car question.. should I sell or keep

[OlAndrew]

I'd look around for a good old Buick. You can find 'em easy for 3 grand or so, put the extra grand into a good set of tires and having a mechanic do all the little things...plugs, plug wires and like that.

There's lots of granny cars with low mileage out there. No one wants them because they're not sexy at all. Just smooth, reliable, decent mileage, huge carrying capacity, cheap easy to find parts, service anywhere, not a theft magnet.

I love em.

[brlfq]

Assuming that you'll drive each car to 200,000 miles before trading again and each year you drive 20,000 miles:
- You have a car that will last 8 years and cost $10,000 dollars. That's 8 years at $1,250 per year. You can expect 4 of those years to have less maintenance cost than the $4,000 car and 4 years to have the same maintenance cost as the $4000 car.
- If you sell your car and buy a $4000 car with 120,000 miles on it, you get 4 years at $1000 a year. Then you have to buy another $4000 car to get 4 more years of use. With this option you save $2000 over keeping your car but you have the increased maintenance costs to deal with. You also have an immediate decrease in monthly payments of $350!

- With the car you have, you can reasonably expect to have only routine maintenance for about 3 years. With your $4000 car, you have to immediately plan to have available $700-$1500 for expected repairs.

- With your present car, you have to maintain full coverage insurance. With the $4,000(Paid in full) car you should decrease your coverage to liability only. This will save monthly payments also. Here in MS, license plates are outrageously expensive for new cars. My '95 chevy costs 33.21 a year!

I've been there and done that on having too much outgo and not enough income! The above is my thinking thru your options. I'd sure be trying to keep that 40k car rather than trading down.

Making yourself live within your means is a lesson I learned late. Sounds like you've got that part under control.

Hint: (Female children cost exponentially more than male children. I have the receipts!)

[neastguy]

Originally Posted by brlfq

Assuming that you'll drive each car to 200,000 miles before trading again and each year you drive 20,000 miles:
- You have a car that will last 8 years and cost $10,000 dollars. That's 8 years at $1,250 per year. You can expect 4 of those years to have less maintenance cost than the $4,000 car and 4 years to have the same maintenance cost as the $4000 car.
- If you sell your car and buy a $4000 car with 120,000 miles on it, you get 4 years at $1000 a year. Then you have to buy another $4000 car to get 4 more years of use. With this option you save $2000 over keeping your car but you have the increased maintenance costs to deal with. You also have an immediate decrease in monthly payments of $350!

- With the car you have, you can reasonably expect to have only routine maintenance for about 3 years. With your $4000 car, you have to immediately plan to have available $700-$1500 for expected repairs.

- With your present car, you have to maintain full coverage insurance. With the $4,000(Paid in full) car you should decrease your coverage to liability only. This will save monthly payments also. Here in MS, license plates are outrageously expensive for new cars. My '95 chevy costs 33.21 a year!

I've been there and done that on having too much outgo and not enough income! The above is my thinking thru your options. I'd sure be trying to keep that 40k car rather than trading down.

Making yourself live within your means is a lesson I learned late. Sounds like you've got that part under control.

Hint: (Female children cost exponentially more than male children. I have the receipts!)

thanks for the thought process... I have two girls!!!!

[hamstrat]

Originally Posted by OlAndrew

I'd look around for a good old Buick. You can find 'em easy for 3 grand or so, put the extra grand into a good set of tires and having a mechanic do all the little things...plugs, plug wires and like that.

There's lots of granny cars with low mileage out there. No one wants them because they're not sexy at all. Just smooth, reliable, decent mileage, huge carrying capacity, cheap easy to find parts, service anywhere, not a theft magnet.

I love em.

Excellent, excellent advice. A LeSabre is usually a good buy for all the above reasons (some years are better than others).

3.8 engine that is reliable, everybody can work on it and a well built car. Safe, front wheel drive (snow) nice ride. If you are used to an SUV a Mazda 3 will seem like a toy.

[scottlr]

Do you own your home? If so, a home equity loan could get your payments down, and you can write off the interest.

[Teleplayer]

Originally Posted by mouldynudger

Quite true.

I`ve never spent 4 grand on a car and I`ve never had an unreliable car.

My current car cost £2k 2 years ago. It has never given any trouble and has cost me nothing apart from servicing. It is fast enough and very comfortable.


Damian.

Damian:

The difference is that, in the U.K., cars have to pass MOT. That's not true here; so you never know what you are getting with a used car in the U.S.

[brlfq]

Originally Posted by neastguy

thanks for the thought process... I have two girls!!!!

Me, too! One of 'um's got a fella she's probably gonna marry someday. She and I were talking about wedding expenses the other day and I let her know that her mom and I had talked about a budget of $5000 for her eventual wedding.

SHE LAUGHED! And said that that would only pay for the DRESS! (I think she's going to look a little silly going down to the courthouse to get married in a $5000 dress! But, what the heck do I know?)

[neastguy]

Originally Posted by brlfq

Me, too! One of 'um's got a fella she's probably gonna marry someday. She and I were talking about wedding expenses the other day and I let her know that her mom and I had talked about a budget of $5000 for her eventual wedding.

SHE LAUGHED! And said that that would only pay for the DRESS! (I think she's going to look a little silly going down to the courthouse to get married in a $5000 dress! But, what the heck do I know?)

oh my.. mine are only 1 and 3 yrs old.. I can't even imagine yet what you are going through