Leasing a new vehicle

[VancouverIslander]

I'm also in the used car buying category. I've bought new once (Pontiac Vibe) and I was extremely happy with it for more than 10 years and sold it off with a lot of miles on it and bought a five year old Vibe with 12,000 miles on it for half the price of new that I expect to get 10 years out of as well.

That said, used cars are best for those who can do a lot of their own maintenance. The best thing I've found about newer cars is that they don't require a lot of maintenance and tend to last quite well if you shop around for reliable models. The vibe required spark plugs ever 120,000 miles (love those platinum/iridium plugs). I do my own brakes, oil changes, radiator fluid and more, but I'm only 55. I think I can still manage up into my 70s or at least I hope so.

The problem with new cars is that they depreciate between 10 and 20 percent when you drive them off the lot. The bonus is that they have a warrantee for a few years, but in general most of us won't get a lot of value from that as they don't have a lot of problems. With computer controls, fuel injection, electronic ignition etc., maintenance on vehicles gets easier all the time (just make sure you have an ODB2 code reader)

Me ka ha`aha`a,
Mike