Six months later, a major electrical issue damaged a significant portion of the internal computer system, which cost almost as much to fix as the car was worth.
Almost $8k down the drain in 6 months. You’re always rolling the dice on an old car, no matter how much research and prep you do.
For most people, over a lifetime of buying cars (say 60 years) buying the $15k car (at today's prices) every 5 years vs $30k new car every 5 years will save them $180k. You can replace a lot of computer systems with the savings (ignoring even more savings with insurance, etc.)
If new cars cost $30k and last 10 years, and used cars cost $15k and last 5 years, you break even.
Alternately if you always trade-in your car after 5 years to buy a new car, you'll end up paying a lot less than $30k each time.
Of course, lots of people make better (in my opinion) decisions than that. But then they aren't the ones that need to understand where rationalizing spending money isn't actual logical.
You buy a reliable used car with ~30k miles for half of the cost of buying new and then drive it until you hit 150k+ miles.
Where are you buying cars where you're only getting a 50% discount from new with half of the cars useful life spent?
Without concrete data to support this, it's absurd to suggest that any vehicle has a mean failure rate of just 1-2% after 10 years on the road. Years of being subjected to the elements (extreme elements in certain parts of the country), normal wear, etc. constantly cause failures in older vehicles.
First, of course without data it's anecdotal at best, and feelings at worst! I certainly feel like Toyotas last forever. That is, of course, variable on a lot of factors. I've seen average miles per year range from 10,000 to 15,000. Assuming the high end, 10 years would take us to 150,000 miles. Well-maintained models would likely still be running, but maintenance would have increased beyond brakes, spark plugs, etc. to alternators, timing belts/chains, water pumps, exhaust, radiators... they add up.
But more to my point, second - I'm talking about Big Failures like a very expensive CPU system or an engine or transmission. Those aren't likely to die before 150,000 in a reliable vehicle, and the Camry is one of the best.
It's just beyond me why people would buy a brand new car on loan. Only if you're poor/living from paycheck to paycheck and absolutely rely on a car to get to your job I understand why it would make sense on some level to get a car loan.
Taking a loan out for the car means I'm buying a 20k car for 18k, being able to return 10% a year on the money I borrowed, with the ability to pay off the car anytime I want.
Buying a car in cash is for those who can't get a low APR loan and/or are too risk averse to use debt properly.
I got the impression they list everything as pre-owned certified on the website and then try to up-charge people for it in person, without actually doing any of the supposed checks. On the other hand, if you can get it the warranty should help with any gremlins in the first few years.
Certified used vehicles are also significantly more expensive than a used vehicle and a warranty, and Consumer Reports recommends the latter.
That's why I like certified pre-owned. It's the sweet spot between new and used IMO. Get a car that is just a couple years old (often from a trade or a lease), an extended manufacturer's warrenty, and let the original owner take the major hit on depreciation.