The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: tami120 on December 03, 2012, 10:08:57 AM
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I am new and late to this whole thing, but I am trying. Here's my car situation: I have a 2008 Buick Lacrosse with 40500 miles on it. I owe $5400 at 3% interest. The car doesn't get great gas mileage, averages 21 MPG. I only drive it about 4,500 miles per year though which means my gas cost is about $60 per month. I am a single woman in my mid-50's who has no mechanical skill so reliability is very important to me (I bought the car three years ago as a certified used car). I know how to drive a manual (grew up on a farm), so that's not an obstacle. My thinking is that perhaps my poor MPG is somewhat canceled out by my low mileage, and that the reliability is a large factor for me. Also, I would only net about $3 to 4k on selling my car and paying it off. Not sure I would be able to buy something reliable for that. I hope to start riding my bike next spring and work up to commuting by bike (5.5 miles one way) at least a couple times per week.
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Get rid of it. Based on your estimates, it's worth about 8 or 9k. You can find something smaller and reliable for perhaps half of that? There are tons of old posts on car buying around here, so do a search for it, and get some ideas.
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Normally, I would say to sell as you still have enough value in the car to pay off the debt and buy another car. Problem is that if you sell for $9k and payoff $5400, you're left with $3600... Being a youngish guy who is very mechanically inclined, I have absolutely zero issues finding a car for that price or cheaper that can be reliable or made to be reliable.... However, as a single mid-50's female with no mechanical abilities, I don't see this happening... (unless you have some friends/family who can help with tools, etc...)
The Buick is reliable, has low miles and is useful for when you use it... If you were my mother, I'd tell you to pay it off and keep it... Ride the bike when you can and just make sure you keep the Buick maintained with fresh oil and basic care...