Buying School Clunkers Make More Sense than a Brand New Car Essay

Buying School Clunkers Make More Sense than a Brand New Car - Essay Example Clunkers may look like they should be retired because they need somebody work or does not have the latest bells and whistles but with proper maintenance, it gets the kid from point A to point B. That is all that should matter to them at their ages. † That is sound advice coming from a man who makes his living selling cars. A new car will the owners back by at least $20,000 while a clunker can easily be had for around $2,000 and up, there truly does seem to be an economic advantage to owning a clunker. Provided the new owner of the car will not mind shelling out some extra dollars for whatever repairs the car might need. He still comes out ahead in the long run than if he had bought a new car. While most teenage kids of driving age look forward to waking up to a brand new car being delivered to their doorstep on the morning of their birthday, the economics of our times have changed that pattern. Since a brand new car loses approximately 20 percent of its value the minute it is d riven off the car lot, buying your teenage kid a â€Å"teaching car† which is what some parents and mechanics prefer to call the clunkers, turns out to be a big bargain. Buying a car that is more than ten years old often is often seen as a waste of money because of the cost of repairs that are involved in whipping the car into shape. Wise buyers though know that is not the case. In fact, the old clunkers can help you save money in the long run even with the cost of repairs thrown in.  ... He still comes out ahead in the long run than if he had bought a new car. While most teenage kids of driving age look forward to waking up to a brand new car being delivered at their doorstep on the morning of their birthday, the economics of our times have changed that pattern. Since a brand new car loses approximately 20 percent of its value the minute it is driven off the car lot, buying you teenage kid a â€Å"teaching car† which is what some parents and mechanics prefer to call the clunkers, turns out to be a big bargain. Buying a car that is more than ten years old often is often seen as a waste of money because of the cost of repairs that are involved in whipping the car into shape. Wise buyers though know that is not the case. In fact, the old clunkers can help you save money in the long run even with the cost of repairs thrown in. People like Joel Berry (Why I Drive a 13-Year-Old Car, 2009) understand that economics plays an important role in car buying decisions. In his case, he has been driving the same second hand 1995 Geo Prizm for a number of years now and far as he is concerned, the car is far from being the old clunker that his friends think his car to be. Joel explains; â€Å"I bought my Geo Prizm in 1995 with 5,000 miles on it. It now has 140,000 miles on it and still runs fine. I paid off the car in 1999. It is now 2008.I haven’t had a car payment in nine years. How much has this saved? Our payments for this car were $250 a month. Over nine years, I’ve gone 108 months without making a payment. At $250 a month, that’s a savings of $27,000. Over the lifetime of the car, I’ve spent less than $2000 in repairs. Subtracting this from my savings still leaves me with $25,000 extra over buying a new car right