In November 2015 I bought a used 2011 certified Honda Pilot EX-L. It had about 76,500 miles on it. I paid $20,700 for it from a dealership, so after tax and dealer fees it was about $23,000 financed.
I financed the Pilot at 2.9% but make payments a month early (simple interest loan), and my payments right now are $400 with a balance of $19,500. I could easily go to $450 and my payments will still be less than 10% of my net monthly income.
Unfortunately I didn't really factor in gas, which is about $150/month. In LA it gets about 13-14 mpg city, not the 17 they advertise. I'm seriously considering trading it in or selling it (blue book is about $18,500) and leasing a Chevy Volt or similar plug-in hybrid with the $7500 federal tax incentive.
My question is: would it make sense to ditch the gas guzzler for a plug-in hybrid lease with the government incentives, or hold onto the Pilot till the wheels fall off? I'm single, btw, and the Pilot leaves a great first impression. Leather trim, heated seats, the works.
I'm also trying to save for a condo, so, that kinda leaves out investing in an index fund (outside of my maxed-out Roth IRA and company-match Roth 401k). The reason is that after several attempts at short-term investments, I've almost always lost money. Therefore the stash of cash is in a .95% online savings account, and right now that's where my emergency fund is.
TL;DR: sell the Honda Pilot ASAP and get into a cheap used fuel efficient car, lease a plug-in hybrid with tax incentives or hang onto the Pilot till the wheels fall off? I save about $1100/month of excess cash and keep my expenses to a minimum.
Thanks.