We get asked all the time, "Should I buy a new car?". I try to be as honest and unbiased as I can. I explain to people that you can't factor wear and tear into the cost of your current vehicle. You will be paying for oil changes, tires, wipers, and brakes with or without a car payment. Yes you can go buy from certain manufacturers and your oil changes and maintenance is covered for a certain period of time, but not tires or wear items. Plus with those vehicles your are paying a premium for the vehicle. We also get asked "What would you buy?". My answer is pretty much always the same. Buy a Japanese car unless you need a truck then it goes into a slew of questions, but it will always be don't buy anything less then a 2500/250 or bigger. But with all this being said, is your current vehicle feel unsafe to you? Does it cost you $500-$1000 a month to maintain? Is it not meeting your current needs, growing family, change of job etc.? Are you just bored with it? If boredom is the issue there are lots of things you can do to jazz up your ride that is waaaay cheaper then a new one. I am not just saying this because I want your continued business, you will be back even with that new car. Don't just go shopping and put yourself into debt entering what most likely is going to be an economic down turn because you've spent $2000 on brakes and tires. Your gonna have to do that with a new one in 50k miles too plus have paid an extra $24k on your first few years of payments not including your increased insurance to cover that pretty new thing.