Plan to purchase a 2nd vehicle - Need advice

[ficonewbie01]

I purchased a 2006 mini-van for the family a few months ago and went thru my CU because of the low interest rate. I have $700.00 left to pay on my current vehicle and was going to plan driving it for another 2 years. However, it is becoming a money pit with repairs and I would like to look for another vehicle. 

My question is, should I try to get another car loan thru the CU or should I not put all the "eggs" in the same basket? I bought this vehicle from Carmax and have excellent payment history with them. Maybe Carmax finance will consider a lower interest rate if I purchase another vehicle from them?

[Anonymous]

it is better to fix the car than to purchase another one. once you have no payments left, think of it. a major repair will be only some payments, and the car is back on the road, if you purchase another vehicle. it could be 48-60 payments.

[ficonewbie01]

I was looking forward to paying it off and not having a car payment and repair as needed. However, the repairs are becoming overwhelming and expensive. So far, I've repaired the radiator twice and now the transmission is acting up. It was just rebuilt last Dec08! I also have heater core leak and fogs up the window badly. I have a love/hate relationship with my Jeep for the past 155,000 miles on it

Message Edited by ficonewbie01 on 09-22-2009 10:08 AM

[Anonymous]

if you are going to a quality repair facility, then they should be warranting the repairs performed. dont know how it is at the repair facility, but at mine, the parts and labor is warrantied for 2 years from the manufacture. why did your radiator need repairing? the cost of a replacment is actually reasonably cheap than repairing it. and most transmission rebuilds come with a 1 year warranty. the heater core leak should be fixed asap!

[GregB]

The most common warranty on parts is 12 months and 12,000 miles. Most repair shops warranty labor for 90 days, 120 days, or match the parts warranty. Most dealerships use the same warranty for parts and labor. Most chain repair places have scam warranties such as "lifetime brake warrnty" etc. This just means they use crap for brake parts, mark them up a huge amount, and overcharge for labor. When you come back for your "free" brake pads, you pay enough for the labor that they still make a profit. Transmission shops mostly have 12 months and 12,000 mile warranty parts and labor.

Most modern cars use an aluminum radiator core with crimped on plastic tanks. These are just replaced. If a leaking heater core is fogging up your windshield, it should have a sweet smell from the ethylene glycol antifreeze. That makes a big mess if not fixed quickly. Try BarsLeaks liquid to seal it up. BarsLeaks powder is original equipment on many new cars and doesn't have any real downside. There are more effective products out there that have disadvantages to go with their better effectiveness at sealing leaks.

[Anonymous]

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@ficonewbie01 wrote:

My question is, should I try to get another car loan thru the CU or should I not put all the "eggs" in the same basket? I bought this vehicle from Carmax and have excellent payment history with them. Maybe Carmax finance will consider a lower interest rate if I purchase another vehicle from them?

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For purposes of car loans there is nothing wrong with all eggs in one basket or shopping it around, If you have a good relationship and access to a better rate through your Cu you would be ill advised not to get a deal through them.

A "lower" interest rate is only available if it is offered by your lender.

Every bank/CUs have their own "lowest rates" and criteria for getting those rates. You may find someplace with lower but you do not qualify or you may find a place that simply does not meet your CUs rates. 

Thats legwork you have to do. 

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I was looking forward to paying it off and not having a car payment and repair as needed. However, the repairs are becoming overwhelming and expensive. So far, I've repaired the radiator twice and now the transmission is acting up. It was just rebuilt last Dec08! I also have heater core leak and fogs up the window badly. I have a love/hate relationship with my Jeep for the past 155,000 miles on it

If you are driving a vehicle with more then 155K on it and it is not a diesel.

It's time.

I mean, I know nothing about your vehicles history, driving history or how many miles you put on it a month, and yes you may be able to scrape some more usability out of it, but if you have over 200k on it you should be looking now.

repairs and issues around the repairs may easily start to exceed replacement ease and comfort.

Now if you still owe money on it I am a little concerned about that and how that happened.