Jetta Baby……….. YES it is here.

Just a jog of Robert Frost’s old timer “Road not taken………and that made all the difference”. This was sort of running in my head when I had to choose between a brand new fully loaded VW Jetta ($19K) and a used car, Toyota Prius ($9K). Well there were couple of other cars in the mix too namely Hyundai Accent, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, i.e. basically most makers for mid size sedan. Before I go into the depth of comparing all these models, I would like to share my thought process between Prius and Jetta.

Since most of my audience are from USA, I do have to state that the choice of my cars was basically based on their resale values. Given that at some point I would like to get another car, I also would appreciate every little dollar that an old car (at that point of time) could contribute. KBB (Kelly Blue Book) suggests that German and Japanese car makers enjoy more perks in the resale value compared to the big brand domestic names, mainly for the mid-size car that I was interested in.

Firstly, the pro’s (highly personal perspective) of brand new car – we have a choice of make, color (both interior and exterior), amenities, worry free driving for almost 40K miles (on most models and makers). Con’s – all the pro’s come with a ‘sticker’ price. The more ‘loaded’ you want the new car, the higher is its initial cost. The rate of depreciation is intimidating at first , but it is being easily forgotten by the 'awe' experience/satisfaction of driving a NEW car.

Now coming to the old car, Pro’s – time tested, low price, which means low monthly payments and satisfaction of owning a vehicle very soon. Con’s – redone interiors, need additional inspections (if buying from an individual), not up to date on technology, maintenance issues in near future and very low warrantee. Given that online shopping gives us flexibility to choose a used car to our likening, including the interiors and color, it still doesn’t guarantee the performance. In my case the old car (Prius) had about 100K miles on it in 4 years (which according the dealer are mostly highway miles, makes sense too ;)). Though online shopping makes it easier to look for an used car, it does require lot of looking around and sometimes a far away trip to get it back to your local area.

Apart from the obvious differences, one thing which always will catch my attention would be the price difference between the two cars in future/end of the service time. Consider buying a brand new car we spend about $20K on road. The car does come with a 36K bumper to bumper maintenance, free service and oil change. If driving about 15K -20K miles per year that’s about 1.5-2 years of free maintenance. For a 60 months with good credit its about $345 per month. Given the resale value could be anywhere from 5K to 7K that’s an effective price of $13-15K for new car with peace of mind.

Now the used car is about 9K to begin with and your effective trade in value after 5 years (paying about $180 per month, extra taxes and inspections for used cars in PA) is next to zero. You will add about 75-100K miles making the car pretty much an antique in terms of mileage. Given that there are added woes of maintenance and repairs after 150K miles, your effective spending for the car is about $10K. Now if we do that math, that’s pretty much a difference of $3-5K over 60 months. That’s only a difference of $50-80 per month. Now I thought my choice was very clear given that I was buying a mid-size or may be a compact sedan. Given that the future of cars, according to me, is moving towards gas free conditions, I would assume that in next five years we could potentially be driving electric cars or nuclear cell powered motors. But in any case I see this as a final transition away from gasoline (yay!!!!).

Now to the interesting part of the story i.e. the selection of THE JETTA BABY. I was very much inclined to buy a deep blue car, however as soon as I saw this black car with beige interiors I couldn’t resist. Immediately, proudly and lovingly welcomed a CERNA into the family J. Add to it the leather heated seats and stain free material, the choice was very clear in my mind. The fun deal was the ‘sports gear’ which can accelerate the Jetta Baby to 120mph in 30 secs… howazzat……grrrrnnnnn.

Now every time I drive my BLACK JETTA SE and see another potential choice (of past) passing by I rerun the theme of Robert Frost………in this case this is the road I have taken.. and that made all the difference for me.