88 Subaru DL bought in 87 for $8800, sold in 95 for $2700 with over 100k miles.
95 Subaru Legacy bought in 95 for $15700 sold in 04 for $5100 with over 100k miles.
05 Subaru Outback bought in 04 for $23000, sold in 2014 for 6900 with 85k miles and unrepaired cosmetic accident damage.
To get to the 90% depreciation you are talking about, I would have needed to keep the 88 Subaru for 25+ years. That’s not “before you know it” by any stretch of the definition.
My wife bought a 2002 Camry new. Decided she didn’t like it. She was getting offers for $1500 below the price we paid when it was over a year old and had 8k miles on it. We’d be out another $1200 in taxes and fees, so we kept it. But it was hardly dropping like a rock as soon as we drove it off the lot.
I think the Subaru Crosstreck, the Kia Rio, the Hyunday Elantra GT, the Mazda 3, the Ford Focus are all great looking cars. To me however, they are city cars. I would not feel particularly safe in them on the highway and in poor (winter) driving conditions. The VW Golf and SportWagon are cars a level above, IMO. I have a long an happy history with the VW line of cars and have yet to be disappointed in any one. Sure, if you want to look for horror stories, they are easy to find. But that’s true of virtually any car.
At the risk of sounding like a VW shill, I don’t think you can go wrong with a SportWagon TDI with set of winter wheels/tires. The AWD Subaru platform is very tempting, but I find there’s an esthetic cheapness about the Subaru that I just can’t look past. Same with the other cars to some degree. Of course, it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
Regarding the Mazda3: I looked into other makes/models before I decided to go for another Subaru. The Mazda3 was at the top of the list. Based on my research, they seem to offer excellent value and provide an unusually good driving experience for the price point. I’d suggest looking at the cargo space, because sometimes college students have to transport a lot of stuff.
Regarding VWs: I was considering them, but the reported reliability issues and the repair put me off. That said, most VW owners that I know absolutely love them in spite of it. (Quicksilver post snuck in while I was typing this. There ya go.)
Regarding Huyndais: I know a lot of people like theirs, and the quality is reportedly a lot better than it used to be, but I had a rental for a couple of weeks and absolutely hated it. It felt chintzy and the handling was awful. I wish I could remember exactly which one it was, but it put me off Hyundais.
LOL! Well, if you’re spending 20K, he should have a car he likes and feels good about. There are other good choices out there.
Again with this type of “advice?”
Why should the OP “save $15,000?” For what? He wants a safe and reliable car for his kid more than he wants the cash in the bank. It’s obvious that he’s budgeted for the $20k and can afford it. Cheaper isn’t always a better value.
What good are jack stands going to do a college kid? “Easy to wrench on” is fine ONLY IF you know how to fix a car and have a place to do it. And no matter how easy it is to fix, Chicago to the Maine border is a 16 hour trip. Add 1-3 hours depending on which school. “Easy to fix” won’t be much of a consolation when he’s broken down somewhere between Nowheresville and East Bumblefuck.
And newer cars are safer. You can’t refute this.
I had 12+ years of enjoyable, comfortable and mostly hassle-free service from my $24,000 2001Outback. I’d hardly say that’s “nothing to show for it.”
My only issue with Subarus, and my wife loves her Crosstrek, is that some of their engine models still use a timing belt that needs to be replaced every 60,000 miles. So in addition to the normal maintenance, you have an extra $600-$1000 to pay. It’s not the end of the world but ISTM that if some of their engines can be equipped with chains, all of them could be. They are all remarkably similar.
And not that DSeid asked, but I’d strongly consider getting the boy enrolled in an auto club (although some new cars come with some coverage). When my kids went to college, it was around $100/year and it was nice insurance to have.
And whatever you do, impress upon him the need to check his oil regularly.
We drive ours all winter (with snows) and it’s just fine. We ski nearly every weekend and usually take my Suby but before we were married my wife took hers up north constantly.
