vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
"You're asking for opinions here, because it's a matter of how you look at it. I'll give it a shot anyway. For insurance purposes - there's a clear answer: you insure based on how much it would cost you to replace it. For some reason, you're considering as a possibility negotiating with the insurance company about that, but I've never heard of insuring something at a ""possible sales value"" unless you're talking about a one of a kind thing, or a particularly valuable artifact: art, jewelry, etc. That it would be appraised and insured based on the appraised value. Besides, most of the stuff usually loses value once you bought it, not gains, so insuring per replacement costs makes more sense because it costs more. As to your estimations of your own net worth to yourself - its up to you. I would say that something only worth what people would pay for it. So if you have a car that you just bought brand new, replacing it would cost you $X, but you can only sell it for $X-10%, because it depreciated by at least 10% once you've driven it off the dealer's lot. So I would estimate your worth as $X-10% based on the car, not $X, because although you spent $X on it - you can never recover it if you sell it, so you can't claim to have it as your ""net worth""."
You lose your agent services. When my wife wrecked our car 3 years ago our agent took care of everything.  He got us a rental car, made the arrangements to get it fixed, checked in to see how we were doing, and even helped us set up a second opinion on my wifes wrist surgery.  The accident was ruled the fault of the uninsured driver who decided to take off through the red light.  But our insurance was the one that covered it all total expenses over 80k.  We would have had to eat most of those with out full coverage.   Most everything was set up (our rental car, estimates on repair, even her inital consutation with the surgeon) before the investigator had filed her report. Our agents first question was is everyone ok. His second was what can i do to help? He never asked us what happened and was always ahead of our needs in dealing with it.   If these things are not important to you, you can probably save quite a bit of money self insuring.  But if you are in an accident and unable to do them yourself, do you have someone to do it for you?  Do you trust them to handle your business and are you willing to saddle them with the responsibility of dealing with it?  To me insurance is less about me and more about my family.  It was nice that my agent did all of that for me.  I would have been willing to do it myself though.  But I am glad to know he is there for my wife if something happens to me.
It is almost never going to be more economical to buy a new car versus repairing your current car. If you want a new car, that is justification enough.
I think you're dancing with the line here, this question is hard to back up without opinions and could really be three different questions. I'm going to push aside the part about quality and reliability, that could be an emotional subject. So from a price standpoint, there's virtually no disagrement that it makes financial sense to buy a used car instead of a new car. The majority of new cars lose the majority of  their resale value within the first year or two. If you purchase said car after someone else has used it for the first two years, you just avoided all of that depreciation yourself, and you're still going to be purchasing a perfectly reliable car as long as you are diligent in the buying process.
The stupid question nobody asked: how mechanically inclined are you? I buy used cars, but then again I can work on them (I am building a new engine to my specs for one of my cars). Replacing a head gasket in a Subaru would be less than $200 for me, so I would find someone who blew his and offer $1000-1500 for the car if it is one of the models I like. The reality of buying an used car is that you are buying someone's else problems. How much do you know about that specific car model, its quirks, and what usually goes bad on them? For instance, it is a fact most people who buy a BMW 3 series flog them, so expect an used one to have been abused by someone trying to pick up girls by acting like he is a racer. A 5 series, on the other hand, would have a better life. Then some cars tend to rust on certain areas of the body. On the other hand I have seen Hyundai Elantras take a lot of abuse -- no oil change in 3 years -- and keep on ticking. Yes, you need to do some research on new cars, but old ones require even more. If you are going to save money buying used, make sure to spend time and research the options and their hidden costs. And learn how to check a car and have a feel for how much you will spent on repairing/maintaining it.  And what you are willing to give up on your first car: is having a working AC that important? How about power windows?  If you do buy a used car, try to put $100-200 aside every month, as if you are doing car payments. That will be your emergency and downpayment-for-next-car money. No matter what you buy, remember all you want on a new car is reliability and fuel efficiency. And, how much do you need a car right now? If you have to ride 30minutes to work in pouring rain and then be talking to customers, maybe a car worth having. But, where I live, a lot of people ride bicycles to work and back or use public transportation. I would trust getting into my car right now and drive 5h, and yet I take the bus every day (I like saving money on fuel and parking fees).
