Bittersweet Day; I'm now a former Cruze Owner

Cobalts and G5s are pretty cheap these days. The later version '08+ LAP 2.2L engines have a good balance of power and economy, and if you can find one with the 5-speed manual, it actually feels pretty quick. It has good economy and a decent power to weight ratio since it's so light weight. Or if you can find a G5 GT or Cobalt SS with the 2.4L engine it's even better. The supercharged and turbo 2.0L engines would be a riskier bet and more expensive but would be that much more fun. I really loved my Cobalt and if it that idiot had never ran that red light and ruined it, I would have kept it for as long as possible.

Hope the Envoy hold up, do you have the 4.2L I6? That's a good engine too when it's working properly. Friend of mine had a trail blazer with that engine, had no issues towing and was pretty peppy when it found the right gear. But I do remember it had to have quite a few components replaced during its life. Whatever you end up getting next, you'll have to let us know, just because you don't have a Cruze doesn't meant you can't still be a part of this forum. Plenty of people on here either don't have one, or got rid of theirs, but keep coming back because the community is so great here, and also, who knows, you may one day even get another Cruze.

Eddy Cruze said:

Anyone who buys a new CRUZE takes a big loss the moment they sign the paperwork?

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Not true, you just need to put enough money down or have a decent trade to stay ahead of the value. What I was referring to was trading the car off while your still underwater, no way I would make that trade. Think of it this way If your in that boat this time around what happens when you add that loss to your next cars payment? 2-4 years down the road your even more in the hole than you are now.

I actually took a 75 month loan on my cruze, not because I could not afford to pay allot each month, but in case my situation changed and I would never get into a spot I couldn't afford the payment. From day one I paid $50 a month over that minimum which my bank takes off the principal interest free.

If I continue to pay the $800 a month this year I will have payed the car off in 59 months, 16 months early from my loan agreement. Too bad I had no trade in value in my last car or money down on the cruze would have shaved off even more months. Next time around I will put more than $50 extra a month on the car from the get-go, it would have help pay it off even sooner.

I was thinking about trading the Cruze for a truck before I realized how much my car had depreciated. I bought a '14 model 3/15. The sticker msrp on my car was $19.655. I got GMS pricing, $4,000 off in cash back incentives, and $4,000 trade for the Cobalt, so I had $8,000 to put down right away. After tax, and fees, I ended up financing $12,300 at 1.99% for 63 months. Payments came out to a very reasonable $204.47 per month. I've been paying $250/mo. But a year of payments later it's dropped 8-9 grand in value meaning I owe only $1,500 less than it's currently worth. But depreciation isn't linear. It depends on a lot of things. The biggest hit in a cars value is in the first year or two. After that it starts to slow down. Buying a new car makes the most sense if you keep it in good condition and own it more than 8 years, then you really start to reap the benefits. Its like I get peace of mind for 5 years for the price of the car payment, and at the end of the 5 years when the payments are gone and the warranty is up, I get my car, in whatever condition I kept it in, for free as my used car.

Sure you can buy an old beater, but then you have to pay for more maintenance, and any parts that break or wear out. Plus you drive an old beater which may leave you stranded. Having a new car gives you peace of mind. Even if it goes wrong, you take it back to the dealer and they fix it free. They offer the latest in safety, style, efficiency, and technology. That alone has to be worth something. I would prefer to have a predictable car payment with a predictable car, than drop a lump some of cash on a gamble. At least if we're talking about your only daily driver. If you have multiple cars then buying used may make a lot more sense. You can take the time to fix it when it goes wrong, and buy parts when you have the money. A lot of it has to do with your current situation, and it takes different strokes for different folks.

Back in the 60's living in the suburbs, when they shut down the North Shore line, everybody had to drive to work. If in the downtown area, no place to park so still had to walk about a mile. All of my neighbors spend Saturday working on their cars for another 400 mile trek the week after. So complicated today, only a handful can do this.

Dead meat without a vehicle, can't go to work, school, or do anything, government knows this, besides paying steep prices for this crap, have to pay FICA and income taxes on top of this.

Cheaper to buy a new lawn mower than just the carburetor of an old one. Never was this way before, but sure is now, and our automobiles have joined these ranks. This mostly started about 28 years ago.

Still say a new vehicle should cost no more than what a 1974 costs back then, tons of hand labor, chrome and steel, a bunch of plastic today and huge amounts for automation. Not paying skilled craftsman anymore to grind a camshaft, all down with machines.

Cash for clunkers should raised the price of a used up vehicle. Ran into this back in 2012 when my kid's car was converted by the government with all this road salt into a pile of rust. To find something used, even barely drivable, but with a zillion miles on it, was looking in the $12K class. Was cheaper for us to give our Cavalier to her and buy a new Cruze.

Ha, just looked up the cost of an ignition module for a 1992 Buick. We were making these, manufacturing cost was $3.89, this how we are getting screwed today. Just bend over and smile.

Sure, I "lost" money on the car. Cars aren't investments. Bought it new and sold it for 65% of what I paid for the car. That's one way of looking at it. The flipside is that the car was worth more than I owed, so I made a few hundred dollars from the transaction and paid off the loan. In retrospect, I would have been a little better off leasing, but hindsight is 20/20 and my situation is different now than it was 26 months ago. I'm getting several hundred more back from my insurance company since the premium was paid through September, and most importantly, it frees up several hundred per month in cash flow for the next several months. I was less than 1/2 way through a 5 year loan so I had lots of payments ahead.

In my case, I already have another car (2005 Envoy XL) that I can drive for now. Once the summer months are over, I will pick up another car, but I will save between now and then and it will be a cheaper one that I can hopefully pay cash for or take a small short loan on. Maybe not a beater, but an older, higher mileage car than my Cruze. I like working on cars, so some repairs don't bother me. My son will also be 16 soon, so my insurance is going to skyrocket and I'd rather have cars I don't need full coverage on. I also want cars I'm not afraid to let him drive.

I'm on a new kick after almost being crushed to death by a Semi at Zero MPH, I hardly drive. Therefore I hardly use any Gas, and when I do the CRUZE is impressive. The residual worth of this car is jaw dropping, my Sonata returned 70% of what I originally paid 7 years later, the CRUZE lost over half its value in 2 years. However having a Car under Warranty is priceless and I plan to keep the unit for 7 years or 70,000 miles. I just refinanced and my Credit Union valued the car at $15,000 and dropped my payment from $320 to $170 a month for an additional 7 years, 9 in total. It made 'cents' to go for the longer term and I could pay it off today if I wanted to. The other night I read 171 horrible complaints about the CRUZE, from coolant to fire, from 2011 though 2015. I still think the CRUZE is the high tech modern version of the Chevy Vega, even produced at the same location. With all that said I have a great service dealer, perhaps the best dealer I have ever known, and the Car seems to work fine, I can't think of a single problem with it, at least today!

mccullkh said:

I too miss my Grand Am. V6 with the chrome quad exhaust and hood scoops.

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I had 172,000 on it at the time of this picture, and she was sold a few months after that. It was a 1998 and we were the original owners. I tried to keep that thing spotless. 2.4L DOHC.

OP I can understand why you did what you did. Always nice to have a better cash flow, that's for sure.

Crown Vic's make good "beater cars" I've heard.

Well OP, clearly, the question you didn't ask, has been answered. You need to pick up an old Pontiac, they're like America's Alfa Romeo. So much passion and soul. I really loved my Grand Prix and miss it way more than I should.