Greetings all,
I've been a MMM reader for a few years now, generally frugal for a long time, but have been doubling down this past year. This is my first forum post, and I'm looking for help with a dilemma I'm facing.
I currently own a '99 Jeep Wrangler Sport with 189k miles on it (4.0l, 5spd). I love this car in a way that is ridiculous for a person to love an inanimate object. I get giddy every time I drive it, go into flow whenever I'm wrenching on it, and reach extreme levels of happiness whenever I'm wheeling in it (a very unmustachian thing to do). I average 21-24MPG on my commute to work (22.5 miles of on-base driving at Camp Pendleton), it's one of the cheapest cars in the world to insure, parts are ridiculously cheap and plentiful, and the car is a dream to work on. It is exceptionally rare that it needs anything fixed, anyway, and the engine should be good to at least 250k miles. In some respects, the car is very mustachian (old, cheap to insure, cheap and easy to repair, manual tranny), but in the biggest way possible, it is not (gas mileage).
This is what I'm wrestling with - I love this car and have zero desire to sell it. I've been trying to convince myself for about a year that I really need to sell it for financial reasons, but I can't bring myself to pull the trigger. I bought it three years ago for $8500, and similarly spec'd models are going for about the same in my area (Jeeps tend to hang onto value for a looong time, and often begin to appreciate after a certain point). If I were to sell it, I'd probably get a 2008ish Mazda3 hatchback, and pocket the profit (if any).
My long commute will last another 18 months before we move again to an unknown destination, and I'll return to riding my bike to work as I have done in the past. In the meantime, I stand to save about $70-80/month in gas money, but am also fearful that depreciation may end up costing me more than that.
Given all of the details above, what advice or encouragement can yall offer? I'm solidly stuck, and every time I think I've made mental progress towards selling my Jeep, it's time to drive it again and I fall in love all over again. Thank you for your insight!
Austin