Counting Pennies

Diana Rohini LaVigne, president and CEO of Global Communications, Nair and Co., Inc., says she wasn’t always a communications executive with a healthy salary. “When I was an undergraduate student, I learned how to live on a shoestring,” says LaVigne. “Some of those lessons stayed with me and I still use them today.” For example,

Even today, I think it’s foolish to purchase a brand new car. The incredible loss of value in the car once it has left the lot is too much for me to bear. I’ve resorted to using certified pre-owned cars and tend to get a car ‘new to me’ with 20K miles on it. I know if there are any early warning signs by 20K and I am paying a price that isn’t over inflated. I still own my certified pre-owned Sebring from 2001 which just hit 120K miles without any major work done! I don’t know what the common figures are, but I’ve heard that you can lose over $5K in 24 hours on the value of your new car. If a new car is sold and then resold 72 hours later, it must be sold as a ‘used’ car by law. Used car financing is a different process, so I believe less people qualify. I am under the impression that getting finance for a new car is easier than for an older car, perhaps because a new car is a less risky purchase. Also, the car being resold after 72 hours will still have a loss of thousands of dollars – even if is never driven off the sales lot!

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