Author Topic: Selling car the best thing to do?  (Read 5990 times)

umscheidt

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Selling car the best thing to do?
« on: June 02, 2014, 06:52:56 PM »
I recently relocated to a city where I will be driving less than 5000 miles a year.

2 and a half years ago I bought a brand new VW Jetta GLI for $26500 and currently has 29k miles on it. I financed just over $20k (at .9% interest ), and currently owe about $11k on it making payments of $350 a month.

Its a lot of fun to drive, but my commute is now only a few miles a day.  Its good on a gas for a turbocharged 4 cyc engine with 200 hp.  I usually get 24-25 mpg city, ~31 highway. Just got a quote from carmax today for $15000. Switching to another car at best I would think would only save ~2-3 mpg, so the real reason id consider it would be for the cost of the car, not the fuel savings.

Do I take the deal from carmax and down grade to a car I can pay for with what is left over from the carmax offer?  Its a great car, just think the 350 a month for the next 30ish months could be better spent saving for other things. (like saving for a condo/house and earn compounded interest)

4000 could get me 2002ish civic with ~200k miles, but isn't that taking a big risk at those kind of miles? At the very least I should expect to pay for brakes and tires.  I guess the thinking is that even with a big repair, it would still cost less than a few car payments I'm making now.

Is my logic correct in that selling my current car is the best way to go?

jawisco

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2014, 08:20:17 PM »
I think your logic is correct and you should sell the car and buy a cheap honda or toyota  You can get a dependable one for 2-3K.  Find one on craigslist and test drive it - look for one that looks like it has been well treated and drives well - then get it looked at by mechanic - definitely worth the $100 for this.  Not only will there be less surprises, you can often use the mechanic's findings to negotiate price lower.

I have driven these kind of cars for last 10+ years and they left me stranded only once.  I do keep AAA plus for $75/year for piece of mind(which will tow me 4 times up to 100 miles a tow).

Since you live so close to work, it isn't a big deal if your car is repaired from time to time.  You will also save real money on your insurance as well (with 3K car, you only keep liability), which will likely balance out your extra repair costs (although maybe not since VW's are not cheap to fix anything). 

In 30 months, you will be $10500 richer. 

Look into whether you can get more for car on Craigslist.

schimt

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2014, 08:38:14 PM »
I guessed the year as a 2012 and I don't know the options you have other then being a gli, but kbb.com priced it at $18,000 sold by private seller, meaning you should get in that range if you sell it yourself on Craigslist. go to kbb and put your specifics and location in to get a better idea. Then clean it up take some good pictures and put it up on craigslist and see what you get. I would put the kbb price or best offer.

SDREMNGR

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2014, 09:46:58 PM »
You can do better than 15k. 

CarDude

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2014, 03:21:49 PM »
Carmax is a ripoff; sell it yourself.

Mr. Frugalwoods

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2014, 06:17:40 PM »
VW's aren't know for being great when it comes to repair costs.  In other words, this isn't the car I'd choose to run into the ground over the next 20 years.

Sell it yourself and get a honda or toyota in the ~$5K range.  Broken record, I know, but there's a reason why everyone suggests this.

CarDude

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2014, 06:19:21 PM »
^ Yup; much more likely the car will run *you* into the ground in repair costs.

okashira

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2014, 08:40:59 PM »
The newer VW's are much better, but your car is too expensive to keep.

In the meantime, you should be getting much better mileage with the 2.0/1.8/whatever you have. I suggest some basic hypermiling technique.

My 2009 VW Rabbit with the gas sucking 5 cylinder gets 30mpg with me driving since I adjusted my driving style.
Hint: you should be doing very little braking.

If you don't want to downgrade too much, pick up something nicer like a 7th gen accord for $7000 or so. Better gas mileage, cheaper parts, etc. 4 cyl only.
Find a private seller who took care of the car, perhaps a little dirty on the inside or something like that. Spend the weekend removing the seats to clean the snot out of it and it will be like new.
« Last Edit: June 03, 2014, 08:44:10 PM by okashira »

RapmasterD

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2014, 09:03:43 PM »
On the numerous "should I sell my car" posts I've seen on this forum, I generally think it's better for the OPs to hold onto their cars. In your case, I think you should dump your car based on your relo and newly planned mileage totals.

Oh, and never buy another VW. Their quality is higher nowadays? IMHO, that is relative. I hope I'm wrong on this one as I think a used TDI Jetta would be a nice ride in the future.
« Last Edit: June 03, 2014, 09:05:49 PM by RapmasterD »

hexdexorex

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2014, 04:21:04 PM »
Great plan. I did a similar thing. Got a 1992 Toyota Paseo 6 years ago for 1800....have not had to fix anything but wear and tear...commute approx 3k miles a year.

Actually a couple of people have had minor accidents with me...so that puts me 2k or so cash positive on it.

avongil

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2014, 09:38:50 PM »
Your best bet is probably a used 2nd Gen Prius for those kinds of miles. You will get 45 mpg, so 2X what you are getting now and that is considerable. 

Please use this to figure out your cost savings.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ajeg4z5XrypmdE0yanpJSTlLTHFjbmV1eEU4cE9Ma0E&usp=drive_web#gid=0

As for the VW, id dump it before 100K miles. Those motors are tough to work, and I find that the excessive heat of a turbo car under the hood makes everything fail faster.


frugaliknowit

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Re: Selling car the best thing to do?
« Reply #11 on: June 05, 2014, 09:00:44 AM »
Can you do without a car completely?  You say you live in a big city...what do you "need" a car for?  There's public transit, cabs, car sharing, car renting, bumming from friends, bicycling, walking versus fossil fuel, depreciation, insurance, parking repairs and maintenance....

Assuming you "NEED" a car, I would buff it out, sell it myself (close the deal at the buyer's bank...nowhere else) for close to retail, then buy a civic or corolla for around $5K.