I am hoping to get some advice regarding how to deal with a second car.
First I am a household of one, so I definitely do not NEED a second car. The question is which car to get rid of or how to cheaply keep car #2 on deck in case one fails.
I own both cars outright, the costs that are eating up money are basic fees like DEQ, insurance for storage, and now registration coming due which will be about $150 dollars.
Toyota has 242,000 miles on it, but runs like a gem, really well kept, I really like the hatchback feature for camping and hauling etc. have had this car less than 1 year. I could probably sell for at least 2,000 Subaru has 150,000 miles on it, has given me very little trouble over the 5 years I have owned it. Slightly better gas mileage, has dents and dings bringing the resell value (in my opinion) at about 1,000 dollars.
A bike commute to my work is not safe otherwise I would consider no car at all but with 12hour shift, and the bus time table being tricky, the 1hr 15minute bus ride is less realistic for me, and I like having a car for hauling and camping.
My question is, which car is a better long term keeper, the one with lower miles (Subaru), or the Toyota Camry which despite its miles is a beast of a car, and I have currently been using as a primary car.
My concern is if I get rid of the subaru, maybe the Toyota given the high miles will be a money sink in terms of repairs, and if it fully dies, I don't want to end up having to buy a significantly more expensive car (although I could theoretically buy another car outright again, but there is no guarantee on what will be available on the used market of course, or on anything for that matter . . .)
I appreciate any thoughts on this matter.
-Side note- second car was acquired when Subaru was stolen, and had a easy chance to replace it, but the Subaru ended up showing up again, and now I have been just hanging on to it, not sure what to do with it.
July 01, 2017 at 10:17PM
