New vs used: the car buying journey

Hello everybody, I'm Kaitlyn and this is my

co-host.

Hey, I'm Emmett.

We are Steering You Right, a podcast for

car enthusiasts to learn all things cars.

And don't worry if you don't know anything

about cars yet, that's what position Kaitlyn's in.

Yeah, I absolutely know nothing and I'm here

to learn about cars because you need cars

in your life, I guess.

So what are we about then?

It can't just be all things cars, there's

got to be some differentials.

So what's on the plate for today?

What am I learning about?

Okay, so in this episode, we're going to

talk about different aspects of buying a car.

So buying a used versus new, selling modified

cars or modifying your own.

And we're going to speak to two employees

that work at a used and new car

dealership.

Nice, I'm excited.

Let's steer on right into things.

Alright, so I'm thinking of buying my first

car.

And the first question that comes to mind

is what's up with buying used cars?

Do people just go on Facebook marketplace or

Kijiji?

Or where do you find a functioning car?

Like what's the process?

So you could say that, but it's actually

a lot more than just finding a car

that works.

There's like a million details to look at

when you want to buy a used one.

First, when you want to buy it, places

like Facebook marketplace, Kijiji, clutch or even eBay

motors can be fun to scroll on.

But you can't always trust what you see.

Like imagine driving eight hours to buy your

dream 1985 Supra to arrive and see that

none of the safety inspections have been updated.

And the car makes a weird rattling sound

when you drive it.

Oh, that would not be good.

That would be a really expensive problem to

have.

Yeah, I would not want to pay for

that.

And that's why professionals suggest to buy from

dealerships.

Well, that sounds great.

But I think I might need to hear

from a professional on this one.

Let's hear from Jeff Forsyth, who works at

Donnelly Ford.

He's a commercial and sales leasing manager and

had a ton of new info for me.

What's the most common reason someone would buy

a car used?

Typically, I would say from the customer's perspective

is they feel it's less money.

Right.

You know, go buy a used car.

It's going to be cheaper.

And, you know, that's the I would say

the reason it might not be the best

reason.

Because sometimes buying a used car, depending on

how you're paying for it, it could actually

be more expensive or not more expensive, but

not that much of a savings versus going

for new.

So you have to do that kind of

comparative and that analysis, right?

Especially with interest rates, if you're financing that

car.

You're asking me the specific questions of why

would people buy new versus used or the

reverse?

I think a lot of times it's just

the misconception that used is going to be

the better deal.

And it's not always like that.

So if you're buying a car that's only,

let's say, $5,000 or maybe even $6

,000 cheaper in selling price, but the interest

rate is like 8% versus 0%.

Okay.

So that payment actually might be more on

the used car than it is actually on

the brand new one.

Plus, if you're thinking of like leasing a

car, getting a new car, maybe a new

car every four years and just rotating and

always having a monthly payment, your actual payment

might be a lot less leasing a brand

new car, being having full warranty the whole

time and just getting a new one every

four years.

So, you know, overall costs can be, you

know, maintenance, repairs, you buy a used car

and you're out of warranty and the transmission

goes.

Well, that's going to where?

Like it's going to your monthly payment or

in your overall costs?

You're on your own for that one.

Yeah, you're on your own.

So it depends like individual needs and wants

and what you're looking for.

Okay.

Well, it's kind of related or not, but

like, how do modified cars affect the market

of like used cars, like selling used cars?

Like you do just not sell them at

all.

Like, no, but like, like if they're modified,

like if someone wants to trade or like

something, I don't know.

Yeah.

Can you bring it back?

Yeah.

Like how does it affect the market at

all to modify a car?

Wait, wait, wait.

What do we mean by modified cars?

Well, some people buy used cars and alter

their appearance or function so they can enhance

the performance by making changes to the engine,

the exhaust, the suspension, and they can make

cosmetic upgrades like body kits and custom paint

jobs.

Body kits are like a collection of like

modified parts that you can add on to

the exterior to change the shape of the

car.

Yeah.

