[The following is from Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff. That’s where she writes about her bills, saving for the future, and making sure to fit in fun stuff along the way.]
When I bought my brand new Chevrolet Aveo a few months after I graduated from college in 2005, I understood that I was purchasing a cheap car with good gas mileage that I would most likely be replacing in 5-7 years. Well, 9 years later, I am still driving my bright blue rinky-dink car. It’s only been driven about 60,000 miles. That said, I know I will have to say goodbye at some point.
Why I Still Have the Same Car
My Aveo has a manual transmission, manual windows and locks, and it’s only dashboard features are a radio and my air conditioning controls. I intentionally bought the cheapest new car that I could afford. I didn’t want any issues while I was building up padding from my first real job. I assumed that 5 years later, I would be able to buy my next, better car in cash.
Five years passed and I realized that I rather spend my money on traveling and retirement investing. 7 years passed and all of our car savings was poured into the down payment for our new home. Now we are inching up onto 9 years, and I won’t allow us steal from the car fund again. I’m even starting to look at current available vehicles.
Right now, we only have about $3250 set aside, so I’d need to finance a car if my current one died right now. I’ve looked at my credit rating at Credit Karma for free and should qualify for a very low-interest loan. You can easily find out more about new car finance too. You’ll just need to know about your credit history and have a general idea of what sort of car you will need to finance and for how long.
My Wants
My next car will have power windows, power locks, a cd player, and still get great gas mileage. I don’t have a preference between a manual and automatic transmission. I also don’t have a preference between a new car and a low mileage pre-owned car. I just like dependable vehicles that can go for 100,000+ miles without any major issues.
My dream car would be a red VW Beetle with black spots and doors that open like a Delorean, but I don’t drive enough to spend $20,000+ on a vehicle just for a smile that spends most of its time in the garage. So I am looking at realistic options.
My Future
As of right now, I’m leaning towards one of these:
- Toyota Yaris
- Nissan Versa
- Hyundai Accent
- a used Toyota Prius (we like my husband’s)
- a 3-cylinder Mitsubishi Mirage
Any of these can get me from point A to point B without costing me a fortune. They all have the features that I have to have in my next car. They can all carry groceries and a dog cage or two in the back seats. And if we have a kid, a car seat can fit in the back of any of these as well. I’ll pick my favorite by driving them when my poor, old car finally gives up.
Are you thinking about getting a new-to-you car anytime soon?