<p>Depending on your budget you might want to look for a used vehicle that still has some of the factory warranty left on it. That way you know that anything major should be covered.</p>
<p>I think now should be a good time to buy a new or a used car, especially if you can pay cash, since credit’s getting tighter and the dealers are having a harder time selling anything to people who need credit.</p>
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What kind of car does DH drive? Maybe you should give it to your s and get the Mazda for your DH?!?!</p>
<p>Oh, my dh wants s to get a truck so he can drive it, but s says no. Dh drives the dreaded minivan. yuck!</p>
<p>We were looking at used cars last spring as oldest son was going to be taking one back to campus for the summer and senior year (first time to have a car at college). We couldn’t find what we had in mind and admittedly, we were being picky about the miles. We finally decided to send my car with son and I got a new one. This way there is no doubt about the integrity of the vehicle he’s got so far from home. I was ready to downsize (last child had just gotten his license so my carpooling days were over) and the car I “passed down” is perfect for the stuff he’s going to be doing.</p>
<p>Not such a bad idea to turn a family car over to the youngster and upgrade a parent - but I’m not sure how you spin that one with the grandparents!</p>
<p>Used cars have been cheap for months and will continue to be for some time. Talk about your buyer’s market! The higher end the car the bigger the discount. A lot of Mercedes, BMW’s and other luxury cars have been repoed along with homes. The inventory at most dealers is still climbing. You don’t need to hurry and in fact, things will get cheaper as it gets colder and fewer buy cars.</p>
<p>You basically told Granddad that he could “start looking” at the end of the year and from the rest of your post, to Granddad that means BUY. So, what are we talking here, 3 extra months of insurance? And I’m assuming your son is already covered on your insurance policy or he couldn’t have gotten his license. So you are only talking 3 months of the difference in what you pay now and what adding a car will cost. That’s a small price to pay for a fully paid off car!</p>
<p>I’d say, tell Granddad he can look and if he can find something, then get it when it is available. Dealers are hungry right now but so are individuals who need to cut back to handle financial setbacks. And in a few more weeks markets across the country will be flooded with cars from the hurricanes so buying now might help avoid that. </p>
<p>As long as you make it clear to Granddad that he must contact you BEFORE he commits to purchase and you keep your son on a little more strict schedule as far as car use goes for 3 months, then now is probably a good time.</p>
<p>Having said that we decided to wait with car purchase, I would like to point out that a brand new driver should get enough driving experience while at home before he goes to college. He is only 16, he has time, does not have to be very soon. However, we absolutely made sure that D. got enough driving at High School and feels comfortable doing it before she went to college. Yes, her car was at home whole Freshman year, now she is a Sophmore and has a car at school. Unfortunately, it does not guarantee safety and accidents happen but it made me feel that we did our part giving D. enough driving time at home in familiar surroundings before she was gone to college.</p>