car poor

[Shewillbemine]

Was there a question in the original post?

[disneysteve]

Was there a question in the original post?

Nope. I think it was more of a discussion point.

[FrugalTexan75]

My 97 Honda Civic with 142k miles on it now looks old and beat up (thanks to my fender bender a few weeks ago ... sigh.) Many times over the years when I've had it in various repair shops (for normal maintenance type things) I've had people offer me well over blue book value for it -- if I was selling. Nope!

My family (even the more frugally minded ones) think I should upgrade. My grandma is worried about the reliability of my car ... so far though, (other than the electrical problems 4 years ago), it has been a very reliable car. My last car payment on it was in 2004 or 5 (can't remember for sure right now. 4 years ago I had money set aside for a replacement ... now I'm working on getting that fund funded again. My goal is to never have a car payment again!

Other than family though, I've never had anyone make negative comments to me about my car/being cheap for having an old car, etc.

[cypher1]

I have a 98 Civic hatch with 180k as summer beater which gets 36-38 mpg. And my 00 CRV (winter car) just hit 184k. In the fall I replaced my inner/outer tie rods, upper/lower ball joints, an axle, wheel bearing and got an alignment. So I'm in no hurry to get rid of. My friends ask why I don't sell both, and get something newer. Convenient 4wd in the winter, and cheap gas in the summer, too easy to work on both. I just can't justify the change up.

[bjl584]

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.

Loving the diesel fleet that you own. You can keep driving both till you are sick of them.

[Robert742]

I'm not aware of anyone making any assumptions about me based on my car.

You may be blessed by being surrounded by non-superficial people. . I worked with a person who traded in their car every year (sometimes every 6 months!) for a new car, because they were tired of their old car. This person also commented to me about another person, "Why don't they get a new car?"

I'm no one to judge other people's priorities in life, but I gotta question them sometimes.

I'm driving my Saturn until the wheels fall off, which unfortunately, may be sooner than I wish.

[srblanco7]

Out of all the loan payments I've had to make over the years, nothing ever bothered me quite like a car payment. I absolutely abhored writing that check each month. Luckily, my company (now) provides me with a vehicle - which costs me only $1200/year to cover personal use. This allowed us to save and pay cash for DW's latest vehicle (used 2006 Subaru Tribeca), which we bought in 2009. We now put away $300 each month as a car fund toward the purchase of our next "new to us" vehicle.

[Robert742]

If you have ownership of the car, why not get some cash from a car title loan?

Seriously? That's like getting cash from cash advances on credit cards -- an expensive way to borrow money. Why borrow money if you don't need it? Tapping your "equity" in cars & homes is not a smart money move.

[Cassius King]

I have a paid for 2000 Nissan Pathfinder and a 2010 Honda Accord. The Honda was the first car that I've ever bought new. It'll probably be the last new car I buy.

Question for the forum here. To the people who have older model/high mileage cars: What do you do for family vacations? I take my family on a couple vacations a year and the thought of getting broke down in rural South Carolina on our way to MB frightens me.

Thanks.

[greenskeeper]

Question for the forum here. To the people who have older model/high mileage cars: What do you do for family vacations? I take my family on a couple vacations a year and the thought of getting broke down in rural South Carolina on our way to MB frightens me.

Thanks.

As long as you do a pre-trip inspection, aside from a catastrophic failure (which can occur to any car at any milage/age) I don't hesitate driving on long trips.

I also have AAA which tows me up to 300 miles if needed.

[disneysteve]

Question for the forum here. To the people who have older model/high mileage cars: What do you do for family vacations? I take my family on a couple vacations a year and the thought of getting broke down in rural South Carolina on our way to MB frightens me.

We have a 2000 Toyota Sienna with about 150,000 miles. We drive it to and from Orlando from NJ every year, most recently this past August. We put about 3,000 miles on over 2 weeks. Nothing different that we would do if it was newer and had fewer miles.

[Shaabenanizer]

Cassius King, this year I decided to leave my 1996 Geo Prizm home and rented a car to drive from Virginia to Pennsylvania over Christmas. In hindsight the Geo Prizm would had no problem but after we got seriously nailed by the last two winters I didn't want to risk getting trapped in the mountains where you often see designated ramps for runaway semi-trucks. In previous summers I drove the same car from Virginia to Indiana but once my car hit 15 years of age I start to get paranoid so I'll probably only drive this car locally and rent a car for the serious long distance driving.

[disneysteve]

once my car hit 15 years of age I start to get paranoid so I'll probably only drive this car locally and rent a car for the serious long distance driving.

When I reach the point where I feel that way, I will get a newer car. No point to me in having a car that I don't trust to drive wherever I want to go.

[bjl584]

I have a paid for 2000 Nissan Pathfinder and a 2010 Honda Accord. The Honda was the first car that I've ever bought new. It'll probably be the last new car I buy.

Question for the forum here. To the people who have older model/high mileage cars: What do you do for family vacations? I take my family on a couple vacations a year and the thought of getting broke down in rural South Carolina on our way to MB frightens me.

Thanks.

Higher mileage shouldn't scare you. It's a good idea to do a quick inspection of your car before a road trip regardless of how old it is or how many miles are on it. Check the tires, the lights, and all fluid levels before you head out.

If you have a true beater car, then you could always rent a vehicle for longer road trips.

[fe2o3ez]

My car is 14 years old. I've had it for over 13.

There is my goal, regarding vehicles. See, I can't say I am car poor... yet. I have a 2010 Nissan Frontier that we bought new at the end of that model year, then paid off in a couple months. The goal is that by getting it new, I wouldnt need a replacement until after my son gets his license and we give it to him. He is 6 now, and in 2 years I have only put 16k on it, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that with regular maintenance (performed by yours truly) and alternate transportation, this will be around a while.

It's not just how a vehicle looks, but also what kind of vehicle you drive that gets people talking. I live in a pretty decent neighborhood, and see all sorts of BMWs and Lexus (what is the plural form of Lexus, anyway?) drive by, then I come wheeling through with my pickup truck. I keep it pretty clean, but occasionally I will come through with some lumber or mulch. The looks from people just crack me up. Don't think they have ever read The Millionaire Next Door.