We just bought a new car (unfortunately… or maybe annoyingly… or reluctantly). Either way, my wife is happy, so I’m happy. 🚗🚗🚗
When we bought our car, a lot of planning went into it. 🤓 Normally, I prefer to buy a used car that’s two to three years old. But in today’s market, when I was exhaustedly car shopping I found that used cars are only about $4,000 cheaper than a new one. At that point, I don’t see much benefit in buying used when someone else has already enjoyed the depreciation.
Planning for a new car was a slow and thoughtful process for me. Naturally, being a financial planner, I spent a good amount of time analyzing the decision. Of course, we started with the “most important” questions… What color does my wife want? What material should the seats be? How big does the sunroof need to be? And, does the driver’s seat have both heating and cooling? (This is a new feature for us, and wow, it’s amazing).
Naturally, these were all non-negotiables in my house 🙄 (hopefully you can hear the sarcasm).
Beyond that, we established a clear price range we were comfortable staying within. Thankfully, having a growing client base has introduced me to a lot of knowledgeable “car guys.” They pointed me toward blogs, YouTube videos, and shorts where I could learn negotiation strategies. One key takeaway: Never negotiate the monthly payment. Always negotiate the total price. This is becuase every add-on impacts both your interest cost and your total out-the-door price.
We also spent time deciding between a gas, hybrid, or electric vehicle. One thing we noticed is that hybrid models are often priced at the MSRP about $4,000 to $6,000 higher than comparable gas vehicles. However, by leveraging competing quotes, I was able to find a hybrid for only about $1,200 more.
From there, I wanted to understand the real difference in fuel costs. The hybrid gets roughly 36 miles per gallon, while the gas version averages about 24 miles per gallon.
This past weekend, I saw gas stations between $5.76/gallon to $6.39/gallon. ⛽⛽
There are plenty of detailed spreadsheets a finance nerd could build out for this (and yes, I did). But since you’re reading this, you can benefit from one we have available on our website.
Try our “What’s Your MPG?” Calculator
It lets you compare fuel costs between vehicles and understand the real long-term impact of your driving habits and car choice:
👉 https://www.iwmfinancial.com/resource-center/lifestyle/whats-your-mpg
You may be surprised how quickly fuel efficiency (or inefficiency) adds up over time. I hope you find it as helpful as I did.
If you’re thinking through a car purchase, or any larger financial decision where the upfront price is only part of the story, it can be helpful to run the numbers in the context of your overall plan.
If you’d like a second set of eyes on it, we offer a no-cost 15-minute financial review to walk through your situation and help you think through decisions like this more clearly.
👉 Schedule your free 15-minute review here: https://www.iwmfinancial.com/call