Buying a car when I *might* be van dwelling in 3 or so years?

[patch45]

I just moved out to the Mountain West, and I'm loving it out here. So far I've gotten everywhere by bicycle and bus, which is working out just fine for my intra-city travel. However, a huge part of the reason I moved out here is for the mountains, which are much less accessible by bike or bus. There are always meetups or car pooling with friends, but the meetups usually leave from parking lots 1hr (or longer) bike rides away, and though I have met a lot of people that I like, I don't have any people out here I'm close enough to to say, "hey I want to go backpacking, wanna come so you can give me a ride?"

I think I want to buy a car, and I have enough saved up to buy it in cash. I'm looking mostly on Craigslist at old Subarus, with some Toyotas and Hondas mixed in. The range I've looked at so far is 2.5-5k which would get me a used car in decent condition with anywhere from 100k - 180k miles on it.

The only complication is that I think in three or so years I might try to work out some sort of remote software dev job and work out of a converted cargo van (estimated cost of van+ build out ~= $8k) while traveling the country and visiting friends and family scattered throughout the US. I really like this idea, but it would be a huge step, and depending on what's going on in my life and how much I like my new city, I might just completely scrap these plans.

So I guess what's my best financial move here, assuming I'll get some sort of vehicle to get up to the mountains? I save roughly 70% of my take home pay as it stands right now, but I still feel this nagging guilt when I'm thinking about spending thousands of dollars that could be going to an investment account, especially when I think about how I might be selling in 3 or so years.

[bunchbikes]

In 3 years you're not going to make anything significant in an investment account with a few thousand bucks.

By a used car at a great deal.  Only drive it when a bike/bus won't get you where you need to go.  Sell it in 3 years for a profit.

[checkedoutat39]

Not only should you get the car, but also I would pay up to get something that's not a complete clunker.

I live in the Colorado mountains. Having an SUV and maintaining it is part of the cost of doing business here. Note you can take the SUV places a car can't go and sleep in it in the backcountry. I do the latter often, and in fact the last time I went car shopping tested various models by putting the seats down and lying in the back.

If you're not comfortable dropping the cash now, I'd wait another summer until you feel more comfortable affording this lifestyle.

If you're really doing software development and saving 70%, the $7-8K a reliable SUV costs will seem like nothing in a few years.

[patch45]

If you're really doing software development and saving 70%, the $7-8K a reliable SUV costs will seem like nothing in a few years

I'm entry level, 2 years out of school, so I'm not making the insanely high dev salaries out here, but I'm making about 80k per year, with low expenses thanks in part to the company I work for covering certain things, finding a great deal on rent, and eating pretty cheaply, among other things. I would say driving up to the mountains would be my third highest expense, after rent and food.

where did you get the 7-8k number from? Is that, in your experience, the cost of a truly reliable used vehicle out here?

[APowers]

Speaking as the owner of two Hondas ('96 Civic + '99 Accord), and having previously owned another '95 Civic, an '90 Astro minivan, a '67 VW Type III, and a '71 VW Beetle....

If you just want a beater car to take you and your bike up into the mountains for three years, go for it. In my experience, there will be someone else after you who will be happy to take it off your hands for just about what you paid for it. Look at '90s Japanese makes (Subaru, Toyota, Honda) and look for ones that are as stock as you can find (not souped up or modded). I don't know what the market is like in "the mountain west", but I paid $1,800 for my Civic knowing it needed a $700 head gasket (we had it checked out by a mechanic before purchase and got the seller to knock the $2,500 asking price down by the cost of the repair). I don't think I would pay more than $3k for the kind of car it seems like you're looking for.

If you want to bring your bike with you, a Subaru is probably a good bet.

Then, 3 years from now, if you want to live in a van-- buy the van and once you've got it up and running, sell your mountain car.


ETA: You're making $80k!? That IS insanely high!

[patch45]

Yeah I guess I'm looking for more of a beater, maybe something slightly more reliable than a total beater so I can take some longer road trips. I was hoping that the depreciation essentially stops once you get to a certain age and mileage, it's good to hear at least some anecdotal evidence to support that hunch.

And yeah, I definitely don't mean to sound ungrateful, I'm very lucky to be pulling in that much, but I guess it's not unusual for some devs to be making 100k+, so I meant it more as a relative measure

[checkedoutat39]

where did you get the 7-8k number from? Is that, in your experience, the cost of a truly reliable used vehicle out here?

That was my bottom price the last time I went shopping (2014). I required 4wd due to the roads I was driving on, gear I was carrying and need to use the vehicle as a hotel.

You can find older SUV and even light trucks for less but these may get worse mileage and be less reliable, and you may not want something so big for everyday driving. Lots of 20+ year old Tacomas and 4Runners out here are running fine, even the American models.

Note lots of vehicles have specific problems once they get over 100k miles. For Subaru Foresters it's the head gaskets (not too scary). For Volvo XC90s it's the transmissions (stay away).