If you had told me before I began the process of shopping for a car that I would decide to buy new and that this new car would be an SUV, I would have called you crazy. The advice I’ve always heard is that you’re throwing money away by buying new. And as a card-carrying liberal, the notion of buying a gas-guzzling sedan-wrecker seemed anathema. And yet, having done a moderate amount of research, I am leaning toward a new SUV. Let me walk you through my thought process, and please tell me why I’m wrong.
The Situation
Because of some unexpected circumstances, for the next year at least, I’ll be commuting about 90 miles a day (total) to work and back. This will be highway driving in central NJ. I don’t own a car now, so I need to get one. My priorities look something like this: reliability > safety > comfort for commute > fuel efficiency > interior space.
Why new?
[ul]
[li]It is very important that this car not break down. I’m willing to pay a significant premium for marginal increases in reliability. [/li][li]Since safety is very important to me in a car, I’d like the latest in safety features (side curtain airbags, stability control, etc.).[/li][li]I’m told that all else being equal, a newer car will get better gas mileage.[/li][/ul]
And while I could get most of these things with a late model certified used car, the difference in price doesn’t seem like enough to overcome the added peace of mind and convenience of buying new.
Why SUV?
[ul]
[li]They have better safety scores than anything but full-size cars and mini-vans. And for many SUVs (like the Subaru Forrester) this doesn’t come at the price of increased injuries for the occupants of other vehicles.[/li][li]The difference in highway fuel efficiency (the vast majority of my driving) between an SUV and a full-size car or mini-van is insignificant–about 26 vs. 28 with the models I’m looking at.[/li][li]SUVs are cheap right now. [/li][li]My family will be growing over the life of this vehicle, and I want the room. [/li][li]I enjoy backpacking, and some trailheads are more accessible with AWD and a higher clearance (though something like an Outback would be fine). [/li][li]I’ll be doing a lot of moving in the coming years, which means buying and transporting furniture, etc. So the interior space would be nice.[/li][/ul]
So what am I missing?
I’d say the future price of gas, if you don’t own the vehicle outright. Prices may vary but right now we are between $2.50 and $3.50 a gallon, if demand stays low over the summer and thats a maybe as people that can vacation may do driving vacations rather than flying out, you may see price spikes.
There has also been talk of folks who want a tax on gasoline that bring the price up, so that the eco movement wont get backburnered for lack of need, I have seen suggestions of between $4.00 and up for a retail price.
Other than that , I dont see any practical reasons for not owning one.
This. Gas prices are very low right now. That means they have no place to go but up. And we all learned over the last 12 monhts or so that the gas companies have absolutely no compunction about sending them up.
I would add that the claims of the “safety” of SUVs is sickening to me personally. It always sounds to my ears like this: “Hey, if you’re in a bad car accident, make sure you walk away. F&ck the other guy: he should have bought an SUV, too.”
I’d go for a hybrid SUV, they’re available and it’d help with the gas situation (though I believe hybrid cars get significantly better gas mileage than hybrid SUVs, I’ve not done much research into it though so I don’t really know).
I don’t see that much of a reason not to get an SUV if you feel it better meets your requirements and the mileage isn’t that different (though they do adhere to lower emissions standards than most cars, I believe)
Why talk you out of it? If it fits your needs, won’t kill you in gas costs, and can grow with you for years to come, it sounds like a great idea. I bought a Toyota Sequoia last year and I love it- Toyota quality & longevity, 40-80% better gas mileage than my old Range Rover, reasonably safe and a third row seat plus cargo room.
And they were practically paying people to take them last fall ($6K cash back, 1.9% financing, etc).
The hybrid SUVs get worse gas mileage than normal smaller SUVs. And, AFAICT, even hybrid cars’ gas mileage in highway driving is not significantly better than non-hybrids of the same size.
A concern of mine as well, which is why I was heartened to learn that many SUVs do not cause more damage to smaller cars in accidents as they weigh no more than a full-size car and do not have higher bumpers.
ETA:
Just looking to talk through a major purchase with some smart folks.
Why not look into buying a late model vehicle? I got one about a year ago that was only 8 months off the lot. It had been used as a rental, but it only had 17,000 miles on it.
It’s been totally reliable, plus the fact that it is almost new means it has a lot of life on its warranty.
And it cost about $10,000 cheaper than if I’d bought it new.
On the gas issue, my math (which can be a little shaky) goes like this:
Suppose SUV ownership means an average of 26mpg instead of the 34mpg a midsize car would offer. I think that’s about how it would shake out with my highway driving. That means that every 30,000 miles I’m buying an extra 270 gallons of gas.
If we assume that gas skyrockets tomorrow to $4 per gallon, we’re talking about a little over $1000. For completeness, let’s also assume that I pay to reduce my carbon footprint by the amount I’ve increased it with SUV ownership. 270 gallons of gasoline is about 5400 pounds of CO2. On the current offset market, that would cost me about $70 bucks. So let’s just call it $1200 for conveniece. So what I’m really asking myself is whether the increased safety, comfort, and (admittedly occasional) utility is worth about $100/month. I think it’s a pretty close call in that worst-case scenario.
