Disclaimer: by “new,” I mean “new to me,” and not brand new off the lot. I also want to say I am not the type of person that switches cars often and I try to keep them until I can’t drive them anymore.
I’m 24 and own a townhouse. I have a job where I make roughly $50k a year. I currently have $21k in savings. I’ve never had a car payment. My current car is the one I’ve had since I was 16: a 1998 Volvo s70. Even though it doesn’t look the sharpest, it has a lot of sentimental value to me, has been mostly reliable in the 8 years I’ve had it, and has the most comfortable seats ever. Plus, leather seats and sunroof. It has 142k miles, and I got it when it had 70k miles. And the best part: no car payment and insurance is super low.
Earlier this year I considered getting a newer car just for a change. I was looking at Volvo v60s because I have a soft spot for Volvo’s, especially their wagons. But then because of COVID, my job switched to working from home full time. I went from driving 5-7 days a week to driving 1-3 days a week. My job has extended this through April 2021 so I figured, why buy a new car if I’m not even driving a whole lot anyway.
But this past Saturday my car has had to go to the shop for the third time since last fall for a major repair. In the past 2-3 years I’d say it’s needed about 5 major repairs. This is all just age-related stuff; I’m meticulous about keeping up with regular maintenance. The latest thing is a broken O2 sensor that caused my car to stall on a busy highway and I just barely managed to get it off the road into a gas station. The repair is quoted to be around $1k. The repair earlier this year was around $200 or so, another part inside the car also needs to be replaced (around $200 for parts and labor - not a super urgent issue though), and the repair last fall was about $1k. The car is worth about $1k as a whole.
I was hoping to keep my car until around 200k miles but I think at this point I am at a crossroads where I need to make a decision on whether or not to keep it, or buy a newer used car. One of my dad’s friends is selling his 2014 Subaru Forester, premium trim level, 72k miles for $10k.
Summary of my car: 1998, 142k miles. Interior basically looks brand new, outside is a little rough looking cosmetically. Super comfortable, fun to drive in sport mode, sentimental value. Has been reliable throughout its life but repairs are getting more frequent and expensive as it ages. I could get it repaired and keep driving it. It will drive fantastic until it doesn’t. Something may happen in a few months, or maybe it won’t need a repair for another few years, who knows.
Summary of the Subaru: 2014, 72k miles. Cosmetically looks a lot better (I saw pics of it). Newer, so shouldn’t need as many major repairs for several years down the line (timing belt excluded). I’ve been itching for a car with more utility - it will have a lot more space inside for my dog and all my gear for my horse. Gas mileage will be better since it’s newer. Also since it’s newer, will be safer. It will cost $10k - so either I pay it all at once, which is almost half my savings, or I will see if the guy will accept a payment plan (he probably won’t but I would prefer doing this). I will say I’m not comfortable with giving away half of my savings all at once, so if he wants it all up front, I will most likely pass.
Thoughts? Should I just keep my car? Sell it, go for the subie? Or sell it, and go for something else? Thanks!
Submitted August 30, 2020 at 08:47PM by apndi https://ift.tt/2QBJnv9
