My wife drives a 2000 Chrysler Town & Country minivan and I drive a 2001 Honda Accord. We also own a 1994 Ford F150 pickup truck. I’m seriously considering selling all three automobiles and buying two ‘newer’ vehicles. I really would like to own a ‘nicer’ full-size truck and my wife wants a ‘newer’ minivan or SUV. My original plan was to wait a few more years before we began looking for newer cars, but I’m reconsidering that plan. Why? I think that I can “break even” if I sell the three older autos and replace them with slightly newer models. I’ll pay a little less each year for car insurance because I’ll be insuring two automobiles instead of three. I’ll be paying a little more in car taxes (at the end of the year). I’m just in the very, very early “thinking about it” stage, but I am “thinking about it”. (By the way, my wife likes the Nissan Quest, Honda Odyssey, and a newer Town & Country. Me? I just want a truck that can hold all four of us in the cab… one of those king-cab deals? Sweet!)
17 thoughts on “Seriously Considering Selling 3 Automobiles And Buying 2 More”
Comments are closed.
NCN,
I think you can do well with this idea. Particularly since you have a plan. Be patient with the selling and buying. I really admire what you are doing. As our guy Dave says, you are changing your family tree. Best wishes. M. Sneed
Hey NCN,
I did this recently… had a ’92 Honda, upgraded to an ’04 Holden and actually MADE money in the process (alright, so I’m a seriously over-experienced negotiater, but still). My new car costs less to run, drives better, has more space and is cheaper to maintain due to it’s age.
For some bizaare reason, despite my debt, I’ve always bought my cars in cash (some mental block about car loans) so it actually generated money for me to pay off some debts!
Good luck with your switch 🙂
Cars are not an investment as you know so watch how “newer” you go! Also, remember that you “want” these vehicles, but do you really “need” them? I doubt it… You say your wife wants a “nicer” vehicle, but does her current vehicle do the job? Most likely… I mean you’ve got by this far already right? This type of thinking has caused a LOT of people to be in debt.
I don’t mean to be the gorilla on your back or anything but sometimes you need someone to take you out of the clouds…
I’d recommend a silver 06 Honda Ridgeline RTS, purchased right here in Maryland from a guy named Clever Dude.
Hmm. By the look of things, you’re probably thinking about something about $10k-15k less though. Darn!
I think you’ll miss the mileage from the Accord – especially when your best vehicle will get you 20 mpg on a good day.
But consolidation is nice. One less car equals lower insurance, fewer maintenance bills, less worry about moving cds, cell phone chargers, etc. The simplification alone will be worth it. 🙂
Tyler… I will never again borrow money to purchase an automobile (note the name of this blog.. 🙂 ) Again, we are simply looking at the ‘numbers’ and we might be able to make it work out that we could sell the 3, buy the 2, and ‘break even’…
NCN
Get over the “I-need-another-car” feeling. Are you kidding me? 2000 and 2001 are “old”??? Talk to me in 2010 or later, then perhaps your cars will be old. Quite thinking about – get it out of your system. Stay focused on your savings plan.
Wayne in Cincinnat
Wayne… again, we will only do this deal if we can ‘break even’… NCN
Your 2000 and 2001 have a lot of life left in them! If you want, sell your truck. You will save on insurance (by insuring 2 vehicles instead of 3), although I can’t imagine a 1994 pickup costs that much to insure.
Something you might want to consider is the cost of gas. Are you planning on commuting in this van and 4 door truck? You may end up paying more each year, especially since you are driving an Accord now.
If you have need for a truck (ie you haul stuff) just throw a tow hitch on the van you have and get a small trailer (some more expensive models even fold up or easily disassemble for garage storage).
I am planning to sell my car with ultra-high miles at a local auction as a “as-is” car. It has a great engine. How do I find out where the local auctions are? I live in Northern Virginia. I purchased another used car and would like to sell the old car and avoid the Insurance, car tax etc.
Sounds like you have “new(er) car fever” to me. Stay strong and keep on your savings plan. Chances are you won’t be able to break even and have to dip into savings to make the deal. (I know you say you won’t, but by the time you get that far it is usually too hard to stop and you’ll do something you might regret later).
Unless you have savings “named” for “car purchase” you will be diverting funds set to go towards your 60% savings goal. Cars are not worth de-railing your savings over (the whole middle class montra, Dave talks about).
I understand your desire to have a truck to seat your family. I was there about five years ago myself… only thing I could pay for was a 1992 F350 crew cab. I’ve had it for five years now and it is still going strong.
Jay
Thanks for all of the comments…
I can assure you that I do NOT have ‘newer’ car fever! 🙂
If this is a 10 step process, or whatever, I’m on like step
1… just running the numbers and looking at things from several angles… By NO means is this a done deal…
Thanks for all of the feedback!
We love our T&C. We’ll be sad when that one goes bye-bye.
I’m going to be negative on the T&C. We’ve had terrible luck with our Ford Focus and if it weren’t paid for I’d ditch the darn thing. It is so ridiculous what we paid to maintain the car. It could be a lemon.
But to the car debate, how many kids do you have and are planning on? Will you end up needing more space in the future?
What is the purpose of the truck now? What will be the usage of the truck with extended cab if you purchase it? What is the accord used for?
I might sell the accord and bank the money keeping the truck and upgrading the minivan to something in my mind more reliable. But as I stated I’m biased in my opening paragraph. I’m not buying anything not a Honda or Toyota.
Hi, first time post from someone in the UK. Having three cars is a bit alien for someone from England, but I can understand the process.
If you can get away with two cars, then why not just ditch one of the cars and then see how it goes? Then you’ll do more than “break even” you’d be ahead. But the money aside for a newer car later, or if you can’t cope with just two cars, put it aside for the third car.
Of course, I don’t follow all the different types of car/truck you have, so maybe I’m missing something about the usage you can put the 2/3 cars to.