Stuck buying a car

[moneypitfeeder]

So long story short, the newish (6-yr-old) car that I planned on having for many years to come was coated head-to-toe in asphalt seal coating. It was deemed a total loss after cleaning revealed tar staining into the base paint coat... but in today's car market my dollars don't seem like they will stretch as far as before. I can pay cash for a replacement but am wondering if there are any creative ways for financing now that zero % days are over; i.e., like great cards with intro offers I might want to consider.

[Weisass]

Wow. I don’t know the story here, but sounds like it sucks a duck. Sorry you are stuck in this particular market.

[Syonyk]

So long story short, the newish (6-yr-old) car that I planned on having for many years to come was coated head-to-toe in asphalt seal coating.

Sounds like a good story, but that sucks.

It was deemed a total loss after cleaning revealed tar staining into the base paint coat...

Doesn't sound functional, only cosmetic.  Can't you buy the car out with a salvage title and keep driving it, paid-for?

I knew plenty of people driving hail damaged cars around after nasty hail storms, most going "Yeah, it's ugly... but insurance paid it off, and a couple dents doesn't impact the mechanical function.  I paid to replace a couple windows and now own it free and clear rather ahead of schedule."

[AccidentialMustache]

Doesn't sound functional, only cosmetic.  Can't you buy the car out with a salvage title and keep driving it, paid-for?

If you can't ignore the cosmetic damage, it'd be a lot cheaper to wrap it than to buy a new used car these days.

[Syonyk]

Even a decent paint job by a quality paint shop is going to be reasonable compared to a new car... but, yeah, a wrap is probably the right option.  Go with something tacky! :D

Six years old, I'd just take the cash and own it.  "Yeah, damned tanker of road tar blew up in front of us.  Covered the car in tar, it was worse than Lightning McQueen and Bessie!  Anyway, insurance paid for it, so... paid the car off and I made money.  I don't have to see it while driving it, and I'm not worried about anyone stealing it!"

Also, local teenagers and some clay bar go a long, long way.

[HPstache]

Paint work is INSANELY expensive these days.  The insurance company should give you an opportunity to buy the car back for a lower payout.  I would buy it back and just drive it...

[Paper Chaser]

Under $1k probably takes care of it if you're willing to do it yourself:

https://www.dipyourcar.com/collections/beginner-kits

[Jon Bon]

Well now i want the story.....

Generally you can order a car from a dealer and wait a bit. (1-6 months) and you will not get completely screwed. So can you wrap your car or drive it for a bit as is until you find something new? Also wrapping it sounds like a win, no idea on cost, but IMO your car is the perfect candidate to do it. So if the wrap only lasts a few years who cares, wrap it again, trash the car, sell it etc. It kind of feels like your playing with house money so to speak.

[moneypitfeeder]

I live in an old neighborhood and our driveway is only about 1.5' from the drive next door. They were having their driveway resealed (ours is concrete) and the worker dropped the spray nozzle and the thing went berserk. Got all 4 sides plus the top of my car, our driveway, curbing, sidewalk, and parts of the neighbor's sidewalk & curbing too. Completely missed my husband's 31-yr-old van that sorely needs a paint job, which was sitting just a few feet forward of my car. Then the car sat for over a month while we dealt with the appraiser wanting us to take it to several detailers before conceding it needed to just go to a body shop to attempt to remove it. My car was paid off a couple of years ago, we bought it with zero % financing for 5 years and made sure it was done before the interest hit. First and likely the last new car we will ever buy. We could buy back the car from the insurance but the PITA of dealing with the salvage title in our state and the buy-back cost is more than we want to deal with. Unfortunately, we'd have to clear the salvage title just to be able to drive it legally or we would have looked into the car wrapping (thank you for that idea!). On the bright side, I may have found a great replacement car with fewer miles and more safety features the settlement would outright pay for. Not new, but at this point neither was my old car.

[SunnyDays]

You found a replacement car?  That's good.  But I was going to say you could try replacing the pieces that were wrecked from other written off/junked cars.  You'd still have to deal with the bureaucracy though.

[moneypitfeeder]

Well, the story has a happy ending. I bought a 2016 Kia Soul with less than 7,000 miles on it to replace my 2016 Jeep Renegade which had just under 27,000 miles on it. After the purchase price, taxes, and fees, I was out $92.84 over what the insurance will be giving me for the Jeep. So my new-to-me car has fewer miles, more safety features, and gets better gas mileage. Would have been a little less, but I splurged for a new plate to replace my 20-yr-old rusted and bent one. I couldn't be happier with the outcome!

