Comments on: Weekly Roundup: Bad Car Luck Edition

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:51:45 +0000

(Long-time reader here) Your post comes SO timely for me!!! I am facing a similar dillema. My car is nearing 10 years old, is fully paid for, but the cost of repairs in the last 6 months adds up to $333 a month to keep it going. Then there is always the old sunk costs argument – I spent it, the money is gone now and shold not factor too much into the decision (except fact it shows liklihood of further problems). Hopeing with repairs this week I should be good to go for a while…right? To be continued. Thanks for posting your insights and inspiration to stay frugal…

By: Rebecca Rivera

Rebecca Rivera — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:16:57 +0000

I am sure it seems the van expenses are adding up, but even expenses of $400 a month for 3 months is better than $400 a month for 36 months. That being said there is a time when a 20 year old car has to be retired.
I say buy whatever you can afford in car fund (I have never spent more than $1000 for a car.) Then keep saving and trade up in a year or two.
Or can your family survive with just one car? If so that may be the best frugal/green alternative (besides riding a bike, which sounds great but with a family and bad weather is not always practical.)

I applaud your stand to not get a car payment. That is my stand as well. I have only spent about $6,000 buying and fixing (regular maintance not included) cars over the past 12 years. I have been so blessed some people have even given me a car that they no longer needed(like my current 1998 Chevy Lumina given to me by an elderly man in my church who can no longer drive.)

Where there is a will there is a way. Thanks for reminding us of that.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:07:43 +0000

I say go with the bike. Rent a car for when you really need one. No insurance, no upkeep and you get killer exercise!

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:55:11 +0000

Good for you saying NO!

By: marci

marci — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:18:47 +0000

Good luck with whatever decision you make. Altho I hate being “forced” to make a decision, ie, the breakdown, sometimes it can be a blessing in disquise. Give it some thinking time tho – no hurry if you have an alternate ride for a bit.

Nice roundup also – enjoyed it!

By: tammy

tammy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:43:17 +0000

I know this is a little out of the box FD, but have you considered perhaps approaching a high school or technical college about repairs on your van?
It could be a learning experience for students and then you wouldn’t have to give it up totally.
Just a thought….

By: sabrina

sabrina — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:59:18 +0000

Have you tried looking on Craigslist for a used car? We’ve had excellent luck getting low mileage cars for a good price. My son got a Dakota pickup for $4000 with only 28,000 miles on it, belonged to a grandpa who only used it sparingly before his death. The family just wanted it to go away. We bought a low mileage Jeep for $4500 from a guy who was going in the military. I don’t know how strapped you are for cash but I’m sure you could find something very reasonably priced. Even with higher mileage you could probably get a couple of years out of it. Good luck.

By: JerryB

JerryB — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:46:31 +0000

For me having a reliable auto would be worth the added expense of a small loan. See what your local Credit Union can do for you. With a CU you can usually pay back the loan on an accelerated schedule without jumping through the hoops that most auto loan companies have to pay back early.

By: m_weber

m_weber — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:50:59 +0000

good for you, FD. I’ve raised my hand to never borrow money again and, while it can be tough, you can get through it?

Is it possible to divert some money from the budget and combine that with your emergency fund to get something w/ cash? Sometimes you can get something that’s real ugly, but runs real well for a couple of grand.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:16:21 +0000

Hey FD- what do you call “fully funded?” for a car fund. Because I’m wondering if it’s possible to just step down some on the car you buy. My son (and yes he got a great deal) bought a 99 Subaru outback for 3K last month. I imagine the car will go another 5 years at least if we take care of it. My feeling always is if a car dies before I’m “fully funded” for what I want, we’ll just buy what we can afford– hey, wait a minute– buy what we can afford? That’s a weird idea.

My son, unfortunately chose debt– he took a loan from me. And he’s chafing. Seems it’s way more fun to save money for a new car than to pay money back for the car you already have. (I’m as mean as GMAC too. Payments are due and I don’t care if you have a prom to go to– just like the credit industry! So you don’t much like this going into debt idea now? And I’m not even charging interest!) My hope is this will make him so miserable that he won’t ever try it again.