Partner and I have street parking where we live. We are self employed and work mostly from home, although I need to go out to handle business related matters about twice a week.
I don't want to get into specifics about what I do in order to maintain anonymity; however, my business can be messy and involve hauling rough goods like lumber, paint, cleaning supplies, heavy boxes and bins filled with dusty, dirty materials, etc.
We have an 11 year old Prius that was purchased new and has less than 60,000 miles. I destroyed the interior within one month of purchase. I have zero qualms about using it for work because I already destroyed everything aesthetic about it.
My partner, who barely leaves the house, hates the Prius as it's not comfortable to drive in and does not have all of the latest safety features.
He wants a new crossover vehicle as a compromise so that I can still haul stuff for work, but he gets something aesthetically pleasing with all up to date safety features.
I test drove a few vehicles that he likes this past week and the new and fancy interiors are giving me vapors. I also do not value things like an "infotainment" screen, cameras, and beeping when you are drifting out of a lane or going to hit something. All of these things I find highly distracting and more likely to cause an accident than prevent one. Therefore, I would either cover the screen or disable the safety features.
I would be OK if we bought the entry level trim packages on these cars so I don't worry about ruining the interior, but aesthetics are much more important to partner, so we are at an impasse.
He has suggested instead we keep the Prius and buy a sedan that has all the bells and whistles so he can be comfortable the 4x per year he leaves the house.
Due to our on-street parking situation, I also feel like this is a bad idea. Now we have 2 cars to look for spots for, and parking on the street, they get filthy and sun baked. Not to mention now we have to insure 2 vehicles.
Plus, I am an inherently messy, sloppy person, so I would still be worried about ruining the car even if I'm not using it for work. Every item of clothing I own was ripped or stained upon the first wear. I purchased a new phone and while unboxing it, I dropped it and cracked the screen before I even turned it on. I simply cannot take care of things so anything expensive causes me undue stress.
Since I am the primary driver, I think my conditions should take precedence. He says he'd leave the house more if he had a safer, nicer car to drive.
A car for me is a way to get from Point A to Point B and nothing more, so I want to spend as little as possible on this
Is buying a new car in this situation a waste of money?
byu/Unspicy_Tuna inFrugal
Posted by Unspicy_Tuna
14 Comments
Yes. You absolutely want a used car.
New cars are a waste imo. Too many sensors and things to fail, and it keeps getting worse. I bought my 03 wagon four years ago and love it. Physical buttons, working windows, and plenty of room in the engine bay for maintenance work. The only modem thing it has is an updated deck wired for Bluetooth calls (that the previous owner installed) which is the only modem feature I really care about.
That said, your partner needs to get over it if he rarely drives. Prioritizing aesthetically pleasing cars is rarely frugal. Wanting safety features is valid, but Priuses have been pretty consistently safe outside of the Prius-C models from 10+ years ago. It sounds like he’s more concerned about keeping up with the Joneses more than anything.
Buying a new car to not use it much sucks, check out pre-owned cars so you won’t be underwater so much due to instant depreciation if you do end up buying a car at all
I’ve honestly never thought that the car I drove 11 years ago was unsafe (nor any of the ones I drove the decade before that, for that matter). Unless it’s the case that you want your partner to leave the house more often, it doesn’t make any sense to buy a car that fits his wants. I don’t mean to judge, but it’s odd to me that he has so many opinions on something he’ll basically never use.
You’re self aware enough to know that you’ll wreck the interior quickly, which will depreciate the car even faster than it already does, and I think that and the nature of your job are the the main considerations here. Further, the fact that your car only has 60k miles for it’s age is amazing, and I’m not sure the reason for considering a different car in the first place. But if you’re set on getting something else, I think a used pickup is the best option. Trucks, even older ones, are generally safer since they tend to be higher off the road, and you won’t have to drive with all the dirty materials in the cab with you.
New cars are a HUGE waste of money. Even if you can claim the depreciation as a business expense, don’t even consider it.
Do not buy a new car. Seems like you need a different car for the “4 times a year he leaves the house”, why not rent a car those 4 times and avoid having to pay for a new car and the insurance that comes with it.
Your situation seems stable and your Prius serves for your basic needs. Unless the money is burning a hole in your wallet, don’t do it.
Wouldn’t it make more sense for partner to rent a car (with the overpriced daily insurance) for the low amount of use they have, even if it were once a month?
Seems far less costly than buying a new vehicle. Especially if your use is going to wreck the interior.
I thought you might have been compromising with a short bed truck for your work purposes. If you get a crossover, won’t you still wreck the interior?
Regarding a backup camera screen, they have been required since 2018 to make backing up over a child more difficult. I find that very helpful when parallel parking, too. Otherwise I dislike screens and most digital displays on all appliances. But, it’s a losing battle and I’ve had to accept it. My middle and high school students do not know how to tell time on a clock with hands! This shocks me, but I’m not winning that battle, either.
If your Prius runs well and is paid for (it must be at 11 years old) and suits your work purpose I can’t see why you need to replace it. If there are times your partner wants to go out, I’d put your money into renting a car or for shorter local trips using ride share. From your description of yourself, I think a new car would be like throwing money away and a source of tension, given your sloppiness (your phrase) and having a second new car parked on the street for his infrequent driving also seems like a waste. I would just outsource a second vehicle.
PS; after 2 Priuses, we bought a Prius Prime electric/hybrid. I hate the buzzers, integrated screens for all operations and what I perceive to be worse interior space. My partner is in love with it in every respect. We decided to agree to disagree. Good luck.
>Is buying a new car *~~in this situation~~* a waste of money?
yes. always yes ;-p
Complete waste.
Unless you’re truly wealth, with all finances totally in order, and basically ready for retirement this makes no sense.
Respectfully I do t think this is about the car. If the condition of the car was what was preventing them from going out they would have owned an esthetically appealing car since you met them and would have insisted on continuing to own a second car that met their needs. This feels more like a “I wish I was someone who needs a car so I’m pretending I’m not that person because I don’t own a car”.
Tell him rent a car when he needs one and leave it at that. Why would anyone want to buy a car to only use it four times a year? I wouldn’t lift a finger after that.
He could even just uber when he needs to go somewhere, still cheaper.
We have two cars, my husband is disabled, I just got a wfh job last month, both cars are full paid off and I go out of my way to make sure each car is driven at least once a week. We’ve always said if one car breaks down, we will just go down to one car.
Are you being serious with the four times a year thing? If they only need to leave in the car four times a year, you could get a limo to drive you at that point it would barely matter.
Or, are you driving them around in your car and they think it’s disgusting inside?
A car service 4x a year is cheaper.