say you should lease a car, you should buy one that has been well used.  In the past I would say well cared for but I'm not sure that is the case today.


When I was a kid, I played baseball a lot and I don't remember my parents sitting in the stands to watch me play.  In fact, I rode my bike or walked there a lot.  I see postings about parents that go to weekend tournaments and stay there most of the day.  I guess I was just a normal boy in those days and the danger wasn't as bad as it is today.  


On the other hand, in m day, we did some pretty stupid things that kids today just don't do.  There was a cement mixing plant tower not far from our house.  You might think it was our playhouse as much as we climbed all over it.  heck, I even climbed up and inside the tower more than once.   The Beech parking lot was right behind our house and we would go and swim in the drainage ditch when it would rain.  All sorts of things were in that ditch including trash and chemicals from Beech.  Heck, there was even a sewer pond that if it rained hard enough ran into that water overflow.  A lot of that was back in the day before they had a Polio vaccine.


Oh well, I guess that  which does not kill us makes us stronger.


MUD

10 comments:

  1. there is a load of information at this site maybe could be helpful http://wheretobuyusedcars.blogspot.com/

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  2. I also notice that whenever I drive used post-2000 model cars: it would take a lot of time and miles before you need to repairs or any form of maintenance. Basically, these cars are more durable, and that is probably because of their upgraded parts.

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  3. Your blog is very well-informed.Thanks a lot for the moderator to share.

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  4. Pre-owned or used cars are reliable, and buying one would be the best way to get most out of your money. However, like a new car, used cars are conditioned in a case to case basis. The basic, but most important thing to compare is the mileage. It’s the major indicator of how the car is priced and how much remains in the vehicle. It will then help you determine which car to choose.

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  5. Cars today are more durable and resilient compared to the pre-2000 model cars, because cars are more widely used and more prone to wear and tear. I reckon there are a lot of sites to find used cars on the 'net. Just gotta find them.

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  6. You have a point, Stelle. However, it’s still best to personally check the car that you want to buy, since a photo on the internet might hide some flaws that you wouldn’t like your car to have.

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  7. I couldn’t agree more with you, Junior. Buying a used car is an excellent way to cut your expenses BUT always remember that purchases have pros and cons, so take your time when you’re buying a used car. Do your homework first! :)

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