Author Topic: Car Advice  (Read 4491 times)

LRH

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Car Advice
« on: July 27, 2015, 01:50:21 PM »
We have been paying off debt for a while, but are new to MMM.  After reading the MMM blog for days, we are ready to make a drastic change.
Current situation:  10K debt
Car 1:  2014 Honda Van with 20K miles (owe 28K, worth 24-25K payment 512/month)
Car 2:  2009 Honda CR-V with 70k miles (paid for, worth 13-14k)
Husband drives 5 miles to work/day (He won't consider biking because 4 miles of the commute is on a 2 lane road with no shoulder and 55mph speed limit.)   
I stay home with our 2 kids.
We are willing to go down to one car.
Which one should we sell?  Or do we sell both and get something different altogether?  Both get about 25mpg around town.

DeltaBond

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2015, 01:54:25 PM »
Sell the van.

BayIslandSaver

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2015, 02:20:17 PM »
Ditto on ditching the van.  99% of the time the CR-V should suffice.

russianswinga

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2015, 03:46:08 PM »
1. Sell the Van
2. If you feel you need a van for housework / construction / etc, you can pick up a 1997 Grand Caravan for less than $2000 now. My dad uses his as a covered pickup truck - he removed all seats except the front and loves it because it will fit 4x8 sheets of plywood laid flat.

mtn

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2015, 03:53:55 PM »
Frankly, unless you guys are "Car people" like I am, I'd sell both. Then get a $5,000 Altima or Crown Vic or Accord. Throw in a $2,000 Corolla if you are really, really worried about reliability and being stranded (I wouldn't, it is overkill). Get a rental for trips.

+23 for van
+12 for CRV
-7 for two new cars
That takes care of the car loan. Then attack the $10k.

AutoZealot

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2015, 09:01:51 PM »
Frankly, unless you guys are "Car people" like I am, I'd sell both. Then get a $5,000 Altima or Crown Vic or Accord. Throw in a $2,000 Corolla if you are really, really worried about reliability and being stranded (I wouldn't, it is overkill). Get a rental for trips.

+23 for van
+12 for CRV
-7 for two new cars
That takes care of the car loan. Then attack the $10k.

Agreed, with a 5 mile commute, no reason to have 40K+ in money out there in cars.  If you think about taxes, insurance, etc, etc over the next few years, the numbers are big.  Maybe keep the CRV - I'm on the fence about that one.

ysette9

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2015, 09:09:42 PM »
The crown vic is a ginormous car so I would definitely recommend against buying such a boat. I have owned an Accord in the past and while it is a good car, I found that it was bad ergonomically because as a small-ish person (5 foot 3 inch) I was leaning over to the right in the driver's seat to reach the stickshift just because it is so big. There are plenty of cheap, reliable, smaller cars out there that will fit your family. Check out MMM's list of recommended cars and definitely check Consumer Reports, CarFax, and get a pre-purchase safety check before buying anything different. (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/03/19/top-10-cars-for-smart-people/)

Personally we have a Golf TDI that works great for our little family. Fits us, the car seat, two surf boards, a picnic lunch, baby gear galore, and plenty of other stuff for a day of fun at the beach. :) We have also fit four adults and the baby seat in the car comfortably.

RWD

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2015, 09:41:24 PM »
My inclination would be to sell both and get a cheap hatchback or wagon.

mtn

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2015, 11:50:12 PM »
My recommendation of a crown Vic is because it is comfy, has decent pickup, handles shockingly well with the right [factory] suspension, can tow 5k pounds, can fit a family of 6, and is CHEAp. Not to mention dead nuts reliable, which happens when you use the same platform mostly unchanged for over 30 years.

On a related note, just how reliable are dead nuts?

RWD

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2015, 08:23:42 AM »
My recommendation of a crown Vic is because it is comfy, has decent pickup, handles shockingly well with the right [factory] suspension, can tow 5k pounds, can fit a family of 6, and is CHEAp. Not to mention dead nuts reliable, which happens when you use the same platform mostly unchanged for over 30 years.

On a related note, just how reliable are dead nuts?

The Crown Victoria can be a good car depending on how much you're driving it. Fuel economy is pretty poor (15-16/23-24 mpg city/hwy) even compared to LRH's current vehicles. This will be about 6 cents per mile more expensive in fuel costs than a 2005 Corolla or something similar. If you're only driving a couple thousand miles a year that might not be a big deal. The 5 mile (I'm assuming this is one way) commute works out to 2,600 miles per year so about $150/year in extra fuel costs. Then add in other trips. Whether it is worth it will depend on how much cheaper it is compared to a more efficient vehicle.

mtn

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2015, 08:43:38 AM »
My recommendation of a crown Vic is because it is comfy, has decent pickup, handles shockingly well with the right [factory] suspension, can tow 5k pounds, can fit a family of 6, and is CHEAp. Not to mention dead nuts reliable, which happens when you use the same platform mostly unchanged for over 30 years.

On a related note, just how reliable are dead nuts?

The Crown Victoria can be a good car depending on how much you're driving it. Fuel economy is pretty poor (15-16/23-24 mpg city/hwy) even compared to LRH's current vehicles. This will be about 6 cents per mile more expensive in fuel costs than a 2005 Corolla or something similar. If you're only driving a couple thousand miles a year that might not be a big deal. The 5 mile (I'm assuming this is one way) commute works out to 2,600 miles per year so about $150/year in extra fuel costs. Then add in other trips. Whether it is worth it will depend on how much cheaper it is compared to a more efficient vehicle.

Also keep in mind that it is a nicer car than the Civarollas. (Opinion of course, but I have owned both).

But this is getting foamy, I really don't care what car anyone here gets. I can give out recommendations all day long, and justify them well for the correct situation, but in this case (10 miles a day) it really isn't going to matter much as long as it is cheap and reliable and they like it.


cchrissyy

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Re: Car Advice
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2015, 01:13:24 AM »
sell the van for sure - maybe keep the other or maybe sell it too and get something cheaper.