Car decision - what would you do?

[GoodSteward]

Hey there,

I'm a car guy and let me tell you... You can get a timing belt done for a lot less, but once you start hitting 100k miles, things will start to go out.

Thermostats, struts, spark plugs, and so-on. It's the little things, but so effective on the car itself. I do all my own work on my car. Spark plugs, oil changes, the whole 9. Saves me a ton of money, and it's really not that hard.

At 140k, you'll probably run into problems with struts and suspension parts too. Ball joints, and all of that.. Not saying it will happen, but can be likely.

I'd take the 18k and buy myself a used car with less than 100k. That's me though, and I know my way around a car. So I'll know if it's good or bad. For your choice, I'd just get the new car and pay down debt.

Just buy a Toyota and drive it 200k+ without major issues. I've owned several and my family have as well. No major work for well over 200k miles. Most of the newer cars use higher end plugs so sure it's a little more money ,but more or less once in the life of the vehicle now. My AValon plugs are 130k mile plugs. Also, bearings and simple things are not that bad and when you are trying to get out of debt worrying about car repairs 3-5 years away should not determine what you need to do right now. Once you are out of debt and cash flow increases just do whatever you need to with a nice down payment, or pay in full. However, I wouldn't blow your chance to get out of debt faster just to avoid a few possible repairs many years away.

[TexasHusker]

If you can get $18K out of VW right now, take it and run.

VW reliability doesn't light a candle to Honda or Toyota. Accordingly, their resale value is dismal.

Consider this a gift from God to deliver you from a poor purchase decision. Such miracles don't come along often.

[snafu]

since you asked 'what would you do'...

Based on your personal experience with your VW, I'd ask for every cent possible! Can you get reimbursed for any sums spent on repairs? I'd review Lemon Aide [Used vehicles] to examine their research and suggestions for transportation that lives up to it's hype for high mileage, reliable transportation with best warranties. Check Cherokee as Chrysler has problems. Before making a final decision, check with your insurance agent to make sure you're not in a 'special' [expensive] make and model.

'VW was caught using software to cheat buyers. The EPA sued, won and VW is offering a buyback to ameliorate fraud charges and stop red rivers of losses that resulted. The after market for VW vehicles when you're ready to trade will likely be low. Perhaps too many people are believing too much nonsense marketing. Can you imagine how Wells Fargo clients feel having been duped into paying for accounts and products they didn't need, didn't want merely to add to the profit line of this unethical organization? The Unit's Executive silently left rewarded with $ 125 M bonus.

I'm an experienced winter driver living in a snowbelt [minus 30C/-22F, windchill -90C/ -122 F, tires freeze square, Rocky Mtn terrain snow to kneecaps]. Our best ever vehicle was a CRV. Good reputation and 200,000 mi is typical. I prefer to buy a 2 y/o vehicle so others take the largest depreciation hit. Make sure, the warranty transfers to you, it's merely a form the seller submits, shouldn't cost more than clerical fee.

Sounds like you're working on a major challenge to reduce your overall debt across multiple fronts (student loans, credit card debt, etc.) to help net cash flow. The VW cash back has potential to be a big step forward by careful selection of a modest priced vehicle and pay off a chunk of debt.

[sblatner]

I think you have enough advice so I'll leave that alone. Just wanted to say don't let your timing belt break. Mine did on the highway and I had to drift off an exit. Kind of traumatic. Bent all the pistons (or something like that)...took a week or so to fix. My parents had told me to get my timing belt changed and I forgot!

Also, I might take the money just to get back at VW for doing something so wrong. Let them have the car that creates too much smog!

[JBinKC]

What is the revised depreciation amount at 24k per annum of usage as opposed to $800 per annum at 12 k? All I can say is $800 is a low number for a car of that vintage.

[Eagle]

Thanks for this. Let me get this pulled together and summarized. I use quicken and personal capital to track our spending so it should be easy to pull together.

What happened to the rest of the data? Unfortunately, without it this conversation is only so useful and the advice only partial.

[emerscape]

hi all - my apologies for not getting back to you. I haven't had time to sit down to write out a summary of our entire situation but we've had a few things happen that has made things more complicated (or not depending on how you look at it). My wife is a corporate attorney (in-house counsel) for another consulting firm which she recently helped facilitate the sale of the company to another firm. Unfortunately in the process she sold herself out of a job. She will be employed until the end of December and then will be unemployed. As of right now we don't know the severance and bonus package (expect to be typical - 3 months) and she is looking for a new job. So based on this I'm planning on doing the following:

1) Continue to drive my VW while VW and the courts finalize the settlement. Given that I have just under 100k I'm taking it in to my TDI guru to have them go through it and identify anything that might need to be taken care of before it goes out of warranty and comes out of my pocket. I'm planning on driving it for the next year and banking the $400 a month that I would normally be paying for the loan into my emergency fund. If my wife is able to find a job I'll dump the VW before 130k miles and take the payout and buy a reasonably priced used car (i.e. used Jetta 2.5l, Mazda 6, Honda Accord, etc.) under $15k. I'll put my Jeep on hold until I'm in a better financial situation

2) If my wife is unable to find a job, I'll dump the VW right away, take the $18k and buy a used car under $6k and put the rest in emergency funds.

I'll be back when I have more time to write up everything