The situation: My wife's $3,000 Nissan Maxima is totaled (don't worry, no one is hurt in any way, we are doing great).
The challenge: Find a car that optimizes for the cost of ownership when taking the following factors into account:
- Depreciation
- Insurance (we will not be getting full coverage)
- gasoline
Things that are of note that could influence your suggestion:
1. We have a 3 year old and a 6 month old. We don't plan to have a 3rd child.
2. She drives about 250 miles per week on average.
3. A friend is a dealer and goes to a dealer auction in Chicago every week. I may be able to go with him and bid on a car that way, but I'm not sure.
4. I have lots of airline /hotel miles accumulated. I could get a flight to a location out of the rust belt and buy a used car and drive it back to Michigan (all the used cars around here are all rusty underneath, which adds a ton to the cost of maintenance once cars get old)
5. My wife's family has a dealership that they feel has treated them very well over the years that we can talk to.
6. We can use craigslist, which is how I've bought my last 2 cars.
Ok, this is your chance to make your opinion heard: What kind of car, what year, and how do you suggest I go about purchasing it:)