Need Advice - Sell the car or drive it forever?

[MilStachian]

Hi all,

My wife and I are returning to a Mustachianism after a hectic few years.  We've made mostly good choices, but fell into a few consumer-sucka traps.  We're fortunate though that our incomes have outpaced our stupidity, and we caught ourselves before we spiraled further.

No debt, saving and investing 20% of our gross income - working to drive that up further.

I currently work 15 minutes from work.  Two years ago, I was commuting 45 minutes each way to work, and would often have daycare and school drop-off duties.  We have four kids, and "needed" a car to carry all four.  Doh.  Should have just swapped cars with my wife on those days.

Anyway - paid cash for a new car (ouch!) that carries all four - a VW Atlas.  Earlier this year I moved closer to home, shaving 30 minutes off my commute.  It's glorious.

I've been considering downsizing my car and getting a gently used Accord or something similar to replace the Atlas.  Fuel savings annually would be a few hundred dollars considering how little I drive now.  I've already taken the big depreciation hit, and have kept the car in good working order.

My gut tells me to just keep the damn Atlas forever, but wanted a sanity check with you all to see what the right call is?

Question: Trade-in my paid-for 2018 VW Atlas for a used sedan, or keep the Atlas?

Thanks all.

[friedmmj]

Hi all,

My wife and I are returning to a Mustachianism after a hectic few years.  We've made mostly good choices, but fell into a few consumer-sucka traps.  We're fortunate though that our incomes have outpaced our stupidity, and we caught ourselves before we spiraled further.

No debt, saving and investing 20% of our gross income - working to drive that up further.

I currently work 15 minutes from work.  Two years ago, I was commuting 45 minutes each way to work, and would often have daycare and school drop-off duties.  We have four kids, and "needed" a car to carry all four.  Doh.  Should have just swapped cars with my wife on those days.

Anyway - paid cash for a new car (ouch!) that carries all four - a VW Atlas.  Earlier this year I moved closer to home, shaving 30 minutes off my commute.  It's glorious.

I've been considering downsizing my car and getting a gently used Accord or something similar to replace the Atlas.  Fuel savings annually would be a few hundred dollars considering how little I drive now.  I've already taken the big depreciation hit, and have kept the car in good working order.

My gut tells me to just keep the damn Atlas forever, but wanted a sanity check with you all to see what the right call is?

Question: Trade-in my paid-for 2018 VW Atlas for a used sedan, or keep the Atlas?

Thanks all.

One vote for dumping the suck-you-vee and getting into a used EV or hybrid like a Honda Clarity plug-in.

[researcher1]

Question: Trade-in my paid-for 2018 VW Atlas for a used sedan, or keep the Atlas?

Whatever you do, don't trade it in to a dealer, unless you like seeing thousands of dollars flushed down the toilet.

Get online quotes from Carvana, Vroom, ect.  Get a quote from CarMax.
Use various websites (Cars.com, KBB, Edmunds, NADA, ect) to determine what a realistic private party value is.

Come back here once you have this information.
Without knowing the realistic selling price, no one can answer your question.

[LibrarIan]

I guess it depends on what you can find out on the used market. If the depreciation hasn't been overwhelming, you might be able to get yourself something else that can meet your needs and pocket some money. If you choose to replace the vehicle, sell your VW privately. We just replaced my wife's vehicle. It was a really old beat up Honda Civic. The dealerships were offering <= $1k. Carvana and Vroom were offering even less. We ended up selling it on Facebook marketplace for $3200.

[martyconlonontherun]

If you really want to go mustachian, you trade it in and get the smaller car.

If I was you, I would keep it. Quick search says $23k for a 2018 Atlas, $18k for an 2018 Accord (varies depending on models). If you plan on keeping this car for 7 years, you are probably saving 7-10k tops if you factor in insurance, gas, and resale value. Probably less after the friction of buying/selling unless you get an above average deal. You bought it for a reason, you have it paid off, and already took the biggest hit. I think there are easier ways to save $1k a year.

[norajean]

Get an Edmunds.com quote (which goes to Carmax).   Used prices are high currently!  If you don't like the quote, keep trying as they fluctuate thousands daily.

[Paper Chaser]

4 kids and a short commute? Minivan is the droid you're looking for. Assuming you have a dedicated parking spot, my brain immediately goes to Pacifica PHEV. It would give you the size and capability to do any family things you might need while also being pretty cheap to operate.
You could haul all your kids and do whatever you needed to, and your entire commute would be electric. You could probably find a gently used one for less than you paid for the Atlas.

