The Xterra

We just purchased a new vehicle. Ny nephew, Jonathan (Josh's older brother), helped us look it over to see if it was a worthwhile purchase. He's a Nissan mechanic and knows what to look for in these cars. As you can see, he gave it a clean bill of health and suggested a few items of maintenance that should be done regardless (standard oil changes, transmission flush/filter, etc.) Now we have a great car for the baby transportation that will serve where a minivan would (I hate minivans).

We were once told that we wouldn't ever be able to buy a "nice" car with cash. Well, this is definitely nicer than what we had. Besides, I've never wanted to drive a Maserati anyway. I don't get the idea of deriving one's self esteem from the vehicle you drive. I like the fact that we paid cash for it. We got a reasonable deal on it and we don't feel that it was detrimental to the people we bought it from... i.e. we didn't screw them.

The sellers were a young couple from S. Charlotte. They have only been married for a few months. They (she) kept the vehicle very clean and it seems that the vehicle was well maintained. The only thing we could say is that we haven't received the title yet and haven't been able to get tags & insurance on it yet... so it sits in our garage. We'll go out and back it out into the neighborhood and drive it a circle or 2 just to keep it's juices flowing.

We consider ourselves: Used Vehicle Prone Shoppers. So, here's the question... have you ever received or know someone who has received a good deal on a BRAND NEW car? i.e. someone who has actually NOT lost money on a brand new car... The only people I could honestly think that to be the case: collectors. People who bought a 1957 Chevy brand new and have it in mint condition... but if you consider their gains vs. investment... they're still losing money.

We have a couple of acquaintances who BELIEVE they received a better deal for buying brand new. I simply chalk that up to a salesman doing his job well. That said.. about a year ago, we also purchased a 3 year old Maytag Washer. When I went to drop off our old washer, I had the newer one on the truck also. I asked the appliance repairman what his thoughts were on the purchase: $75 for a used Maytag... he said that it would likely last 15 – 20 years and we could expect to replace the bottom belt 2 – 4 times over that span of time which I could easily do myself. Those belts are approximately $15 each. Thus, an initial investment of $75 + $60 possible repairs... Sounds like we beat H.H Gregg! Any thoughts on finances, buying used, new purchases, cars & salesmen?

Oh... i forgot to mention: we're still DEBT FREE!