I currently own a 2015 Mazda 6 and have the urge to sell and get an SUV. I have a loan at 4.24% paying $205/month on it (about 4 years left of 7 year loan of $13k) and Carvana is offering me at least $1,300 more than my expected payoff so I'm thinking this may be a good time to pull the trigger with positive equity as I am getting close to 115k miles and buy this next car cash.
I have family who owns a car lot and buys and sells used cars that can get me a great deal. Its obviously not guaranteed, but any car he gets me will be worth more than I pay and I can flip in a year and so on if I want something different. The idea is to make a little money or break even at the very least (this is what he does for his personal cars)
I have financial goals of retiring early and currently own a duplex and planning to own many more rental units. With the rent I receive from the other unit I pay about $100 toward my mortgage right now. I am under contract on my second duplex and will be MAKING about $200/month after both mortgages are paid and rent checks clear. I will say the deal is iffy right now though.
I have about $30k in the bank (after backing out my down payment if the house goes through) and think I would be comfortable putting up to about $10k toward a car after taxes. I make $100k+/year and can potentially put away another $20k in the bank this year.
I LOVE my car, but this is something I've been thinking about for about 8 months. This all started when I realized I want an SUV for new outdoor hobbies I am getting into and cargo space for Home Depot material runs to fix my current/future houses. Of course any car he helps me get will have his stamp of approval and I will know if it is a solid car, but I am still fearful of getting something else and then all of a sudden run problems that I need to sink money into because this car runs like a dream right now. I also understand that the positive is saving $205/month.
I am not a car guy so honestly I just care about bells and whistles which makes me hesitant to do this because I would probably end up with an older car, but I will be smart and go for something that retains value like Toyota or Lexus.
Thoughts?
February 16, 2021 at 12:10AM
