To buy or not to buy... that is the question.

[iamwhatiseem]

Once I got past my impulsive youth, major purchases for me is an agonizing thing.
I become obsessed with the pros and cons... do I really want this?... I like what I have, so why buy it.... yeah but... this thing is a lot better really... and then I pour over the details of whatever it is.
My wife and I made the bi-annual trip this past weekend to see her mother. It is an 11 hour drive, and at 55 and 56... neither of us can do it straight through anymore.
We decided to rent a car for a change of pace, as well as the car we have now has 96k miles, which is enough to be taking a slight chance of something going wrong. Our trip takes us through the twisty mountains of West Virginia. And you don't want car trouble here.
So our car was a 2020 Ford Fusion Titanium edition.
This. Is a nice car. Extremely comfortable ride. Ample power and scores of amenities.
Both of us love "Max" - what we call our 2012 Fusion. I love the look of this year... looks just like this one:

Love the looks of this model/year.
But at the same time the Titanium model also looks pretty good, that muscle look which I like:

And those seats... seriously, the most comfortable ride I have ever had. Something about the seats, even after 5 hours in the car we still felt good.
But car payments again.... I hate car payments. I hate car dealerships... I hate the game of haggling both on what to pay, and what they pay for your old one.
Is it really worth it...

UGH!!!!

 

[Canon Shooter]

Once I got past my impulsive youth, major purchases for me is an agonizing thing.
I become obsessed with the pros and cons... do I really want this?... I like what I have, so why buy it.... yeah but... this thing is a lot better really... and then I pour over the details of whatever it is.
My wife and I made the bi-annual trip this past weekend to see her mother. It is an 11 hour drive, and at 55 and 56... neither of us can do it straight through anymore.
We decided to rent a car for a change of pace, as well as the car we have now has 96k miles, which is enough to be taking a slight chance of something going wrong. Our trip takes us through the twisty mountains of West Virginia. And you don't want car trouble here.
So our car was a 2020 Ford Fusion Titanium edition.
This. Is a nice car. Extremely comfortable ride. Ample power and scores of amenities.
Both of us love "Max" - what we call our 2012 Fusion. I love the look of this year... looks just like this one:

View attachment 409667

Love the looks of this model/year.
But at the same time the Titanium model also looks pretty good, that muscle look which I like:

View attachment 409671

And those seats... seriously, the most comfortable ride I have ever had. Something about the seats, even after 5 hours in the car we still felt good.
But car payments again.... I hate car payments. I hate car dealerships... I hate the game of haggling both on what to pay, and what they pay for your old one.
Is it really worth it...

UGH!!!!

I haven't had a car payment since 1999. I just buy 'em outright.

I rented a Fusion five years ago for a trip from Florida to Pennsylvania, and it was pretty damn nice. I was tempted to buy one until I drove a Nissan Altima, which is the car I ended up with.

As for what you'd get on a trade, get the dealer to give you his price before you bring up your trade. If they ask "Will you be using a trade-in?" simply respond "I don't want to do that."

They'll hear "No, I'm not using a trade-in."

After you get a price on the car you want, ask how much they'll give you for your trade-in...

 

[Dogmaphobe]

You need to be prepared if you plan on traversing thems thar west Virginnie hills.

This is what you really need.

 

[MarathonMike]

I went with my son to Carmax when his old car was becoming a problem. It is no haggling, no hassle and they give you a reasonable amount on your trade in. You might be able to get 2020 models as they are a year old now.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Once I got past my impulsive youth, major purchases for me is an agonizing thing.
I become obsessed with the pros and cons... do I really want this?... I like what I have, so why buy it.... yeah but... this thing is a lot better really... and then I pour over the details of whatever it is.
My wife and I made the bi-annual trip this past weekend to see her mother. It is an 11 hour drive, and at 55 and 56... neither of us can do it straight through anymore.
We decided to rent a car for a change of pace, as well as the car we have now has 96k miles, which is enough to be taking a slight chance of something going wrong. Our trip takes us through the twisty mountains of West Virginia. And you don't want car trouble here.
So our car was a 2020 Ford Fusion Titanium edition.
This. Is a nice car. Extremely comfortable ride. Ample power and scores of amenities.
Both of us love "Max" - what we call our 2012 Fusion. I love the look of this year... looks just like this one:

View attachment 409667

Love the looks of this model/year.
But at the same time the Titanium model also looks pretty good, that muscle look which I like:

View attachment 409671

And those seats... seriously, the most comfortable ride I have ever had. Something about the seats, even after 5 hours in the car we still felt good.
But car payments again.... I hate car payments. I hate car dealerships... I hate the game of haggling both on what to pay, and what they pay for your old one.
Is it really worth it...

UGH!!!!

I haven't had a car payment since 1999. I just buy 'em outright.

I rented a Fusion five years ago for a trip from Florida to Pennsylvania, and it was pretty damn nice. I was tempted to buy one until I drove a Nissan Altima, which is the car I ended up with.

As for what you'd get on a trade, get the dealer to give you his price before you bring up your trade. If they ask "Will you be using a trade-in?" simply respond "I don't want to do that."

They'll hear "No, I'm not using a trade-in."

After you get a price on the car you want, ask how much they'll give you for your trade-in...

Money is still cheap... at this point in my life I want the liquid $30k more than I want to not make payments. As well as I NEVER buy brand new, so as long as I can walk away, for any reason, I can do so without penalty. Never owing more than it is worth, even on day one.
When I bought the Fusion, I had no trade and laid out $5k to get the best interest rate. When I bought the Explorer I drive I paid $16k (7 years ago) for it and paid cash... because yeah, I absolutely will not have two car payments at a time.

 

[The Irish Ram]

Good Lord. You're worse than my daughter. It takes her 20 minutes to decide what cheese to buy.
Can you afford it? Will you enjoy it? Then indulge. You're worth it.

 

[Maxdeath]

Just bought a car off carvana. Love the car. Got a great amount for the trade in. Did not have to visit a car lot, haggle with a salesperson or any of that garbage. Paid cash. could have got financing from their website at same time.

 

[danielpalos]

Another option could be to ask a mechanic, what car infrastructure needs to be upgraded to the latest and greatest modern vehicle functionality in modern times. The cost of that upgrade could be another market based metric to consider.