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| Tue, 03-31-2009 - 11:05pm |
Since I switched jobs, we are going to need to buy at least one car - possibly two (LONG story...).
We are getting a large income tax refund and have already decided to set aside at least $1000 if not more to go towards a car.
Here is my dilemma... I really, really, really do NOT want a car payment. We are currently car payment free and I'm just not sure I want to step into the car payment game again. We've been burned in the past with high interest rates that resulted in high payments and when times got tough even reposession. I do not want to go through any of that again and with the credit crunch, I worry we'll be faced with this same scenario... since I KNOW our credit isn't in the 700 or 800 range.
We need to make sure we have reliable cars as we have to transport our kids to school and back, dh to work and myself to work. We also have a family cottage about 3 hours away that we like to visit in the summer months. So, we need something we can rely on.
DH and I are trying to decide if we should just buy two cheaper (I'm talking $1500 or so) cars and run them until they die and then try and get a car loan (we'd be looking at cars that would get us a


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You pose a good question.
I couldn't have said it better than Jax did.
We have the same problem here. We have 2 cars, both with almost 200K miles on them. We drive a lot and I don't have much confidence in them. They are both toyota corolla's. One of them we own outright. It cost us $1000 dollars to buy from DH's parents and it gets Dh to work and back. The other one will be ours in 2 months. We only owe 195 more dollars on the thing. I know that sometime in the next couple of years we are going to need a better car. A minivan! I drive a family of 5 around in a clown car! My idea is to take the payment I've been making on my toyota, which is 180 dollars and keep on saving it even after I'm done with the car payment. Then in 2 years, I'll have $4300 dollars to play with. I never want a carpayment again! I probably won't be able to buy a brand new minivan or even almost new for $4300 dollars, but all I need is one that will get me through another 3 years until I've saved enough to buy a newer one outright.
You should be able to buy an older car that will still be reliable until you can afford a better one.
Norma
"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus
We had to get a car last year for the kids, so it had to be reliable and I did not want something small as I wanted some body around them in case of a crash.
We got a Taurus for $2500 cash from a friend of a friend.
I am also scared of a car payment. I might have one in the fall though. We will see.
Good luck with your decision. I would go with one older car and one newer one. That way if one really takes a nose dive you can at least rely on one of the cars. Once you have one newer one, try to put a little away for another new one in a few years.
Cars are a necessary evil. Sometimes I really hate them!
Thank you all for your messages.
I came across a 1999 Saturn (not sure of the model as back then they were all numbers and letters like SL1 and such..lol). It has 144,000 miles on it,
I own a 1997 Saturn SW, it is a station wagon and I love it. It is stick and I would keep it longer but we are ready to upgrade. It has well over 100,000 mile and Saturn cars are known for a little smoke after as many miles as the car you are thinking of buying has. I have been saving for an automatic and a larger car for our family because our son will be taking our other car(it is a cougar) and hubby needs something bigger than the Saturn. My car is a good little car. I have had few car repairs for it and it actually has been one of the better cars we have owned. I am looking into getting maybe a Saturn Vue because I like Saturn(just my opinion). I had to get a part at the dealership once and the representative of Saturn owned a Saturn and drove it up to 300,000 miles. He said they are known to smoke a little after so many miles but they will just keep going like the energizer bunny. I paid 3,500 for my car and it has been the best buy we have had. We have had it for about 5 years and there really isn't anything wrong with it except we are ready to get through the Michigan winter with something a little bigger. Best of success to you in deciding if this may be a purchase for you.
~~Maggie~~
Earlier on the Frugal Families board, you said you were looking at $3,000 to put towards a car.
Obviously, $3K and $1K will give you far different options...if it is in fact only $1K, then that isn't much in the way of a downpayment for a new vehicle and older used is probably your only option.
But if it is really $3k, then that amount
I have heard that Hyundai and Kia are offering a promotion where if you lose your job you can return the car no questions asked, no penalties. So you can finance a new reliable car for pretty cheap, and if life changes and you can't make the payment, they will take the car back. That would be where I would turn.
A friend of mine has been a mechanic for 30 years and has told me that people hang onto cars that are good during a recession and it's usually only junkers for sale in tough economic times. So as Marie said, check the VIN number for problems.
I understand your dilemma...good luck with your decision.
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