This thing will haul your entire family comfortably and get 80+mpg with your short commute:

[wageslave23]

I vote for keeping what you have, its mostly a sunk cost.  Just don't do that again.

[scottish]

I can relate - I have a 17 year old Toyota 4wd that just keeps going, but replacing worn out parts is pretty pricey.    I haven't been getting good value from it's truck like capabilities the last 2 years, so I'm considering getting something smaller.

What are repair costs going to be like on the atlas when things start wearing out?    It looks like a complicated vehicle + truck parts are more $$$ + Volkswagen parts are more $$$.    Would you do the repairs yourself?    I used to do this when I was in school (back in the 80's!!!), but I grew to dislike it.   So now I pay for labour and parts...

I'd probably get a conventional, gasoline powered, FWD 4 cylinder hatchback, unless you're a really high mileage city driver in which case consider hybrid options.

[SnakesintheGrass]

This is a good question and although more information on the value of the Altas would be helpful

I can say that an older Honda Accord (inline 4) is a pretty good choice.  These cars are solid, especially before 2009 and parts are generally pretty reasonable if you find an honest mechanic.  We have a 2005 with 323000 km (200000 miles).   You can count on spending $1600 in maintenance and repairs annually - a little less if you can do a little light maintenance (oil changes, changing air filters, etc). 

Good post.

[Smevans]

Keep it. You already have it paid off. Drive it until the wheels fall off.

[FIRE Artist]

Keep it.  It is already sunk cost, why potentially add to that by trading it in for another used car with unknown issues.

[Just Joe]

I suggest keeping the Atlas forever (sunk cost) and minimizing how much you drive it.

It stays at home as much as possible. Drive it once a week to keep the battery up. Perhaps on the weekend for a family outing or shopping.
Whichever spouse drives the least drives the Atlas if you must operate two vehicles.

Consider trying to operate with one vehicle if possible. Carpooling. Walking. Bicycling.
Ebike makes a hilly 15 mile commute very doable if your Dad-taxi schedule allows and if your town is bicycle friendly.
Good ones are available in the $1200 range and with a bit of care can last forever.

We have a family vehicle and a commuter vehicle. DW and I carpool.
The commuter is capable of hauling all of us around town and it was cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate, cheaper to maintain by far. It is worth nothing resale wise.
We try to reserve the larger more valuable vehicle for trips out of town where comfort and safety is more important due to higher speeds and longer distances.

[tjscanlon]

I would suggest you keep it.  You have already paid for it.  The warranty on the 2018-2019 VW Atlas was outstanding so you have pretty minimal risk for the next 5 yrs?  With 4 kids and a bride - the Atlas can haul everyone when needed.  It can fit a ton of stuff.  At end of the day, you have already bought it so your cash outlay going forward should be minimal - gas, wear items, and insurance, the big things should be covered by the warranty which wouldn't be the case if you went to an older used car.  If you were deciding between new and used now - buy used but since you have it, keep it and enjoy it.  It should last a good long time.  I don't know for sure but most VW were double galvanized so if kept clean should be pretty rust free over time.

Good luck
Tom Scanlon

[bigblock440]

Would you buy it right now, for the price you could sell it for?  If not, sell it.  If you'd buy it at that price, keep it.

[K_in_the_kitchen]

I might keep the Atlas.  It's paid for and transports the whole family.  If you had debt I would say sell it and get something much less expensive than a gently used Accord, but your financial house isn't on fire, so this is more about building your Mustachian muscles.

However, the Atlas is too much car for a 15 minute commute and occasionally transporting the entire family.  We learned a lesson about German cars that are expensive to maintain, and won't go that route again.  If you still want both cars to transport the entire family (which I think can be a good thing), a used Mazda5 could serve your purposes.  The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is an option, but I don't think the gas savings would ever make up the difference in price compared to a Mazda5.

[ericrugiero]

Do you really need a 2nd car that can haul the whole family?  A typical sedan can haul you and the 4 kids but not all 6 of you. 

It's clearly more expensive (gas, insurance, depreciation, maintenance) to keep a larger SUV than to buy an Accord, Camry, etc of the same vintage.  Transaction costs will eat up some of those savings so you need to be sure you will be happy with a smaller car.  The worst thing to do is sell the Atlas and then turn around in a few months and buy something large again because you realize you "need" something bigger. 

In your shoes, I would probably sell the Atlas and buy a $8,000-$10,000 car.  That's new enough to get a good car but past the worst of the depreciation.  Again, this only makes sense if you are sure it's big enough for your needs. 

edit:  This is close enough that the transaction costs will eat up much of the savings and you could easily justify the Atlas if you really like it.