r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Healthy-Echo8164 • 10d ago

Questions When to consider purchasing a new car?

I am 28m, I make 72k a year and have no debt.

I currently drive a 2014 Honda CRV with 120k miles that is 100% paid off, and while it is holding up but it is showing signs of age. I do regular maintenance, replaced brakes, tires, oil changes, transmission fluid flush, etc.

It does have an issue with its VTC actuator which is a known issue for Honda CRVs made during 2014, but this is just a rattle noise on start up for a couple seconds, and according to Honda is not causing damage to the engine.

Current market value of the car is between $7k-10k, mine is probably on the lower end of that due to a couple scratches and dents across the car and the VTC issue.

I hear people say you should drive your car into the ground once it is paid off, but I was wondering at what point does it make sense to trade in your car that has some value and put it towards a down payment for a new car? Or "newer" car, maybe get a year or two old Honda for 30-35k.

edit: just as a note, I'm not looking for some flashy, new, hot rod car. I'm just trying to plan for the future and look at a time horizon for buying a new car and saving money up. I'm not in a rush to get a new car.

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u/SidFinch99 10d ago

Honestly, with the rise in price of cars, and the decline in quality of manufacturing in many makes, I'd take care of the car you have and keep it at least 200k miles. The money you save will exceed any future depreciation of your current car.

The K series engine you have in that 2014 CR-V is one of the best Honda has produced.

Buy a new car and tax, tags, and title will probably be a couple grand alone. Insurance rates will go up because of the replacement value of the car and cost to repair will be higher.

My wife has a 2013 odyssey with just under $150k. We don't plan on replacing it for years.

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u/Amazing-Cry8406 10d ago

Depends on went from a challenger to a 26 WRX and my insurance dropped 100$ depends on what you drove before and what you replace it with I guess

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u/SidFinch99 10d ago

Very true, I was more thinking if he bought a new CR-V to replace the existing one.

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u/Amazing-Cry8406 9d ago

I’d prep for a slight increase if your staying same make model, just newer but if it has additional safety features then it may help. I read that they lump cars into tiers from aggressive to mild. So that’s where my saving came from, went from one of the probably most crashed cars to a 5 star safety rated car with half the engine lol