Is there any reason to think that gas prices might exceed an average of $4/gallon in the next five years?
If I thought I could get a car 8 months off the lot that was $10,000, I’d probably go for it. But I haven’t seen those kinds of deals in my area. More like $2,000-$3,000 cheaper.
My concern there is almost entirely reliability. It’s not the money of fixing the car if it breaks, as many certified used vehicles get an extended warranty. It’s that I have a couple of obligations that I really cannot miss if my car breaks down.
This is actual the part of my thought process that I’m afraid might be most irrational, but I just feel like there will always be unknowns with a used car, even a late-model one that has been inspected by the dealer.
Hmm, I guess I’m going to disagree. I’d think that if something is going to go wrong, it is likely to go wrong during those first few thousand miles. A higher probability of something going wrong during the first few thousand miles, get those kinks worked out, then smooth sailing, and then wear items and such start failing around 50,000 miles or so.
Interesting. I hadn’t thought of the advantage to reliability of having someone else test drive it a bit. Still, isn’t there concern about things like improper maintenance or covered-up accidents when buying used–even from a dealer?
There’s a big difference between, say a Subaru Outback or Forester and a really BIG SUV. Far as I can see, it’s more a matter of engine displacement and GVW than the body style. A friend of mine just picked up a brand new '09 Outback (which is more like a station wagon, lower profile) fully loaded for $21K out the door–I can’t argue with a deal like that. Then again, the Subaru’s have excellent crash ratings, the AWD is awesome in crappy weather (we get a lot of that around here!) it has a four cylinder engine with a five speed manual that gets decent mileage, seats four comfortably (they have two kids, one still uses a car seat,) with room for gear, it weighs about the same as a midsize sedan and is cheap to insure. What’s not to love? Yeah, technically it’s an SUV but it’s a huge far cry from an Escalade XL with the six liter V8 & auto transmission that gets abysmal mileage and weighs as much as a box truck!
Yes. China and India. Their economies are in the crapper right now, but the moment they get warmed up (which could happen in two years or so), folks in those places will start buying cars again like its nobody’s business. When that happens the demand for gas will cause prices to spike, and they’ll keep on spiking until we stop buying oil.
Suppose, however, gas “merely” hits $4/gal. in five years, you’re going to have a bitch of a time unloading the SUV for something else. Even dealers will be reluctant to take it.
Yes , but dealers like the major ones have fixed locations and reputations, legal redress is a lot easier if it can be proven. Mind you thats probably after they have refused to honor warranties or fix the problems themselves.
Keep in mind , that if the vehicle you want to purchase is a first year, first generation model, then the problems associated with the vehicle will show up in the first few months of operation. If the SUV is well along in its maturity track , most of the problems will have been worked out with the engineers at the factory/sub-component company, after that your looking at normal problems in the back end with failure rates on components.
When the big three want to shave money off something , they will usually accept a shorter mean time between failure on components.
I had always thought that’s where the electric engine kicked in, at a steady speed? Am I incorrect in believing this? I had heard, awhile back when these things were still in their prototype phase, that there were two major systems (one using gas for acceleration and electric for steady speeds, the other using the opposite method) and it was found that gas for acceleration and electric for cruising was much more efficient. Therefore, on that assumption I was believing that, with significant highway driving, a hybrid would have significantly better gas mileage. Please correct me if I’m mistaken though
A hybrid makes the most gains in city driving. At slow speeds, the gas engine cuts out and its the electric motor that moves the car a long, and the gas engine is off when the car is stopped at things like traffic lights. The gas engine generally runs at the “sweet spot” of the RPM band on a hybrid, rather than speeding up and slowing down like it does in city traffic.
Since you specifically ask for dissenting opinions …
If you don’t even own a car right now then I think maybe you’re getting ahead of yourself to expect that you’ll be using your SUV all the time to go hiking and move house and driving the kids around. It sounds the immediate need is getting to and from work, I would just worry about getting to work and not pay for more than what you need. If the job situation suddenly changes, then you’re stuck paying for an SUV and a train pass. Take the extra money and put in an account, take the whole family to Florida at the end of the year.
Now I do recognize what SmartAleq said, some of those smaller SUVs are really just wagons, but my point is maybe step back and reconsider how much you’re actually going to use the SU part or the acronym. After driving 450 miles in five days, you may realize the last thing you want to do on Saturday is get back in your car.
Point well taken. I have my eyes on a Subaru Forrester. And certainly that end of the market (RAV4, Forrester, Rondo). From what I understand, the Forrester is basically a taller Outback.
sugar and spice, I appreciate the dissent. You’re certainly right that I should think about just how often I’ll be moving a couch or driving into the woods. FWIW, in my past car-owning days, I regularly used them for outdoor adventures. Though you’re probably right that I’m going to be less reluctant to hop in the car after a week of commuting. And also, New Jersey is no Oregon in that respect.