That's something I've never thought about before.

I just assumed you bought a car and

just left it the way it was.

Does it affect the value at all?

Actually, yes, it does.

Let's talk to Jeff again.

Yes.

Let's talk to Jeff.

So that depends.

Really, once it's been modified, if it gets

safety through the Ministry of Transportation, so if

our mechanics or licensed mechanics says, yeah, that

modified car passes the safety, then let's say

you do a whole bunch of other stuff.

The customer does a whole bunch of other

stuff to it after the fact that it's

been safety the first time.

Then they go to trade it in.

If it's been modified so much that it

would never pass another Ministry of Transportation, Ontario

or Quebec safety, then yeah, that can affect

the resale value.

Big in Quebec is lifted vehicles.

Like once a vehicle is lifted, brand new,

we can lift it, brand new, sell it,

license it in Quebec, brand new.

But then to get it re-safety and

sold in Quebec, in particular, they're just right

across the river, they actually can't safety it.

They won't safety it.

It has to be brought back to manufacturer

specifications or they won't safety the car again.

So you don't see a lot of transfers

of ownerships on modified or lifted vehicles in

Quebec.

But if I like bought a car and

modified it, but like safety it and then

tried to sell it, it wouldn't.

If it allows you to pass another safety,

no problem.

Really?

Yeah.

So I feel like I never see modified

cars from a dealership.

Like you just never see people like trade

them.

I guess you keep them if you're modifying.

Yeah, if you're modifying yourself, you're not spending

and investing into it, you're probably just gonna

keep your car.

Yeah, but it never brings the value up,

right?

It depends on what the modification is.

And how well it's done, right?

It's an A in like renovation.

Somebody's renovating their house and modifying it.

The roof is leaking, it's no good.

Okay, now that we've talked to a professional,

what do you think about what you learned?

It's really interesting.

He said a few things that I never

even thought about, especially the aspect with buying

used cars being more expensive in the long

run than new cars.

I always knew that you'd have to pay

attention to the safeties and get more repairs

because there'd be more mileage and they're gonna

wear down.

But I would still assume it's cheaper to

buy a used car.

I mean, it's not new.

There's none of the fancy stuff.

It's gonna be older, but I don't know.

I don't really get it.

What's your take?

I still feel like I should get a

used car.

See, that's where the difference between buying from

an individual person and a dealership comes in.

The dealerships always safety the cars first.

So you know you won't have to pay

for that.

That's the first step.

But when you buy a used car, you

have to check so many things.

And as someone who doesn't know much about

cars, it's hard to know what you're gonna

end up paying for.

So by buying a used car, you're risking

the car having problems.

If you don't know anything, you're gonna end

up having to pay for all the problems

being fixed, which buying from a dealership, usually

they check all that stuff, or at least

you're warned before on what you're gonna have

to pay for in the future.

But buying from a person, obviously they're gonna

try to hide it because they wanna sell

their car.

They wanna make the money.

So Facebook is bad.

Well, no, you have to trust the person

you're buying for.

You have to know what you're looking for.

Bring someone who knows what they're looking at.

And I mean, if the car is really,

really, really cheap, maybe you can afford to

fix it.

I don't know.

I think I'm gonna trust Jeff and just

focus on a dealership instead of buying from

Facebook.

As long as you have someone you trust.

Yeah, Jeff.

I trust Jeff Forsyth.

So do you feel ready to buy your

new car?

Soon.

There's still the matter of getting the money.

But when I do have it, I know

where I'll be headed.

We will get there.

This is still the first episode.

You're right.

There's still plenty to learn before I jump

fully headfirst into the world of cars.

Well, I just want to say thanks, Jeff,

for coming on the show and showing us

your perspective as salesman.

It was great to have you.

And thank you guys for listening to this

episode of Steering You Right.

Be sure to listen to our next episode

soon to keep steering yourself in the right

direction.

We'll be talking about the car community and

how we use social media.

It'll for sure be one you won't wanna

miss.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on

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Visit our website.

Bye!