[Archipelago]

Well, the story has a happy ending. I bought a 2016 Kia Soul with less than 7,000 miles on it to replace my 2016 Jeep Renegade which had just under 27,000 miles on it. After the purchase price, taxes, and fees, I was out $92.84 over what the insurance will be giving me for the Jeep. So my new-to-me car has fewer miles, more safety features, and gets better gas mileage. Would have been a little less, but I splurged for a new plate to replace my 20-yr-old rusted and bent one. I couldn't be happier with the outcome!

Great choice. I've heard a lot of good things about Kia. And it's more mustachian as a bonus. Nicely done!

[mcneally]

Well, the story has a happy ending. I bought a 2016 Kia Soul with less than 7,000 miles on it to replace my 2016 Jeep Renegade which had just under 27,000 miles on it. After the purchase price, taxes, and fees, I was out $92.84 over what the insurance will be giving me for the Jeep. So my new-to-me car has fewer miles, more safety features, and gets better gas mileage. Would have been a little less, but I splurged for a new plate to replace my 20-yr-old rusted and bent one. I couldn't be happier with the outcome!

Take adequate precautions against thefts- these are trivial to steal. There were 146 Kia and Hyundai thefts in my area in the last 30 days.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-thieves-are-stealing-hyundais-and-kias-with-just-a-usb-cable

[moneypitfeeder]

Take adequate precautions against thefts- these are trivial to steal. There were 146 Kia and Hyundai thefts in my area in the last 30 days.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-thieves-are-stealing-hyundais-and-kias-with-just-a-usb-cable

I had read about that and thankfully mine doesn't use a physical key and is already equipped with an immobilizer. Just when I think the latest "challenge" can't be any worse than previous ones...just horrible what some people will do to others' property for likes or clicks.

[mcneally]

My 2018 Hyundai Elantra was stolen, police arrested a guy and recovered the car, then when it was at the impound lot it was subject to flooding. The original insurance agent said somebody else would have to evaluate the flood claim, but the original agent said it was most likely a total loss. I never personally saw the flood damage. I started car shopping given wait times because I wanted to buy new and ended up putting down on a $500 deposit because for my preferences it was by far the best of the 15 dealers I called (including how soon the car could be delivered- late September is early). Then a few days later the flood agent finally calls and says they're going to fix it. If my insurance is fair with me, I guess it doesn't really matter whether the pay it out as a total loss or they fix it I and trade it in, but I'm willing to pay a bit more to not drive my Hyundai anymore. Before the thefts I was happy with Hyundai and that was my 2nd Elantra.

[Jon Bon]

Take adequate precautions against thefts- these are trivial to steal. There were 146 Kia and Hyundai thefts in my area in the last 30 days.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-thieves-are-stealing-hyundais-and-kias-with-just-a-usb-cable

I had read about that and thankfully mine doesn't use a physical key and is already equipped with an immobilizer. Just when I think the latest "challenge" can't be any worse than previous ones...just horrible what some people will do to others' property for likes or clicks.

I mean lock your car right? I kind of feel like this is a non-story. Most cars can be stolen one way or another right? We just bought a brand new kia, never occurred to me to do anything about it. If its a manufacturers defect that's on them, and I have insurance. But I am not going out of my way to make my car harder to steal. I mean the club works but who the hell wants to do that every day?

[mcneally]

Take adequate precautions against thefts- these are trivial to steal. There were 146 Kia and Hyundai thefts in my area in the last 30 days.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-thieves-are-stealing-hyundais-and-kias-with-just-a-usb-cable

I had read about that and thankfully mine doesn't use a physical key and is already equipped with an immobilizer. Just when I think the latest "challenge" can't be any worse than previous ones...just horrible what some people will do to others' property for likes or clicks.

I mean lock your car right? I kind of feel like this is a non-story. Most cars can be stolen one way or another right? We just bought a brand new kia, never occurred to me to do anything about it. If its a manufacturers defect that's on them, and I have insurance. But I am not going out of my way to make my car harder to steal. I mean the club works but who the hell wants to do that every day?

They'll smash your window, smash the steering column and drive off with your car using a USB charger in 60 seconds. It's mostly underage (under 16) kids doing it to joy ride for a day or two then trash or just abandon it. A steering wheel lock (the club) isn't all that hard to get around, but it's likely enough a deterrent that *your* car won't be stolen since there are so many other options. If you live in a city and drive one of the vulnerable cars, I feel like its inevitable your car will be stolen if you don't take any precautions besides locking the car.

[Syonyk]

I mean lock your car right?

Sometimes...

If I remember...  and the locks are actually working that day.  But often enough they're unlocked.  Hasn't been a problem yet.

Standard practice around the hill is that the keys are in stuff, if you need to move it for some reason or another.  Put it back when you're done.

If you live in a city and drive one of the vulnerable cars, I feel like its inevitable your car will be stolen if you don't take any precautions besides locking the car.

o.O

Why do people live in cities, again?