After deep deliberation, I decided to pass on buying the $550,000 Mercedes G650 Maybach. It just felt like too much to spend on a family car when I could invest the money and earn $20,000 a year in passive income forever! Instead, I bought a family car for safety first.
What type of family car did I buy? I bought a late model 2015 Range Rover Sport V6 HSE with 11,200 miles in Santorini black with black leather interior.
It’s in perfect condition with a warranty until July 2019. The original sticker was $76,000 before tax or roughly $83,000 out the door. Such good value compared to the G650 Maybach right?
Safety First: Family Car
Small cars like my Honda Fit are absolutely wonderful in the city. Parking is a breeze. Gas mileage is awesome. And they’re inexpensive. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed a surge of big cars dominating the roads, bullying smaller cars like mine.
I’ve never been cut off, tailgated, and snaked at a four-way intersection so much as I have with my Fit. It was when I saw a car plow into another car on a quiet neighborhood street that I decided to make the switch. Distracted driving due to cell phone use is on the rise.
I’ve been eyeing this all-wheel drive vehicle for three years ever since Land Rover finally updated its previous Range Rover Sport model that lasted from 2005 – 2013.
I used to drive Moose, a 2000 Land Rover Discover II from 2005 – 2012 before finally giving him up after not wanting to fix the warning lights on his dashboard for $1,000. He never would have passed the smog check and he was only worth $3,500 in the end.
Waiting until the second or third year of a new model is always a good idea so the manufacturer can get as many of the kinks out as possible. Further, buying a two or three-year-old vehicle skips the largest part of the depreciation hit while still having a warranty.
How The Transaction Went Down
I was searching on Craigslist one evening for a family car when I stumbled upon an ad by Audi Marin for $64,770. I bookmarked the ad and continued scrolling when I found another ad five spots down for the same vehicle by a private party for $61,000!
When I contacted the private party to ask if it was still available, he said he sold it while he was away on business. I asked him whether his car was the one on Audi Marin’s listing, and he said yes. Then he told me he hadn’t yet got a check from Audi Marin and was headed over there to get his car back due to so much demand from his Craigslist ad.
He told me the next person who gives him $60,000 gets the car.
Sensing an opportunity, I told him I’d meet him the very next day near his house. I took the car for a test drive and inspected everything. This was even though it already went through a 200-point inspection by Audi Marin before they could purchase it. Audi Marin also changed the oil and oil filter as well. Double score.
Negotiating The Family Car
When it came time to seal the deal I told the seller I’d pay $58,000 cash. The condition was only if he could sell the car to me that moment. We could go over to my bank and I’d cut him a cashier’s check.
He hesitated for a little before I told him, “Seize the moment. I’ll be the smoothest private party transaction you’ll ever encounter. Your wife already bought her new Audi Q7, so it’s time to simplify life with only three cars!“
He agreed, and we wrapped up the transaction in 35 minutes at a Citibank branch. I then dropped him off at a steakhouse along the way to SF. He was meeting his wife for dinner there. It feels great to pay $6,770 (10.5%) less than the dealer’s asking price. I also paid $18,000 (24%) less than new with so few miles and two more years left on the warranty.
Although I had been eyeing the new Range Rover Sport for over two years, I’m never one to buy anything on the spot. But because the seller showed up on time, was a fellow entrepreneur, and was friendly to talk to, I felt I could trust him. He wasn’t hurting for money either since he had the title in hand. All he wanted was a smooth transaction, which is exactly what I wanted too.
In case you’re wondering, the seller’s other two family cars are a $120,000 Tesla Model X and a $40,000 Ford F150 he uses for his business. He’s in the food production business.
Didn’t Buy The Family Car For Me
Do you know how you sometimes buy a gift for your significant other, but it’s really a gift for you too? Well I’ve decided that Moose II is really a gift for my son via my business. He just doesn’t know it yet! It’s a great way to feel better about spending so much money, despite being $492,000 cheaper than the G650 Maybach,
I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to my family in an accident just because I wanted to save money. The Honda Fit’s doors are too thin. Further, the crumple zones are too shallow for me to feel safe with a baby on board after researching the safest cars to survive a crash. It doesn’t matter if I’m the best driver on the planet. All it takes is one reckless driver to ruin our lives.
