I consistently save a lot of money buying cars after I decided to follow my uncle’s advice.
- Instead of getting something brand new with an immediate depreciation of value, he gets cars that are roughly a year old and purchases a dealer warranty for repairs and maintenance.
He gets a car that is almost brand new and does not have to worry about mechanical concerns for at least multiple years. When I followed his advice, I was amazed with the cars I was finding with less than 20,000 miles on them. The prices were affordable and the lack of complication over mechanical concerns while having a warranty finally pushed me to take the plunge. I have done this 3 times over the last 15 years to great success. And whenever I go to trade in my car for something newer, the difference between what I paid and what I get on trade is much smaller compared to people who buy brand new cars. Maintenance contracts are amazing, especially for A/Cs. When I purchased my newest heating and air conditioning system, I wondered if getting a maintenance contract would be worth the cost. Part of my mind was thinking that a new plan wouldn’t need repairs, and the cost of the service subscription wasn’t worth it. However, that is far from the case. Aside from bi-annual inspections to ensure that nothing has malfunctioned within the heating and air conditioning system, your dealer will also refill your coolant if the levels have dropped, upgrade your A/C, flush your condensate line, and wash your evaporator coil as microbial content naturally builds. This way you can keep a brand new A/C running at peak performance for much longer than you would without the constant maintenance and service work.