car poor

[greenskeeper]

I own (title in hand) 2 vehicles.
A 98 Jetta TDI (156k miles), and a 97 F250 Powerstroke (176k miles).

It is funny to me how people ASSuME that I am unable to afford a newer car.

Maybe it's my choice not to be a slave to my car and make the vehicle
I drive put money in my pocket.

[katwoman]

Did you buy those cars new or used? Tell us about upkeep through the years-especially $$$ for repairs.

[Robert742]

The title of this thread led me to believe your cars were making you poor. It has always amazed me how some people think less of others if the others drive older cars.

I bought a 2005 Saturn new in 2005 with a three year loan, 0% interest. As soon as I paid off the loan in 2008, the dealership called me up to give me a "great deal" on a new car. I guess when I no longer have car loan payments, I need to buy a new car. Here I am, a sucker driving a 2005 Saturn, when I could be driving the latest model year Saturn like a winner? That certainly is not my idea of winning. If I wanted to impress people with my car, I wouldn't buy a Saturn, new or used.

It's better to be cash rich, in my opinion.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I'm not aware of anyone making any assumptions about me based on my car. Maybe because my 4 door 2005 compact is pretty much on par with what "everyone" who lives around here, as well as family and friends drive. We've always been a one-car couple, owning vehicles such as Toyota, Hyundai, and now, Kia.

The only thing that stands out is that visitors from other parts of the world comment on how huge cars are in the US, and my Kia Spectra is not exempted from that judgment. Some also comment about how polite drivers are here. I would be scared to drive where my city's driving style is considered polite!

Anyway, my car generally does what I need a vehicle to do. Once in a while I could use a truck. For an up-coming trip we could use a larger vehicle. Neither need justifies a new purchase.

[photo]

I'm not aware of anyone making any assumptions about me based on my car. Maybe because my 4 door 2005 compact is pretty much on par with what "everyone" who lives around here,

That's a fairly new car. It's interesting how ideas differ on what is considered old.

Our oldest is from 1994, which is not exactly in the antique category but safely in the category of elderly.

Greenskeeper, my experience has often been the same as yours in that some people assume that we don't have the money for a new car. What they don't know won't hurt them! Even with teenagers, our car insurance is quite low, and that's the way we like it.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Yeah, that is fairly new. Regardless, I'm not aware of people drawing conclusions about me due to my car.

[disneysteve]

I own (title in hand) 2 vehicles.
A 98 Jetta TDI (156k miles), and a 97 F250 Powerstroke (176k miles).

It is funny to me how people ASSuME that I am unable to afford a newer car.

Maybe it's my choice not to be a slave to my car and make the vehicle
I drive put money in my pocket.

I'm with you. We have a 98 Camry (149K miles) and a 00 Sienna (148K miles).
They were both paid for a long, long time ago.
The Sienna was bought for cash in 2002 so we haven't had a car payment for over 9 years.

[photo]

I'm not aware of people drawing conclusions about me due to my car.

My impression is that it happens more with either much newer or much older cars. If someone drove up in a brand-new Mercedes, a lot of people might get the impression that the person is "filthy rich." But, as we know, there is also a chance the person is up to his neck in debt with expensive tastes he can't afford. And many people fall on various levels of the spectrum between the two extremes.

[greenskeeper]

Did you buy those cars new or used? Tell us about upkeep through the years-especially $$$ for repairs.

both bought used when they were 5 years old. Never owned a car "newer" than 5 years old.

Routine maintenance which I do myself over the years. All major components original.

Hope to hit 300k in each of them before considering about getting replacements.

[MonkeyMama]

Funny story - my mom has a 15-year-old Mark VIII. IT's ridiculously expensive brand new but she paid about 50% to buy it one year old. Anyway, her neighbor saw her in her car one day and sighed and said, "I need a new car, mine is getting so old - I've had it for 5 years." My mom said, "Well, my car is 15 years old." She said his jaw dropped practically to the ground. LOL. Sometimes you just can't tell by sight. IT seemed it was the sight of my mom's car that made him feel his car was old. Just, funny.

