Is now the right time to buy a Rogue?

[jdog27]

As it is my daily habit, I was reading the New York Times which had the following article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05...login

Which got me thinking. Is now the right time to buy a Rogue? If the auto industry is hurting like the article implies and the likelihood of it getting better in the near future is not great, then they are bound to come out with some great incentives / rebates etc. in the following months. If I can save a couple thousand more by waiting a couple of months then I am all for it. My current car (97 Honda Accord) is is great shape and will theoretically last me another 5 or 6 years. So I am in no great need of a car other than the purchase being my first new car ever and the shiny goodness of the Rogue.

So what are peoples opinion?

[kerrton]

You are absolutely right, based on your situation I would recommend not buying right now, from a practical perspective. If you want to buy a Rogue for fun, then that is a completely different , but if your current car is in great shape and it satisfies all of your needs, then I would not buy now. There will definately be great clear-out deals this summer with all of the auto companies, and there is the chance that next years models will be a little cheaper because of the pressures described in the article. Even at the best of times vehicles are very expensive and not a good investment as they depreciate very quickly, and much more so now under current economic situation. Your current car probably isn't worth much to sell right now, but has lots of value to you if you keep driving it for a while. Also, if you wait 2 years, there will be some incredibly cool fuel efficient vehicles to choose from, as this type of vehicle is in high demand because of fuel prices and ALL of the auto companies are "fast tracking" these vehicles to market. The Rogue is a great vehicle with very good efficiency, but it will have stiffer competition in the next few years in terms of efficiency.

I bought my Rogue last month because I needed to. I had a crappy GM Saturn Ion car that was starting to show all kinds signs that repairs would be needed soon (junk car), and I had a new baby and a big dog that required more cargo space, door size and height, and safety features (the Rogue has awesome safety features, the Ion didn't even have ABS brakes and really sucked). So for me, the time was right for the purchase, and this spring/summer I will get tons of use out of the Rogue which I wouldn't have been able to duplicate with my old car while waiting for the summer deals, or the 2009 models to come out. I know the summer deals will be way better than what I paid, but I am still really happy because the Rogue satisfied an immediate need that I had. Also, I got great selection buying when I did, they actually custom ordered the exact car I wanted from Japan, which is not possible when the clear-outs happen this summer.

So I guess you need to decide if you have an immediate need for the car, what your finances look like, and how much the "fun" factor affects the decision.

[jdog27]

So I guess you need to decide if you have an immediate need for the car, what your finances look like, and how much the "fun" factor affects the decision.

Immediate need? ehh not so much really. My Accord only has 85k miles on it and like I said is in great shape.

Finances? I was going to be paying cash for the Rogue so I am good in that respect.

Fun? lo yeah that was my first thought that the Rogue would be a lot of fun and the cool factor is nice.

lol we will see what I do. Stupid New York Times...

[kerrton]

Well, to decide about the fun factor, maybe you should test drive a Rogue and see what you think. I wonder if your Accord might be more fun to drive than a Rogue anyway? For a crossover vehicle the Rogue handles pretty nice, but I don't think it'll compare with your low center of gravity Accord, which I'd guess would corner better than the much taller Rogue. For around town fun driving you can't beat a car. The Rogue is relatively fun when compared to others in it's class, and considering the utility I get with it I think it is a great balance. But you can't compare it to a car, if I wanted strictly "fun to drive", I would've bought a car with sporty suspension like my wife's Mazda3 Sport, now that car is awesome FUN.