My car is just about to hit the five year mark, which has me thinking about new cars and old cars and whether or not it’s a good idea to keep your car until it sputters to death on the side of the highway, or whether it’s better to replace it every time you find yourself without a car payment.
I typically keep my cars forever, but the other day I was looking online for Nissan Sentra prices, and Dodge Viper prices, and Cadillac prices, and Chevrolet prices, and I have to say there is something appealing about a shiny new car.
If I did trade mine in, I think I’d probably go for something much greener than what I currently have.
Although, I guess the truly green thing to do would be to keep my car until it’s no longer useful. The good news is that I don’t actually drive that much.
My job as a writer (and my impending July 1 deadline – ack!!!) keeps me glued to my desk or outside on the lanai. Not much of a commute there. The major mileage comes from my gig as the dating guru on the DAYTIME show — but even that only entails a once-a-week trip.
Thoughts?
XO,
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Start tucking away a “car payment” (based on what a new car would cost and the extra insurance you would need to carry, say around $450/month, conservatively) in an account each month.
Then drive your current car and use your car fund to repair any fixes, until you hit a repair that is going to cost over 3 car payments and the repair will, at least, allow your car to roll for another 6 months minimum.
Then you will have a pool of money to repair or put a nice down payment on a new or new to you car.
Remember that to license a car costs a small fortune as well. (cheaper all around if you buy a car a couple years old)
When you are ready to buy, seriously look at the difference of selling your car yourself vs. trade in.
Still have my 88 wagon with 218k miles. 🙂