Sorry, but I also don’t get the “before you know it” bit. Cars are pretty durable items at this point. Predictable costs for replacing brake pads once oh every three years, tires probably about every sixish. Oil changes now are down to twice a year for many cars and even less for some. Big maintenance early on with a new car? Huh? Avoiding the risk of big maintenance for a few years is the reason to buy new and factoring the earlier probability of maintenance costs (both the repair itself and the downtime without vehicle) is the hard to calculate X-factor in buying used. It’ll be his choice but I’m not seeing that used represents much of a bargain in today’s market if you can swing buying the car you want new. At least that’s how I see it.
We have a family AAA plan; his car will be on it. Keeping (and moving) seasonal wheels is not something a college aged adult living in a dorm room is likely to do. And even if he had the mechanical knowledge and skills (which he wants to learn that but honestly this guy wants to learn everything and take lots of diverse classes and work at the same time and is at the point that he has to narrow his focus some, not add more interests) traveling with around with jack stands and a good tool kit is not all that simple for someone at a transient life point with a car that likely will barely have room for his clothes, books and essential crap.
Greenbean, the Mazda3 hatchback cargo space is decent for the compact hatchbacks he’s looked at: 47.1 with rear seats down.
For 20k you can pick up a reasonably recent 3 series BMW with xDrive. The handling in good weather will destroy any of the above mentioned cars, and it will handle snow with aplomb. Resale values are always among the highest, and your kid will be able to drive something more exciting than a refrigerator.
Have you ever maintained a BMW after the factory warranty is up? BMW prices for labor and parts are among the highest in the industry. BMW quality has also slipped - opinion from auto boards and reviewers. I’ve owned and driven BMWs in the past (more than 20 years, 4 different types [2002 to 7 series], Europe and the US; handling is fine [remember closed course, professional driver, do not attempt]. College kid is below 25, “lots of interests”, infused with technology. Until he is employed and paying the bills, driving an expensive high performance car in winter conditions should not be a consideration. Excitement should be on his own dime.
You don’t “handle snow with aplomb”. You respect the fact that the other drivers are out to kill you; there is probably ice under the snow that no car/wheel/tire can deal with; and that the throttle and brake pedals are to be pressed as if raw eggs are taped to the tops.
I suggest one with a very short wheelbase since they will find parking in college lots to be very tight and its easier if your car can fit in a small spot and make tight turns.
Plus exciting driving is not his thing. Carrying his stuff and good gas mileage are … so long as it is not a mommy-car! And actually cares about safety ratings. Thanks though. I appreciate all the thoughts and am learning tons.
It should be noted that much of the cost of maintenance depends on the user. If you abuse the car, if you don’t follow scheduled maintenance recommended by the manufacturer, if you treat it like a shopping car at WalMart - you’ll end up with a piece of junk, but not because it’s a VW (or whatever else).
Even simple things like regular washing and vacuuming will maintain a sense of pride of ownership and will more likely make you want to keep up with the mechanical maintenance as well and decrease the likelyhood of the car leaving you stranded because you ignored that check engine light.
All of the new Subaru engines (including the one in your wife’s Crosstrek) use timing chains, so that’s not an issue anymore. Even before that, I don’t think the timing belt intervals were any different that most belt-equipped Japanese cars, although they did have really long ones because of the engine configuration so I think the part cost a bit more.
ETA: Although one thing to add on the maintenance cost front is that the CVT services are sorta spendy and come every 30k, so that might be another point in favor of getting the manual or a car with a conventional automatic.
Update. He has found advertised on the web a CPO 2012 Volkswagen Sportswagen SE with under 11K on it for just under $20K. We are looking at it and possibly buying it tonight.
How much negotiating should we do? What really is a fair price? That seems like a pretty good price on an SE with only 11K miles on it to me. (New MSRP is about 28K with truecar should pay estimates about $26 to 27 K. Guidance?
Yup, it was genuine VW CPO, 10K and change miles. 2 years warranty added on after the remainder of the 3 year original runs out in 6 months. Even came with winter floor mats. Off lease early. They took his $19K even offer without batting an eye.
Beaut of a car. Gotta hand it to the kid, a lot of car for the money.
Thanks to everyone for the opinion and the help.
New question - the finance guy tried to hard sell the extended (to 100K) warranty. To me these make little sense and I advised my son against it. What think the TMs?
I don’t have any data to back up but most of the extended stuff is profit for the dealer IMHO. There was a thread here on ask the car salesman at one time.
