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It has been hard work digging out of a mess for the past few years. Thanks to trial by error and this board I now feel the need to make adult decisions when it comes to buying a vehicle. What. The. Heck.
I want so badly to go out and buy what I want, not necessarily what I NEED and it really stinks to have an adult on my other shoulder telling me I don't need to spend $45k on a vehicle even if we can afford it. All I can think about is how much money we'd have for saving/spending/paying down loans if we went with a lower priced vehicle.
On the other hand, I rationalize that an older vehicle could be a potential cost issue. Adulting when you know the kind of mess getting in over your head can cause is hard. I know it will end up being better in the long run if I take my time and really hash this out the right way, but right now when I'm driving a hoopty with a wheel that almost fell off the other day (seriously lol) I am more tempted to be stupid.
It is just a car. It is just a car. It is just a car.
I was driving an older car that was slowly falling apart. The day I was going to let my teen drive, something told me not to. I got a blowout on the highway and that was it. I went and bought a car.
So buy a car. DO NOT BUY A $45,000 CAR! You do need a car. You do not "NEED" to pay that much money for transportation. Think half that. You can get a decent vehicle that seats 7 for half that. Don't do it.
Thanks rmduhon!
When I say cheaper vehicle I definitely don't mean something unsafe I just mean I'd love to go out and buy a 2015 suburban because I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaant, but what I really should buy is more like a 2011/2012 because they are about $15-20k cheaper lol. Definitely still safe, just not as expensive.
We live in a rough climate area and 3 of our kids are teenagers - two of them are boys and getting taller by the minute, a 10yo and my little one is the only one left in a car seat so really a mini van would be cramped and not function as well in the state where we live. I currently have an early 2000s navigator, which has been a wonderful vehicle for us and has helped us get back on our feet after having some credit issues, but its an old lady who deserves to retire to being just a short in town commuter. We plan to keep it for our oldest to drive to work and back. Due to where we live, the closest city where we can shop is about a 45 minute drive and once a month (or more) we drive about 190 miles to where we can Costco shop and other errands we can't get done in the closer city. We live in a rural farming town with a lot of dirt roads, snow and ice. So really a 4x4 suburban (or vehicle similar in size) is the best choice for us. I also have a small home based business and travel a lot to vendor shows so I need a lot of room in the trunk space for my products. I've looked at Navigator L (the longer version of the Navigator), Suburban, Yukon xl, and Escalade ESV (the same length as suburban) and I keep going back to the new (2015+) suburban style. I just don't want to pay for it
@MrsCHX wrote:I was driving an older car that was slowly falling apart. The day I was going to let my teen drive, something told me not to. I got a blowout on the highway and that was it. I went and bought a car.
So buy a car. DO NOT BUY A $45,000 CAR! You do need a car. You do not "NEED" to pay that much money for transportation. Think half that. You can get a decent vehicle that seats 7 for half that. Don't do it.
When it comes down to it, I know I won't. I just needed to vent it out!
My goal, last year at this time, was to finance a "newer" truck for me, for my birthday, which was exactly two days ago.
But, I'm still driving my currently reliable, completely paid for, totally unsexy vehicle that is neither a truck nor an SUV. And honestly, I don't need it ... I work from home, I drive maybe three or four miles a day, just to get the daughter to school and then pick her up, or maybe run an errand here in town.
Instead I'm typing this in the house that I got financed for, in the small town where my wife's family lives, lots closer to my own kids and much closer to my mother.
Adulting sucks ... but sometimes ... oh, sometimes it's worth the sucky parts, to get to the really good parts.
I ended up buying a new car last month because my old ones warranty was almost up and I always insist on having one. When we got the first one we had a high interest rate coming out of bankruptcy and now we were able to get a decent rate. I had 1 year left to pay on the vehicle because I extended it out to lower the payment now and sadly after applying discounts, trade in, etc. it was cheaper to buy a new car instead of paying for the monthly car payment and a payment on an extended warranty.
How about leasing? The payments are usually half. No matter what you decide go on your local Facebook selling page and ask if anyone on there works for the car manufacturer and can get you a friends discount. My husband works for Ford if you decide to go there, depending on the vehicle you can save a lot.
Get a used minivan. A Suburban is not a good choice for anyone. Terrible gas mileage and poor handling. If you are doubting whether you can afford one than you can't. You have five kids? Do you have college funds set up for all five with money invested into the accounts monthly? Are you maxing out your 401k? Do you have savings?