Does Your Family Buy New or Used Cars?

The process driving by and looking over the inventory at the local community auto dealer has become a new family routine. With all four of you driving, in fact, it seems much of your time, energy, and money are invested in the cars that you drive and the attention that it takes to keep all of them properly serviced and running. A review of the first weeks of summer tells part of the story.
Week one of summer. Your oldest daughter is driving the oldest car in the family. When her one year old compact car was totaled by another driver last spring, you were uncertain if you would purchase her another similar vehicle, or go for a cheaper driving option. Your father offered to let her drive his older truck while you decided about a new or used car purchase. To everyone’s surprise, your daughter loved the truck. She loved that she at up high. She loved that two friends could sit in the front seat her. You and your husband loved that your dad offered to just give her the truck, no charge. With more than 150,000 miles on the 15 year old pick up, your daughter was as happy as a clam.
That, however, is the back story from last spring. Fast forward to the first week of this summer and the service engine soon light alerted you to a problem that ended up being a purge valve that needed to be replaced. $300.
Week two of summer. Your husband drove a rental car for six straight days as his car was in for auto body repair work. When a careless driver backed into him after a meeting at the local grocery store diner, the result was nearly $2000 in damages and giving up his car for nearly a week. The back passenger door was replaced and repainted, and although he was given a rental car, the whole process was still time consuming and it involved him driving a rental car that was much smaller than what he was used to. This event did not cost you any money, but the patience is required was extensive.
Week three of summer. Early on a Tuesday morning, you and your youngest daughter set off on a college campus visiting adventure. Your 16 year old scheduled all of the visits herself, and the tours would include visits to mostly small schools, with one large campus thrown into the mix. For this 2,000 mile road trip, you drove the smallest car, but the one that got the best gas milage. With your older daughter’s truck and your husband’s car paid in full, you decided that the two newest vehicles in the family would be leases. This meant, of course, that you needed to pay attention to how many miles you put in these vehicles, but since your youngest driver puts in the least miles, her car was the perfect solution for the long road trip. In theory, this trip cost nothing more than your time and the miles that you put on her car.
Life in a Family with Four Cars Can be a Juggling Act
From making sure that the newest cars have an inside place to park on stormy nights that threaten to dump damaging hail to making sure that all oil changes and other services are current, a family can spend a good deal of time and money making sure that all vehicles are ready to drive when they are needed, from the longest road trips to the shortest drives around town.
Community auto dealers, whether they are large Chrysler dealers or small town used car dealers, are important. For instance instead of always shopping around for what looks like the best deal, many buyers stick with local community auto dealers who can provide both sales and dependable service. Statistics from 2014 indicate that nearly 7.7 million passenger cars were sold to U.S. customers that year, and that 4.25 million cars were produced in America that same year. Community auto dealers meet the needs of many families who are looking for their vehicles. And while 52% of buyers do not know what make or model they intend to buy before arriving at the dealership, local dealers often provide the easiest answers.