So my partner and I are currently saving for a new vehicle.
Our 1997 Jeep's doors are literally falling off (driver's side to be exact) and we are funneling more money into than we should.
While we both ride our bikes during the summer months, we live in Wyoming and bike riding all-year round is not possible due to a variety of factors.
We are looking at a Tacoma. They tend to last a long time with proper maintenance and offer us the 4x4 capability we need during the winter to get to work.
The biggest question we keep asking ourselves is: how much is the right answer? 4 year old Tacoma's are 35K where we live. At that point, I see us just making a lump sum payment against our mortgage principal instead of buying the car, even though we need the car. For $15k, we can get a 10-12 year old Tacoma with 1xx,xxx miles. At that point, we wouldn't feel bad about not paying off more mortgage principal, but then we run the risk of getting a vehicle that wont last as long.
For our financials, we have no debt but our mortgage, which is $332k.
How did you navigate buying a vehicle and comparing it to paying off debt?