New tires will increase the resale value of the car; while not by the full cost of the tires, it will not be entirely a sunk cost. You'd need to factor that in and find out how much the new tires increase the resale value of the car to determine how much they would truly cost you.  However, I suspect they would cost you less than a $25,000 car a year early would.  That new car would cost some amount over time - it sounds like you buy a new car every 8 years or so? So it would cost you $25/8 = $3.3k/year.  That would, then, be the overall cost of the new car a year early - $3.3k (as it would mean one less year out of your old car, so assuming it was also $25k/8 year or similar, that year becomes lost and thus a cost).
"These cars are generally considered out of date and are less prone to be victims of car theft while being reasonably safe. Make sure you pick a model with a good reliability reputation, see what comes up at your local junk yard (the common old models have survived long enough to not end up there until now). Servicing your car takes some effort and some initial investments, but learning how to fix simple problems by yourself will save you a lot of money in the long run. Start by learning how to locate some simple faults. Diagnosing issues is a very costly process if done professionally, but some you may be able to find by yourself. All cars sold in USA from 1996 are required to have this connection below the steering rack. As a consequence most cars manufactured 1995 will have this connector world wide. If you connect your OBD2 adapter to this port your car will be able to tell you what's wrong through an app on your phone and you will be able to clear fault codes by yourself to make sure the problem really is solved. This is what you mechanic should use when servicing your car. While a new print can be expensive you can find used manuals getting thrown out of service centers or at yard sales. These will include service notes and sometimes had-written notes to help you out. The majority of parts on scrapped cars are still in working condition and may not ever see significant wear and tear. If you put some time into removing the part yourself you will have a good idea of how difficult it is to replace the part on your car and outsource the work to a professional if needed. This of course assumes you bring good parts. The main income should come from the work performed on your car, not the markup of spare parts. Generally speaking specialized mechanics working with one or few brands of cars are preferable as these will not only be familiar with your car but are also more likely to get original spare parts (not ""pirate"" parts made to be compatible at a cheaper price). This will make sure the part works as intended and not cause wear and tear of other parts. For example you'd much rather replace a broken fuse instead of cleaning up the aftermath of fried electronics. Turn off the AC when it's not needed.
Think about it. IF you save $15K by buying a Honda or a Mazda, you can invest those money at modest 5% average, you'll have over 60K before you retire, which allows you to retire at least a year earlier.... So it is worth working an extra year in your life to have a fancier car? And that's a conservative investment.
Another factor to consider is that resale value of the laptop is quite bit more if it is still under warranty.  This would apply to people who replace their laptop often. It is higher because the purchaser can be assured they are not getting a lemon.  I determined this by comparing prices on ebay before selling my computer. Of course, if you keep your laptop longer than the warranty, this means nothing.  But for me it meant I could sell my old laptop quickly and for a better price. Because I used my laptop for work and totally depended on it, even one day of downtime would cost me a lot, so it was worthwhile to keep a relatively new laptop under warranty. Also, for those using Apple Care, there is an undocumented perk:  Apple covered an out of warranty repair on a time capsule under my apple care for my laptop even tho they were not purchased at the same time.
A dealership provides an opportunity for those who live locally to see and experience the car without flying or driving wherever the car was assembled. They provide this at a risk, banking on the fact that a good experience with the vehicle will lead to a sale. Service. A car is a machine, and no machine is perfect, neither will it last forever without proper service. A dealership provides a place for people to bring their vehicles when they need to be serviced. Let's set aside the fact that the service prices are higher than we'd like, because the fact remains most of it is skilled (and warrantied) labor that the majority of people don't want to do themselves. Trade Ins. It is not in an OEMs best interest to accept a vehicle just to sell you another vehicle, especially if that vehicle is from another brand. Dealership's assume this risk, and often offer incentives to do so, hoping it will lead to a sale. That trade in was an asset to you, but is a liability to them, because they now have to liquidate that trade in, just so that you can purchase a car. Sure, you could sell your car yourself, and now you would assume that risk: What if your car is not in perfect shape, or has a lot of miles for it's age? Would it do well in the used car market? What if it takes too long to sell and you miss that Memorial Day car sale at the dealer? This might be okay for some, but generally speaking most people would rather avoid the risk and trade it in at the dealer toward the purchase of a new car rather than the headache of selling it themselves. I'm sure there are more, but those are the one's that immediately sprung to mind. Just like Starbucks, there are terrible dealerships out there and there are great ones, and very few of us venture to farms and jungles just for fresh coffee beans :-)
In some states there are significantly higher automobile insurance costs and higher coverage requirements for vehicles that have a lien on them.  I suspect this is not your scenario, or you probably would not be considering holding the loan open.  But it is something to consider. If you live in a state where insurance coverage and costs depend on a clear title, I would certainly recommend closing the loan as soon as possible.
