The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: FuckRx on April 28, 2014, 01:16:55 PM
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I own a 2012 Smart Car which I bought new for 15k. 2 seater, gas engine, 35-40mpg. Someone made me an offer of a little over 9k for the car. It has only 23k miles on it. Bluebook is 9k.
I also have a 1995 Toyota Corolla. 180k miles. 4 door. Runs fine, well kept car. A car my mother was using for a while but now she no longer needs it. Probably blue book value of low 2k.
Should I keep my Smart or sell it?
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Seems like a no-brainer. You don't seem to drive much and you have another car. How much would you save on insurance and registration? Free's up some cash that could be working for you instead of depreciating.
Very rare to get Bluebook value for a used car without even trying.
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Sell it!
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Gosh I think I'm paying around $500/yr on insurance, then there is registration and oil changes etc. So I could save a good bunch Of course I would have some of that for the 1995 corolla but likely less because it's an older car. there is the fear of unexpected expenses but I figure maybe a transmission job? perhaps $1,500-2,000 because I don't think the transmission has ever been rebuilt.
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+3 Sell it
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Does the Smart meet all your needs or do you sometimes need to use the Corolla because it's bigger?
If the Smart does everything you need, I'd lean towards keeping the Smart and selling the Corolla because the Smart is so much newer - it will last you many years before you'll need to replace it.
If you sometimes need the space offered by the Corolla, then I'd sell the Smart.
I definitely see no reason for you to have 2 cars (unless there's some secret factor I'm not aware of!).
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No, no secret factor :) I am using the corolla to make money on relayrides but if I sell the smart car I'll be doing less of that. The Smart car is the only car I have had since 2012 up until recently and I've never needed another car for any transportation/hauling issues.
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No, no secret factor :) I am using the corolla to make money on relayrides but if I sell the smart car I'll be doing less of that. The Smart car is the only car I have had since 2012 up until recently and I've never needed another car for any transportation/hauling issues.
Are you making enough money on relayrides to cover the $500/yr on insurance, plus the other incidentals you mentioned, in addition to the cost of owning and operating the Corolla? If yes, and the Corolla is giving you a net positive income, then in that case I could be in favor of you keeping it.
If not, I'd be way more in favor of you sticking 2K from the sale of the Smartcar into an emergency fund in case the Corolla needs some work, then making a nice big deposit into your perferred investment account!
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i just looked through my relayrides and i've been fortunate and have made about $440 since 2/16 of this year.
that's very good point though.
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Sell it. I'd wager you're about as safe in an old Corolla as you are in a new Smart car.
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Sell it. A shame you lost $6k in depreciation on two years for an elaborate golf cart.