Author Topic: Getting out of car hell  (Read 2750 times)

AccidentalChef

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Getting out of car hell
« on: January 14, 2016, 08:39:44 AM »
Hello everyone. I've owned a very non-Mustachian car since graduating from college (Subaru Impreza WRX). I decided to sell the vehicle near the end of last year in order to cut down on unneeded expenses (higher gas, insurance, and repair costs) associated with owning a high-performance vehicle.

I invested some money to get some need repairs done to prep the car for a private party sale. However, just before a very serious potential buyer got a chance to take a look, the clutch imploded, leaving me with a potentially incredibly costly repair.

Now, I've already put a decent amount of cash into this thing to get it into sales shape. If I shell out in more to get it drivable, my "net" from the entire ordeal will be low enough that my plan to buy a used Prius with the proceeds won't work. However, I am guessing the trade-in value as is will be so low that I need to see the repair and private party sale through to the end.

Provided I can do this, I have two options afterwords:

1. Set my sites on a lower cost vehicle. What would folks here recommend looking into for ~$7k?
2. Go one car. My wife's car works fine. I work from home full time. This makes going one car potentially possible. However, I would miss out on one of my great pleasures in life: early morning climbing trips to nearby climbing crags. They are just out of convenient biking range (8-10 miles each way). My wife's job also demands she have reliable transportation, so if her car breaks, I'm not sure how she gets to work those days. Other than these worries, one car seems possible.

So, I guess my actual questions here are: how to "exit" my current vehicle with the most cash intact, and which option to proceed with afterwords. Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Jack

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Re: Getting out of car hell
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2016, 08:51:19 AM »
Sell your car on a WRX-enthusiast or racing (e.g. regional SCCA) forum. Somebody there might be wanting a WRX and planning to put in an upgraded clutch anyway, and thus might be happy not to have to pay for a good one that they're just going to remove.

Who says you can't get a used Prius (if that's what you want) for $7K? Otherwise, plenty of non-hybrid small cars can be found for that amount of money. If you can deal with a 2-seater, I'd say go for a 2006 Honda Insight (which might cost even less than $7K these days).

AccidentalChef

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Re: Getting out of car hell
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2016, 09:07:47 AM »
Great idea on the SCCA forums. I will get on that. In terms of the $7k Prius, I was hoping to get into one with a year or two left on the hybrid drivetrain warranty, but perhaps I give that up.

ooeei

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Re: Getting out of car hell
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2016, 09:13:02 AM »
2. Go one car. My wife's car works fine. I work from home full time. This makes going one car potentially possible. However, I would miss out on one of my great pleasures in life: early morning climbing trips to nearby climbing crags. They are just out of convenient biking range (8-10 miles each way). My wife's job also demands she have reliable transportation, so if her car breaks, I'm not sure how she gets to work those days. Other than these worries, one car seems possible.

So, I guess my actual questions here are: how to "exit" my current vehicle with the most cash intact, and which option to proceed with afterwords. Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Bike the distance, even though it's not convenient.  If her car breaks down, shell out for a cab until it's fixed.  A cab a few days a year is going to cost a lot less than a 2nd car.

KCM5

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Re: Getting out of car hell
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2016, 09:48:18 AM »
Sell the WRX. Go to one car. If you find only having one car is not working for you, get a second car with the money from the WRX (used Prius sounds good!).

Regarding climbing - either go very early so you can be back before you wife has to go to work, or suck it up and bike. Or have your wife drop you off at the climbing area with your bike and bike home. You can figure this out.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!