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Smart Shopper Owe more than it's worth... I'm upside down and I can't get up!
1160 messages, Last post on Oct 22, 2009 at 7:11 PM
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Replying to: joel0622 (May 15, 2009 6:25 am) I'm of the opinion, and have seen it in this topic many times, that the first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging! Of course if you're top tier credit you have to be doing something right!
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Replying to: fezo (May 15, 2009 7:21 am)
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.....just buying a car and (gasp!) just keeping it til it's paid off? I guess when cars didn't last as long (and people didn't finance for 60-84 months), trading every three years was a viable option, commonplace; I can't see doing that now, unless you're putting massive amounts of miles on it (or otherwise wearing it out), or you have money to burn. 
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Replying to: ghulet (May 15, 2009 8:45 am) Now an old car suffers the death of 1,000 cuts. A power mirror quits working, then the auto wipers, then the self-dim rear view mirror, then the power seat, then the power window, then the cruise control, then one of the power locks, then the climate control, then the back up camera, but you get the idea 
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Replying to: lokki (May 15, 2009 9:08 am) My '78 VW Rabbit - stick, no air, AM radio - died short of its 4th birthday, with just 55K on the clock. I sold it to someone who was looking for parts. Contrast this with my wife's '99 Lexus ES 300, with all the goodies. We kept it for more than 8 years - 4+ years past warranty expiration - & spent a total of $500 on repairs before selling it for top dollar. We'd still have it today if my wife hadn't fallen in love with the ES 350. I've found that I can easily get 10 years out of a properly maintained car without any heroics. That's why we've bought a grand total of 6 cars for 2 drivers during the past 25 years. |
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Replying to: joel0622 (May 15, 2009 7:28 am) I can't think of the last time I've been upside down on a car. As I said earlier, Joel, I'm glad this works for you. You'd hate me at shopping. Our Accord will hit 10 in December. It recently hit 168K on the clock which makes it officially the highesy mileage car we've ever had. It long ago became the one we've put he most miles on since out two previous 167K+ cars were bought used with mileage in the upper 30s when we got them. |
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Replying to: jimbres (May 15, 2009 9:29 am)
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Replying to: fezo (May 15, 2009 9:40 am) He figures to always carry a car payment. He bought new a bunch of years back - a Subaru Outback. When it hits about 59 K he trades it in for another. He keep a low loan payment and keeps a small fund for putting down on the next one. He figures he never pays for repairs, never has an unmanageable payment and always has a nice, clean, well kept car. He could do worse. |
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Replying to: fezo (May 15, 2009 9:40 am)
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Basically, your friend is doing a self-managed lease. He just assumes the end of lease value risk. At one point, my method was 1 new car (the wifes family mobile) kept as long as it served it's prupose and was reliable. Target being 6 years at least, and it got the long trips (so 100% reliability was key). the Quest? No problem for the 6. The Voyager? That made 3 before it got traded for the Quest! My car was a 3 YO something interesting that I would keep until it was 6 years old, theoreticlaly lower the cost. WOrked correctly, every 3 years or so a car would be purchased. I have since abandoned the plan, and for me, find that buying new and keeping a long time should work better (not that I can do it). Currently we are invested heavily in being too poor to buy a new car (and college bills loom), so we have switched to the keep them forever plan and hope they last! But, if I do need to replace one soon, I am going with a 2-3 yo semi luxury with heavy depreciation (say, a 2007 Volvo). Some good buys to be found tht way.
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