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I have a beater car that's slowly dying and was told by the mechanic to not waste any money and go looking for a new car. So my question is if I should do it now or later?
The pros of looking now is it's at a time where the car still runs, so I can sell it, and I still live incredibly close to my new job site, so getting to and from events and work will not be too bad. Yet I have no real money for a new (for me cause it'll be used) car, so I'll most likely have to lease one. The issue there is I was told that leased cars required full coverage and I don't know if I could afford it. Unless its similar to my bundled insurance and cheaper than just car insurance.
The pros of looking later would be all money. I'd have cash set up and (hopefully) enough saved for a new vehicle. A better one than what I could afford now. But I'm moving soon and will be farther from my current job and winters coming up. Buses don't go there so I'd need to walk, and I would much rather walk anyway as the cost to bus adds up. The biggest issue is my car. I don't know if it will last me through winter and I'll need new tires then as my currents are pretty much at the end of their lifespan.
So from the more experienced members, should I save up and wing it through the winter or look for one now and hope someone buys my current car?
You should buy another car, and sell the one you have while you can still get something for it, since its running. A mechanic can do something with it probably.
What kind of car is it? year, make, model, mileage, condition. (tyring to get a better idea of what can go wrong, and what you could get for it.
What do you have saved up right now to spend on a car? This is the time of the year the 2017 models are coming in, some dealers are offering great deals on stock they need to get rid of to make room, or even on leases.
New job; is it stable, guaranteed, pay increase so you can afford it?
Any car that you do not buy outright, whether a lease or a finance is going to require full coverage insurance.
So far it sounds like I would just try to ride it out if you could walk to what you need to.
The car is a1996 dodge intrepid and the repairs it currently needs come out to more than 700-1000+, which is why my mechanic just recommended buying something new as I already put $700 into the car, that was bought for that amount but I needed those things. The others can kinda last.
The job is stable for one year. The money is stable. The location is stable too, but there is no pay increase because of how it's set up. It's an odd position but benefits me later in life.
I suggest that you decide what you want and start looking for the best one you can find for the lowest price. I spent a full year searching for my last used car, and I'm happy with the one I bought; but a better one at a lower price became available about two months later, which kind of sucked.
The last thing I wanted to happen was to have my daily driver die on me and then I would be forced to buy something without proper precautions. Fortunately that didn't happen, so now I have two excellent cars, one is my daily driver and the other is my future daily driver.
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