It’s funny how everything changes once you have children. The idea of getting a sports car has gone completely out the window. If you want one, get one before having kids. Safety is now my #1 priority, followed by comfort, and then performance.
There’s a chance I might hold onto Moose II for 16 years and pass it onto my son. By 2033, Moose II will only have ~75,000 miles since I only average about 4,000 miles a year. But I’m hoping by then, there won’t be a need for any of us to drive ever again thanks to self-driving cars and better public transportation. The last thing I want is a teenager driving behind the wheel!
If you can afford a nicer family car based on my 1/10th rule for car buying or my net worth rule for car buying if you’re older, it’s worth ponying up for a safer vehicle. Why risk it?
Plans For A New Safer Car
Our goal as parents is to live as long as possible to ensure our kids become independent adults. We should own safe cars to minimize the chances of getting seriously injured in a crash. Today, I’ve owned my Range Rover Sport for six years now. Given my ideal length of time to own a car is 10 years, I still have four years to go.
Somewhere around 2026, I plan to buy a new electric vehicle. There should be a lot of safety improvements over a 10-year time frame. Further, electric vehicles tend to be safer given there is no motor in the front. My hope is that self-driving technology will also improve by then as well.
I’m eyeing the VW ID.Buzz as my next car. But in the meantime, I’ll continue enjoying my Ranger Rover Sport!
Check for better auto insurance
Auto insurance is the second biggest expense to owning your car. AllState is one of the leading online market place to help you find the most affordable and reliable auto insurance.
It is very important that everyone gets at least basic liability car insurance. You can total your car and be fine. But if you total someone else’s car and injure them, they can go after you for ALL your assets and wipe you out.
Readers, how much do you think about safety when it comes to purchasing or driving a family car? Why pay full price and maximum tax at the dealer when you can save purchasing from a private party? Oh yeah, feel free to judge me on my car purchase. It’s fun!
For more nuanced personal finance content, join 100,000+ others and sign up for the free Financial Samurai newsletter. Financial Samurai is one of the largest independently-owned personal finance sites that started in 2009.
Related: Is Owning Two Cars Worth It?
That Mercedes was…$550K? SERIOUSLY??? I wouldn’t spend the money on that car even if I had all the money of the Universe.
Just for fun, I wanted to mention that I just bought a Range Rover Sport HSE this weekend. Mine is white instead of black only has the 20″ inch wheels though. I remember reading this article a few years ago, and it always stuck in my head. Though i’m not typically an SUV guy, I’ve always loved the look of them and as you mentioned they have a very solid/safe feel. Coming from several BMWs, the tech is a bit painful and the ride is a bit choppy but otherwise enjoying so far. Really makes you feel good driving it with the high quality leather, clean design and high up driving position. Our 5 year old absolutely loves it and was beaming when he learned it was our new car (i surprised him). He’s actually excited to go places in the car now just cause he loves riding it (in the past he’d throw a fit about getting in the car). He said “this is the nicest car I’ve ever been in” and that he wants to “keep it forever”. The look on his face when I showed him the air suspension was also priceless. LR should probably put him a commercial – lol. Now he’s asking me all about how it works. Anyway, just thought i’d share.
Ah, to make your child feel excited and proud to be in your car is pretty valuable. I was always embarrassed when my dad drove a 1976 Datsun with no paint and hub caps in 1990.
Have fun!
Thanks! Are you still enjoying yours?