When younger we always drove extraordinarily old vehicles. Literally, pay $1k-$5k cash for a car. Drive it for a decade. So I have certainly gotten a lot of comments how cheap I am. Doesn't bother me - never had a car payment. & we tend to pay less for repairs than the average person, anyway. Plus lower insurance, smaller taxes, etc., etc.

I actually haven't gotten any comments lately because both our cars were bought 1-year-old and look fairly new, still. They are 7 & 11 years old, but seem to be more current looking models, for now. (i expect them both to last 15-20 years, so I am sure will get more comments as we get back to that old clunker stage. To me, these cars are BABIES).

Anyway, I have had the opposite experience since we both bought newer vehicles this past decade. I bought a 1-year-old minivan which was also about 50% the price of brand new. I have always been clear we pay cash for our cars, but this time when the subject came up and I said I had no car payment (people would comment on our new car payment!) jaws would just drop to the floor. It took me a while to realize everyone thought we bought a brand new car, and/or paid twice as much for it. My spouse had been out of work, I had been on maternity leave, and we went out and paid cash for a car??? The truth was I bought a $1k sedan when my first son was born, a financial downgrade from my sports car which did not work with baby seats and was not safe at all. We waited until my pregnancies went well, and I returned to work for several months after maternity leave, before we decided to upgrade our vehicle. I had that money saved for if "pregnancy didn't go well" - that kind of thing. I could just see the wheels turning in friends and family members head. Clueless. I probably wouldn't have said anything but they kept talking about our "Car payments." Of course I am going to point out that we paid cash, if *they* keep talking about how we paid for it. Dh's dad even told him "You shouldn't have spent all your money on a car." LOL. Who said we did??? IT was only later than I realized they thought we spent $20k-$30k on that thing. I admit that would have been stupid in our financial state, but um, we didn't do that, and what the heck do they know about our finances anyway? But it just didn't occurred to me that everyone thought we actually went out and bought a brand new car. I realized more looking back and conversations with family members since. It seemed pretty obvious that we don't buy new cars, so I thought. But just another experience where no one can really tell the difference, anyway!

[disneysteve]

"I need a new car, mine is getting so old - I've had it for 5 years."

I love when people make inane comments like that. My car is 14 years old. I've had it for over 13.

[GREENBACK]

My last vehicle payment of any type was about 6 yrs. ago. I would have spent around 25k had I continued making the same payments. Very eye opening. I too, was one who believed that a car payment was a very normal thing. I think this site has convinced me, more than anything else, how ridiculus that kind of thinking is.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

One place my DH and I are not at the same place financially. He sees nothing wrong with buying a new car when you want or need it. Yes he prefers cash but he is anti-used cars. He prefers new and driving the until they break. I guess I can't argue either since we're on car #1 for me and #2 for him and we're in our 30s. Knock on wood. I think I may have to replace my car soon though. Great car, excellent condition, but it might not be suited to our needs soon. We'll see.

[maat55]

Our two cars are paid for, my truck we fast track paid off in early 2008(bought it used 2005)and DW's we paid cash.

Though we have a car fund system to pay cash, I will likely just hold my funds and drive my truck till I don't want to. I am very comfortable driving older vehicles, knowing I can replace it with cash is all I care about.

I have an old friend who has an 2005 Sport Trac that I have discussed buying in a couple of years just because he takes very good care of it and has extremely low miles(45k). I'm hoping to get it at or below private sell with under 55k miles. If not, I'll wait for that deal of the century.

[HousingCounselor]

Interesting post. I paid off my car in summer of '10. I financed it for 5 years which I will never do again. God Willing! I have been looking for suvs or crossovers simply because I live in the mid-west and winters are terrible here. My car gets stuck in my drive way every winter and it slides on ice and slush if I'm not careful.

Still, even with close to 19k in savings, I can't bring myself to buy another car. My dad did mention something to me that made me think which is "safety trumps money". Although it's true, I still don't think I should by one right now. I still have CC debt which will be paid off in a couple of months however that's more money I will be able to add to savings soon.

I'm more concerned about the opportunity costs that are associated with debt. For every $200 to $500 a month in a car payment, is money that's not being saved or invested. I just want to take advantage of the opportunity I have now for as long as I have it. Since I don't know how my finances could change in the future.