"Ok, then I was not clear enough.  I will preface my explanation with some ethos sounding pathos: I don't know much about cars in general, and less so about SAABs. I was interested in following the thread and what you wrote, but there was a contradiction so I couldn't.  I listed the contradicting terms - including the possibility that the error was in my understanding of them (""Or am I missing something - am I wrong?""), and I addressed you since you through your husband has expertise in the matter and you are willing to share it here (thanks for that).  Simply put, the premises were:  From you: **Your car is well maintained.**  Assumed by me: Your (spouse's) expertise means that **you won't buy a car that is known to fail despite maintenance.**  **You bought a SAAB.**  So it should follow that *you own a well maintained, non-failing SAAB.*  But you also state: **Your SAAB is failing.**  (I'm a bit insulted to be called a prick for asking about that. Regardless, if you can be more specific I can perhaps offer help on how to maintain electrical systems. I have a vaguely related degree and work/life experience, however it depends very much on the type of system, its circumstances and your circumstances. Unless you were ""trolling"".)  The solution to the contradiction seems to be as given by redditor CC440, that I was wrong in my assumed premise, that you would and did buy a car known to fail.  However, CC440 insinuated that your husband is an idiot, I did the opposite. It's the opposite of idiotic to take a good deal. (Apologies for before-the-fact labelling ""$1500 with heated leather seats"" as ""cheap funkiness"", it was unintentional, and I don't know if it is offensive.)"
"Without more specifics, yes, you should. The risk depends on your policy, but the impact is high. The actual requirement will depend on your state and the specific language in your policy. Some policies will provide full coverage if that driver has your permission to use the car. The cost of not complying can be substantial. If you live with your girlfriend, apply for a policy and fail to disclose her presence in your household, that could be construed as intent to fraud in some situations. Other companies will drop your coverage if they find out. You need to think long and hard before not answering a question posed by an insurance company with complete honesty. There are documented cases where families have lost out on thousands of dollars because someone checked the ""non-smoker"" box on a life insurance form, but the insurance company found a picture of the person smoking a cigar at a wedding."
The first thing that strikes me is: Is this a time-limited offer? Because if you can expect the offer to still be valid in a few weeks, why not just wait that month (which will earn you the money) and buy the car then? The second thing you need to consider is obviously the risk that in the interim, there will be an actual emergency which would require the money that you no longer have. The third thing to consider is whether you need the car now. Do you require a car to get around and your current one is breaking down, perhaps even to the point that repairing it would cost you more than buying a new car and it is currently not safe to drive? If so, compare the cost of repairing to the cost of buying; if the difference is small, and the new car would be more likely to be reliable than the old car after spending the money, then it can make sense to buy a new car and perhaps sell the old one in its current condition to someone who likes to tinker. (Even if you only recover a few hundreds of dollars, that's still money that perhaps you wouldn't otherwise have.) The fourth thing I would consider, especially given the time frame involved, is: Can you get a loan to buy the new car? Even if the interest rate is high, one month's worth of interest expense won't set you back very far, and it will keep the money in your emergency fund for if there is an actual emergency in the weeks ahead. Doing so might be a better choice than to take the money out of the emergency fund, if you have the opportunity; save the emergency fund for when that opportunity does not exist. And of course, without knowing how much you earn, take care to not end up with a car that is no more reliable than what you have now. Without knowing how much you earn and what the car you have in mind would cost, it's hard to say anything for certain, but if the car you have in mind costs less than a month's worth of net pay for you, consider whether it's likely to be reliable. Maybe you are making an absolutely stellar pay and the car will be perfectly fine; but there's that risk. Running the car by a mechanic to have it briefly checked out before buying it may be a wise move, just to make sure that you don't end up with a large car repair expense in a few months when the transmission gives up, for example.
Do you need the car, or is this an optional purchase for you?  Do you currently have a car that is in good working order? If you can continue to save for the car instead of buying now, you'll be getting interest on what you've saved -- and that's a lot better than 0% financing.
