Currently I drive a '97 Toyota 4Runner with 288,000 miles on it. It's actually my fun car that makes almost no financial sense because I bought it for cheap and poured way more cash into than makes sense because it's a toy and I have no debt other than a small mortgage which I just married into two weeks ago. My new wife has a 2016 Jeep Patriot that we paid off while we were on our honeymoon last week, along with what was left on her student loans.I know we're both Dave fans, but what do you drive?
I drink the Dave Kool Aid to a point. I kept my boat, kept my new vehicles and followed the principles...which have done VERY well for me.
The OP asked for advice on new car shopping, not financial advice. When it makes sense, a new car is the right choice. Seeing how long he keeps his vehicles, it's definitely the right choice.
I figure we'll have the house paid off in about 24-30 more months and have no payments of any kind.
The 4Runner is only my daily driver right now because I got T-boned in August and my 2013 Chevy Cruze got totalled out. I paid $4000 in cash for it at an estate sale in 2018 with 23,000 miles on it. That price included new tires and a new battery. When it got wrecked it was just shy of 100,000 miles and insurance paid out $9,000. Try getting that flip-flop in value with a new car.
I'm not trying to derail the thread. I waited until someone else suggested not buying a new car. Again, people are free to do what they want. The OP might completely ignore all of this, but that doesn't mean someone else might not reconsider a decision to buy new when there are lots of good used cars out there.
I'll be looking for one soon since I still need to replace my Cruze. Just trying to decide if I go with a $9-10,000 car and just spend the insurance money, or save up another 6-8 months and buy something nicer. We'll see.