This past Saturday I had a wee-bit of a car accident that I was very fortunate to walk away from. My car on the other hand didn’t make it. My ’99 Jetta lasted me almost 7 years and 80,000 miles. I cleaned it out yesterday and walked away from it. I was shocked at how easy it was to walk away from something that has been with me for so long, but without any utility and looking like a piece of modern art (I can’t stand modern art), I said “peace out” and started looking in my mailbox for the insurance check.
I have gone through every aspect and permutation of my life in the past few days. Even though my career is metro accessible, I still need a car. It’s not fun to HAVE to buy a car. I would rather be able to stick to my plan and use my “new car” sub account to buy a new vehicle 4-5 years from now. Well, life happens, doesn’t it?
Here is the full sitch, with the insurance payout, my primary savings, my new car savings and a bit of extra cash, I have about $7,000 cash I can put towards a vehicle. That is a good start and makes it so that I have several options. Speaking of options, this is what I am looking at.
- Buy a used POS for less than the insurance payout and hope it lasts for a year or maybe two.
- Buy a decent used car that hopefully has some legs to it. Maybe spend $5000-$8000 for something that will last 4 years.
- Buy a good used car, make a car payment and have something that will last me 10 years.
- Buy a new car, help stimulate the economy (Japan’s economy – probably going Honda), make car payments and drive the car until I am 40 (15 years).
- Go on the Price is Right, win a new car and invest the insurance money into my Roth IRA! (Thanks Dave for the ecouragment)
All of these options are good and bad, but I need to make the best out of a bad situation. Now, I will say that I am not someone who LOVES their car. I enjoy my car, primarily for it’s utility.
So here I am, trying to make an economic decision that will drastically impact my life for the 10+ years. This will be my biggest purchase, outside of a house in the next 15 years, so I feel that it’s important not to screw it up. That’s right, if I get a new car, I am driving that car into the ground. Heck, if I get a used car, the same applies.
What’s a guy to do that doesn’t want to start making car payments, but realizes that this is maybe the best opportunity i will ever see to buy a new car? There are rebates, financing incentives, etc. all making this THE time to buy. Not to mention, it’s summer and isn’t their usually a huge 4th of July sale coming up for most dealers?
Yeah, you can tell I am leaning towards a new vehicle, but I am open to hearing anyone else’s thoughts. I may be in virgin territory here. How many PF bloggers start their blog preaching conscious spending, getting out of debt, and accumulating wealth and then two weeks later, goes out and finances a new car?
I have not made up my mind, but I don’t want to put good money after bad (because that is just dumb). Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.