"The good news about maintenance is that there's much less scheduled maintenance because the cars are mechanically much simpler. See the official service schedule. Most of it is just ""rotate tires / replace cabin air filter"". The brake and suspension systems are very similar to those of a normal car and require comparable maintenance. The bad news is the battery will decay over time and is a major component of the cost of the car. From that link: In the UK, the LEAF’s standard battery capacity loss warranty is for   60,000 miles or five years So you should factor your warrantied battery lifetime into the depreciation calculation. I don't think there are going to be many ten- or twenty- year old electric cars from the current crop in 2030 or 2040 as they're still improving dramatically year-on-year. (Slightly too long for a comment, slightly too short for a proper answer)"
"Consumer Reports offers a service that can tell you detailed actual cost to a dealer for a specific model and accessories -- real cost after rebates, not just invoice price. It costs a bit to order these reports, but if you are serious about buying a new car they are a highly recommended tool -- cu is independent and will give you the best info available, and simply walking into the dealership with the report in your hand can save huge amounts of negotiating. ""If you can give it to me for $500 over the real price, as shown here, I'll sign now."" Of course, standard advice is that it's usually better to buy a recent-model used car. I believe cu has other reports that can help you determine what a fair price is in that case, but usually I just bring it to a trusted garage and pay them to tell me exactly how much work it needs and whether they think it's worth the asking price."
There are many reasons for buying new versus used vehicles. Price is not the only factor. This is an individual decision. Although interesting to examine from a macro perspective, each vehicle purchase is made by an individual, weighing many factors that vary in importance by that individual, based upon their specific needs and values. I have purchased both new and used cars, and I have weighted each of these factors as part of each decision (and the relative weightings have varied based upon my individual situation). Read Freakonomics to gain a better understanding of the reasons why you cannot find a good used car. The summary is the imbalance of knowledge between the buyer and seller, and the lack of trust. Although much of economics assumes perfect market information, margin (profit) comes from uncertainty, or an imbalance of knowledge. Buying a used car requires a certain amount of faith in people, and you cannot always trust the trading partner to be honest. Price - The price, or more precisely, the value proposition of the vehicle is a large concern for many of us (larger than we might prefer that it be). Selection - A buyer has the largest selection of vehicles when they shop for a new vehicle. Finding the color, features, and upgrades that you want on your vehicle can be much harder, even impossible, for the used buyer. And once you have found the exact vehicle you want, now you have to determine whether the vehicle has problems, and can be purchased at your price. Preference - A buyer may simply prefer to have a vehicle that looks new, smells new, is clean, and does not have all the imperfections that even a gently used vehicle would exhibit. This may include issues of pride, image, and status, where the buyer may have strong emotional or psychological needs to statisfy through ownership of a particular vehicle with particular features. Reviews - New vehicles have mountains of information available to buyers, who can read about safety and reliability ratings, learn about problems from the trade press, and even price shop and compare between brands and models. Contrasted with the minimal information available to used vehicle shoppers. Unbalanced Knowledge - The seller of a used car has much greater knowledge of the vehicle, and thus much greater power in the negotiation process.
tl;dr: Call them. I'd be very surprised if you have a problem. I used to have have a policy with Geico, and would pay for my car insurance 6 months at a time. About 2 months into my last period, I purchased a house. Unfortunately, Geico didn't offer homeowners insurance in my state, so I ended switching to another company that offered a better auto+home combined policy.  Since I had already paid for 6 months of coverage, I figured I'd just be stuck being double-covered for 4 months. So, I didn't bother doing anything until the end of the 6 months and called them to cancel the auto-renewal thinking what I've already paid was a sunk cost. The asked me why I was canceling and I explained the situation and they backdated the cancellation to when I got my policy with the other company and Geico issued me a refund for the time there was overlap.  Considering that they did that for a leaving customer, I'd expect them to be able to cancel the policy on a new car of a current paying customer with no issues.
"I do not think you are missing much.  One thing you have right is low cost cars depreciate almost nothing.  One thing you are missing is your satisfaction index.  Driving a 200K car for 4 years requires a bit of motivation when your friends are driving new cars.  Typically you need a larger goal to keep you focused.  That might be saving money, getting out of debt, or obtaining an education. Buying a car from a private party, Craigslist is only one source, can save both parties money as the ""middle man"" is cut out. If you have the ability to do so, one can save a lot of money by doing your own brakes.  The info is up on youtube, and I typically ""earn"" between 100-300/hour doing this work myself. Most of the time warranties do not pay off.  At the core, they are insurance and insurance companies are in the business to make money.  If your car is likely to need repairs a policy may be unattainable or very high in price."