Author Topic: Car advice  (Read 3361 times)

Galvenoc

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  • Age: 36
  • Location: Connecticut
Car advice
« on: August 06, 2012, 08:44:47 PM »
Hello mustachians,

I am currently in a transitional period of slapping the consumerism out of my face, and inserting a bushy stache on my upper lip, and have hit a snag.

I posted a topic a few months ago titled "punched self in face, now what?" and have taken the steps suggested to me in that post to heart. I've been making larger payments to loans, etc, and now i'm stuck.

Here is my dilemma, I'm trying to sell my over priced leased car to get something more responsible and economical, its posted on three different websites and such. So here is the problem. The more i drive the car, the more i'll owe on it. Currently i'm ~27k miles into a 15k/year lease after 16 months, so a bit over. SO instead of driving it every day, i had toyed with the idea of getting my mustache mobile before the sale of my consumer-mobile goes through. I know i'll be 'stuck' with two cars which is counter productive, but i would be a)saving money on gas and wear and tear on that car, and b) i would have less pressure from my outrageous commute to work, and depreciation of my current car. this commute will hopefully be lessened after the sale of the consumer-mobile and i can move closer to work.

Thoughts?

tannybrown

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Re: Car advice
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2012, 09:49:51 PM »
It can definitely work, but if I were you I'd buy a really inexpensive car that fits in your newly Mustachian lifestyle.  Like an early 90's Geo Metro, or mid-to-late nineties Civic. 

A scooter is a great way to go if your commute and weather allows.  My wife takes the 125cc Vino into campus every day, and it's ideal here as everything is flat.  If you live in a hilly area, you would want more cc's.

JohnGalt

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Re: Car advice
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2012, 09:56:39 PM »
You should be able to do some math to figure out what makes sense.  I might be over simplifying it - but the general idea is there...

Figure out what each additional mile driven in the leased car is costing you.  Convert this per mile number to monthly cost by multiplying by the number of miles you drive in a month.  Then determine the monthly opportunity cost of having whatever amount you would spend on the replacement car (ie interest on the loans you would otherwise use that money to pay down, lost investment income if it would instead be invested, etc).  If the opportunity cost is higher, just eat the miles while you wait for the leased car to sell. If the cost of driving the leased car is higher - go ahead and buy your replacement car and drive it.