Hi Ozbargainer,
With the current COVID-19 issue happening everywhere, I am about to sign the finance paper (finance approved) for a used car. Had put $2K deposit on it. Old car has transmission issues (sometime stuck on 3rd gear). Should I delay buying the used car, lose the deposit, and spend some money to fix the old car? Until things settle down or on the improvement?
After considering the question above (which I think is most important), also consider how neccesary is it for employment. i.e do you need to carry bulky equipment? will it save travel time significantly (40 min drive vs 2 hours by public transport)? do you need to drive to another worksite with minimal/short notice or multiple worksites per day?
Personally, I have held back from any major purchases until things settle down.
Something something high yield investment.
You need to make the decision based on your finances. What is the difference between losing $2k and the cost of repairs and the cost of the new car (and finance).
Check your contract for what happens in This instance. Check with the dealer, they might be happy to hold the new car for a few weeks if we are locked down.
Or… although not entirely ethical, tell the dealer that you were recently notified about a dramatic cut in your shifts and it'll affect your ability to repay the loan. Perhaps they might refund some of the deposit if they not entirely heartless.
this is a second hand car dealer we are talking about, if they get a deposit refund then it truly is the end of days.
I would avoid buying anything on finance at the moment, but having said that, I wouldn't like to lose the $2K either.
Maybe losing that 2k might be the smartest investment the OP makes.
You're right. If it was a reliable, cheaper model to get OP through the crisis; to work and back home safely I'd say sure. Now I learned OP is talking about a $50k used X5 I'd call the $2k a lesson learned.
It’s what my father said about the 100k settlement he paid to his second wife which allowed him to keep 3 houses which are worth over a million now.
Has the OP been in the penalty box for the past 11+ years?
Those stats are unbelievable.
There should be a badge or an Elephant Stamp or something…
Hell, I remember long ago (pre-Corona) we had ticker-tape parades for less.
Wait, that was last week…
Maybe the OP is the Penalty Box Warden and is now free to post if inmates are being released.
I believe that only happens if you boast about your Merc with AMG styling instead of an actual AMG.
Tell them you will be in on Weds.
Hahah
Need some more details so we can give you bad advice
how much is the car worth now?
brand/model?
2k deposit. How much $ is being financed and at what %? Is it essential for you to make a living? Not enough information to give a half answer.
The car BMW X5, cost $50K, @4.5%interest. Can buy the car outright with Cash, but don't want to spend $50K in one go.
Get a cheaper car.
Buy it with the cash if you got it.
With the way the economy is going you’ll be lucky if that car is worth $30K in 6 months.
Wouldn't touch an X5 with a barge pole. Beautiful cars but the maintenance costs are eye-watering
Yep, almost 20 years ago when they first came out, my mum had one. She spilt nail polish remover on the front seat; replacement $5000. Then someone ran into the side of her car, and caused a tiny dent. BMW insisted the door needed to be replaced for side airbag reasons, another $5k (insurance covered obv). Then the display with the odometer went, another extravagant repair (covered by warranty). For a car that cost $115k, in the first 2 year the costs were in excess of of $15k. Even taking into account that only one was BMW's fault, it's a hell of a lot of money for some minor issues/damage. Even though it was a good car at the time, it wasn't kept past its warranty.
That being said, she just replaced her E class Merc with a new X3. It's pretty much the same car as the 20 year old X5. Same size, similar power, a bit more performance. She hates it.
A few work colleagues have them.
One guy insisted on taking his to the BMW dealership even though I pointed him at a good independent. He averaged $8k/yr until last year when the gearbox and several other things died. That was $18k. Then it got hailed on and written off - that's not the cars fault but he didn't get much chance to "use" his gearbox repair.
I really like BMWs and used to work for a BMW dealer but the costs can be crazy if you aren't willing to source parts from O/S and find a good mechanic or DIY.
@brad1-8tsi: The gearbox is probably the most reliable part of the car ironically. It's a stock standard ZF8.
Wouldn't touch one mate. A friend's X5 had electrical problems up the wazoo, costing thousands upon thousands… he'd sunk 10 thousand in for rewiring, new sensors PLUS the exorbitant services etc by the time he sold it. I've also seen them with cooked motors too, so there's another potential can of worms.
Depends on what the angle is. If you’re worried your industry and job may be in danger, probably better to hold off. But if you think cars are suddenly going to get cheaper, I wouldn’t gamble $2k on it. People aren’t going to be dumping their cars in favour of close proximity public transport at the moment, plus the AUD is tanking making new cars more expensive which in turn influences the second hand market.
Did you shake on the $2k deposit?
Buy it, you already have 2k in, with the Aussie dollar in the doghouse its not going to get much cheaper. That is as long as you can pay for it and still have a job etc
Ignore what you have in it, consider that a sunk cost.
At this exact point in time, the car costs $48k. Is that a good deal? If you had not already put a deposit on this car, would you be willing to offer $48k for it today? If so, go for it.
As for used car values declining, I doubt it. To have cheap used cars we need an abundance of new cars hitting the road.
Does the dealer have cheaper second hand cars? You could just get something cheaper for the time being.
did you try changing the transmission fluid on the old car…?
Do you want to be without a car when shit hits the fan or risk getting infected by continuous support of going through the public transportation means(Unless you're already infected and don't know it yet or not telling us)?
drop the $2k and buy a corolla
You have not stipulated what sort of transmission is in your current vehicle.
If auto, it would be that the belts are worn. It would be about 2k to fix.
I would stick with the old car…. it is survival time… not running around smashing money
It could be something as simple as a bad solenoid, especially if “sometime stuck on 3rd gear” is it just entering limp mode.
What belts are there in an auto transmission?
Pretty sure some of the cvt boxes use belts?
But that’s not really an auto and not going to get ‘stuck in third’. They are also not in he majority.
@Euphemistic: From memory some of the Jeep CVT boxes get stuck in gear, no idea if they’re belt or chain though. Probably be helpful if Ozhunter mentioned which box he is talking about and if OP told us his old car.
@mapax: True. Although technically a CVT doesn’t have any ‘gears’. They program in ‘gears’ because users can’t understand how it works. It may be stuck in one ‘ratio’ though.
It really does make a big difference when the OP will let us know what vehicle it is. So many times they seem to think that advertising what they have is some sort of danger to privacy.
Cars will also drop 30% this year as will housing. Wait
Cars won’t. The dollar has been smashed and import costs will rise. Used cars will be valued relative to new cars.
How steady is your employment? That should dictate your decision.