I may be late but the story might be amusing… Back in 2015 our rides were Mazda Protege 1999 and Mitsu Outlander 2004. Both had VINs starting from J, our ultimate requirement, as we value reliability and freedom from hassle (you know, never afraid of leaving a car open in a so-so neighborhood, not caring when your kids get in with their feet in the sand at a beach and so on). Our income has never been past 100K and we spend a lot for 2 kids activities. Very frugal for ourselves. Now, in 2015 my husband was driving a lot for teaching in 4 colleges. My Dad wanted us to change Mazda for safety reasons. We thought of Prius or my love – Mazda. I HATE SUVs, no fun, I hate high seats, so all opposite to a regular mom. As Dad said he will pay half, we ended up buying a new Prius. On december 31, 10pm. The dealership needed to sell one more Prius to get a nice total bonus from Toyota. They hated us right away as we were reluctant buyers and as one rep put it: “your faces tell us that you are not gonna take any credit, you’ll pay all cash right away”. True! The Prius we wanted to test drive did not start, and I suddenly spotted a Prius 3, so handsome in red with a black glass top. I told them, I will buy it for 23000 total and period. I don’t care what will the car price be or dealership fees, only the total. And that happened. They wrote down it as 20500K car, with a MSRP of 28K. Finally, we refused to pay $700 for satellite anti-tefth system… Ended up being a right decision, as it was already in the car but you have to pay for it only once (dealer had)! When somebody tells me I’m giving you such a great deal right now and you can’t decide tomorrow, I have a unique sense for bullshit :) Overall, I think it was good deal for the last year generation car, with VIN # starting from J, with very nice rooftop and solar batteries and tinting (an option) from Palm Beach Toyota. Thanks, Olga
It’s a great car but it will not last more than 10 years not because it will actually not run but because of the britishness of those trucks. I have one that is 11 years old the thing runs like a tank and never had any problems but now the weirdest things break and only dealers or specialty mechanics will look at the truck and simple repairs and maintenance start to get ridiculous and the air suspension starts to leak which winds up being a 4-5k repair, mine just started and I’m either dumping the car or converting to coils for around 2k, depends on the deal I can make. I can one up you though because I bought when gas prices were $5 a gallon got 59% off the original sticker for a 22 month old car with 20k miles on it so it owes me nothing at this point(years 1-8 had no repairs, only tires and brakes). But make no mistake this car is a luxury they cost a ton to own, they eat tires and brakes (which for these cars aren’t cheap 2k if you use an independent mechanic for brakes and buy tires at the tire rack, dealers charge between 3500-4k and every 25k miles they’ll tell you need new tires and at least one axle of brakes, pads and rotors always. The new rovers have a lot of technology in them and it can get wonky when they get old, the good news is for 10 or so years they are super reliable compared to old rovers but once they age the expense to repair makes them functionally obsolete. Just to give an example with mine I recently needed to replace the front upper and lower front control arms, sway bars, inner and outer tie rods, both front wheel bearings, brake hoses, a caliper, the shifter cable, a steering column piece, the parking brake shoes, the 100k mile service, and the tailgate actuator and cable the dealer pricing for those repairs was ~10k, my neighborhood mechanic did the suspension bits and wheel bearings for $2500, LR dealer was $1400 on the shifter cable and steering column, $1300 on the parking brake and $1800 on the 100k mile service. All in all a lot of money to sink into an 11 year old car and the dealer already is preparing me for the air shocks needing replacement and unfortunately the stuff I had the dealer do were all things local mechanics were unwilling to touch or didn’t have the tools to do. I replaced the tailgate actuator and it required removing panels in the trunk because the trunk was stuck closed, a miserable job and $200 plus dollars in parts from the dealer.
Cool. What year and model do you actually have and how many miles did it have on it when you bought it? I had my LanRover discovery two for almost 10 years and it ran great but the electrical gremlins started.
So far, the range rover sport has been very dependable. I’ve had it for one year and four months now. I think so long as you spend 1/10 of your gross income on a car, the maintenance, wheels, and brakes aren’t very painful at all.
Sam, have you (or any readers) used Roadster? They’re a car buying service in California, interested to hear anyone’s experience. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing your car purchase process. So how do you sell your cars?
Do you sell on craigslist, trade into dealerships, etc? Trading into the dealership is the easiest, but a total ripoff, whereas selling on craigslist can be a hassle, as well as potentially dangerous … glad you had a good experience with your purchase.
Appreciate anyone’s thoughts!
I’ve always sold via Craigslist. Look up KBB value, and the clearing price is generally around a 10% discount to KBB. But of course, when you are buying private party, you’ve got plenty of opportunity to negotiate aggressively. Using cash and being an immediate same day buyer helps a lot.
The Range Rover Sport has treated my family well so far, and we don’t miss the Honda Fit at all. I cannot drive a smaller car transporting our baby. It just feels too dangerous.