New Or Used?: Replacing The Rabbit Edition
TTAC Commentator MontanaVista writes:
Sajeev and Steve, I have a good one for you guys. I currently own a 2007 VW Rabbit 2dr Automatic. On average I put about 23,000+ miles on my car a year due to my commute to work. This car has given me no problems at all, however my commute often includes a lot of stop and go traffic and shotty road conditions, which I fear has aged some of the components. I drive ~25 miles to JFK and back everyday. I have exceeded the manufacturers warranty (50k) and extending my warranty is out of the question for me. The VW warranty will only extend it another 28,000 miles which will be a little over a years worth of driving for me. And people I know have had bad experiences with third party warranties, and I’m not sure I want to get myself stuck in something like that. I financed the VW for 72 months, I owe around $8000 on it but it is definitely worth around $10000 (craigslist and Autotrader).
I want to get rid of the VW while it is still worth decent money, and before something goes wrong with it out of warranty – plus I’m just bored with it! I have been looking at a lot of different new and used options and I’m open to suggestions, but have narrowed down my choices. I would like to keep my monthly payments below $300/mo and leasing is not an option due to the miles per year I drive. Japanese cars are out of the question – sorry! A good warranty is a must for me, if not for anything else but peace of mind due to my commute. And it must be automatic, I cannot bear driving stick in the traffic I encounter everyday.
As for new, I am thinking of waiting for the Chevrolet Cruze. I drove one in Europe over the summer and enjoyed it. I’d like to find out how it drives with the expected US 1.4L Turbo before I buy though. As for used, I have been looking for a 2007-2008 Saab 9-3. I’ve always wanted a Saab, but thought I would grab one when I was older (I’m 27). The CPO Saabs come with a 100,000-mile warranty, so finding one with 30k or below gives me a greater warranty than what I had with my new Rabbit. Thanks in advance!
Sajeev Answers:
Don’t let that Steve Lang guy sucker you into buying some old clunker for cash and all that. Fact is, you want a new car and you deserve it. No need to convince us that leaving the Rabbit is the right move, it’s almost out of warranty. We Americans all know the drill with used German cars: either you love it or you leave it.
A quick digression on selling privately: write a good description of the vehicle with pros and cons, collect all paperwork (service history is an absolute must), clean the vehicle like it’s going to the Prom (even under the hood) and take really good pictures. If you do that, you might get your $10,000. Good luck with that.
About those new cars: the Cruze is interesting, but I think the Fiesta is a more fitting successor to the Rabbit. The TTAC review (http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/review-2011-chevrolet-cruze-german-market-spec/) was lukewarm about performance, with the standard mill. Considering there have been several generations of Fiestas (the ST models in particular) with European-ish performance, I’d wager it’s more like your Rabbit and less like the pedestrian Cruze. But only a test drive will prove it, for both you and me.
My only concern? Stop financing new cars for 72 months, unless some bailed-out financier like GMAC is dumb enough to offer 0% financing again. And you buy your next car at invoice price, no excuses. It sucks having that much debt on a depreciating asset, unless a loving family member runs your workplace. And if a 36 month payment means you can’t afford a new car, maybe Steve Lang’s usual advice is spot on. Again.
Steve Answers:
Dear VW Guy. You’ve got to be high on fear and debt to even remotely believe that a $3500 annual de-fleecing is actually worth…a warranty.
My heartfelt advice is to stop drinking the media supplied Kool-Aid, buy a tool kit and a Hayne’s manual, and start to get to know the absolute basics of your car. The big money is rarely made on the smartest customers. It is always the most ignorant and fearful that are the juicy prey of the marketplace. At this point you’re being a squeaky mouse in a den full of recession hungry boas.
Educate yourself. If you can look at a glass and see it’s half-full, you can easily read the coolant, oil, washer fluid, and brake fluid levels in your car. If you can turn a screw, you can also replace an oil filter, a battery, and nearly anything else on your car that isn’t a computer or wire. Buy a couple of jack stands, a $50 tool kit, a Mityvac, and that Hayne’s manual I mentioned earlier. The Rabbit’s are average in reliability and there’s nothing there that isn’t in 90+% of the cars that have been out there for the past decade.
Spend a couple hundred on an education and you’ll save tens of thousands down the road. That is if you have the courage to rely on your own abilities. If not, the finance company and new car dealership are more than happy to oblige.
More by Sajeev Mehta and Steve Lang
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Having owned both VW and Saab, I can say that Saab replacement parts are: (a.)cheaper then VW replacement parts. (b.)compared to a VW, you replace significantly fewer parts on a Saab.
I'm with Ronin. He'll love his new car the first few months, and then be bored again, but this time he'll be 5 years and 9 months from paying it off (or worse, if he leases). Keep the Golf. It's a good car, and you can easily fix its deficiencies. As others have said, whatever you spend on repairs, it will be far less than the depreciation, taxes and interest costs of something new. Pay it off, and then spend a couple of months without a car payment. You'll be amazed how freeing it feels.