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What does it matter anyway it’s no one’s business what you drive your not paying for it, this tread made a sharp left turn somewhere. Starts out why women drive new cars to being how frugal in your choices, hey people it’s their money they can spend it the way they want to. There’s another forum on economics if you have to justify your spending habits but don’t try to push them on others.
I would say most Americans live in a financial world where decisions have to be made. Some may decide to drive a slightly older car so they can: remodel or make improvements to their home, save for their children’s college expenses, retire more comfortably or earlier, move to a better neighborhood, etc. Not having a constant car payment is an easy way to help make those things happen.
You aren't wrong, but to me, frugality is about saving money on the things that aren't important so that you have money for the things that are important (to you).
I now put 40,000-50,000 miles a year on my car. I do a lot of traveling all over the country. I take my car from NC to Colorado/Utah/Nevada/California once or twice a year, among other trips that are at least 4-6 hours away from home.
Even when I'm "home," I'm always driving to my mom's house (35 minutes away) or my mother-in-law's house (an hour away), both of which are drives through the country with spotty cell reception that I take several times a week.
In my younger and broker days, I found myself stranded quite a few times (and I didn't take those cars on long trips...my needs were much different then). Several times on a 94 Jeep Cherokee. A couple of times each on a 93 Chevy Blazer and 94 Ford Crown Victoria. Several times on an 02 Kia Rio.
Nothing bad ever happened, but it was a very scary feeling to find myself stranded with no idea what was wrong with my car and no idea of how to fix it. And yeah, I had some really helpful men stop and help me, and I was (and am) thankful for their help. But there were two times that I had "helpful men" stop to "help" me in ways that made me feel very uncomfortable.
I'll admit, none of those vehicles were in the best shape when I got them, but all of those times of being stranded left a bad taste in my mouth. So, now that I have the financial means to keep something a little newer (and again, my current car is a 2013 Hyundai Elantra, so it's not anything new or fancy by any means), that's what I'm going to do.
But, hey...we "underbought" significantly when we bought our house, while others would buy a more expensive house, etc. We all have different preferences on how to spend our money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cyphorx
so your saying go from a payment to a smaller payment? problem is YOU WOULD STILL HAVE A PAYMENT!!! if you income drops or you get laid off, if you don't have a car payment in the first place thats one less thing to worry about while your getting back on your feet. and when I worked at a car lot there were plenty of cars that came back(repo'd) that were mostly paid off(five or 6 months away from being paid off).
I get what you're saying here, I guess.
It's smart to keep money in savings for these types of situations, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eddiehaskell
Who’s defensive? I’m just talking.
I do agree a 12 year newer car is usually safer. To what degree I don’t know. I just know that I wouldn’t feel unsafe in a 12 year old car.
Maybe you wouldn't. But you can't understand why others would be?
You aren't wrong, but to me, frugality is about saving money on the things that aren't important so that you have money for the things that are important (to you).
I now put 40,000-50,000 miles a year on my car. I do a lot of traveling all over the country. I take my car from NC to Colorado/Utah/Nevada/California once or twice a year, among other trips that are at least 4-6 hours away from home.
Even when I'm "home," I'm always driving to my mom's house (35 minutes away) or my mother-in-law's house (an hour away), both of which are drives through the country with spotty cell reception that I take several times a week.
In my younger and broker days, I found myself stranded quite a few times (and I didn't take those cars on long trips...my needs were much different then). Several times on a 94 Jeep Cherokee. A couple of times each on a 93 Chevy Blazer and 94 Ford Crown Victoria. Several times on an 02 Kia Rio.
Nothing bad ever happened, but it was a very scary feeling to find myself stranded with no idea what was wrong with my car and no idea of how to fix it. And yeah, I had some really helpful men stop and help me, and I was (and am) thankful for their help. But there were two times that I had "helpful men" stop to "help" me in ways that made me feel very uncomfortable.
I'll admit, none of those vehicles were in the best shape when I got them, but all of those times of being stranded left a bad taste in my mouth. So, now that I have the financial means to keep something a little newer (and again, my current car is a 2013 Hyundai Elantra, so it's not anything new or fancy by any means), that's what I'm going to do.
But, hey...we "underbought" significantly when we bought our house, while others would buy a more expensive house, etc. We all have different preferences on how to spend our money.
I get what you're saying here, I guess.
It's smart to keep money in savings for these types of situations, though.
Maybe you wouldn't. But you can't understand why others would be?
You are obviously an extreme outlier as you drive nearly 3x more miles than the national average. I’m assuming the bulk of those miles are on the highway where a car is chugging along at 1500rpm. After 3-4 years whoever gets your used vehicle is probably getting a car with many reliable miles left despite what the mileage may indicate (assuming it’s maintained well).
I agree that we all have preferences on how we spend our money. I’m certainly not trying to tell anyone how to spend money. I’m simply saying that a reliable car bought new and driven 10-12 years isn’t nessecarily unreliable, uncomfortable or unsafe. That’s it.
I don’t really think I could agree with anyone who feels riding in a 12 year old vehicle is unsafe. I would assume anyone worried about safety would buy a vehicle that aces all of the NHTSA and IIHS crash test. They may also buy a larger vehicle with more mass if it’s THAT big of a concern long term. To what degree do the NHTSA and IIHS crash tests change over the course of a decade? Would a top safety pick in say 2014 be deemed unsafe in 2024?
And let’s take you for example - you drive a 2014 Elantra. I certainly wouldn’t feel unsafe in it, but I know you could’ve bought a much safer car (maybe a large sedan like an Avalon). However, you accepted the fact that you drive a small 2800lb car and all the risk that goes along with it. We all try to stay safe, but most of us can accept some degree of “danger”. Heck, your odds of dying in a car crash are exponentially higher driving anything compared to someone that doesn’t ride in cars at all.
Granted, this is MY perspective on safety. If someone feels the need to upgrade vehicles every 4 years to get any incremental improvement in safety - who am I to tell them no?
I think it’s also worth mentioning that for many people financial prudence can have a safety impact that can’t be measured by crash tests. Being able to retire earlier/comfortably, pay unexpected medical bills, not worry about paying for college, move to a safer home/better neighborhood, not worry about unexpected expenses, etc - all can have impact on one’s health by alleiviating otherwise stressful/more dangerous life situations. If you have all your bases covered, do as you wish. Even if you don’t have all your bases covered and you’re preoccupied with your vehicles safety...do what you want.
I guess you're technically right, but it's an odd way to look at that. Also, you're discounting the folks who "came into money" suddenly (inheritance, bonus at work, lottery/gambling winnings, etc) or who earn enough to use one or two paychecks to buy a car outright.
Overall for the nation those are a pretty small % of car buyers.
Generally speaking, of course, I would tend to agree with these points. I'd add to #1, however, that safety is a concern because of OUR personal safety as a woman. If my car breaks down in a bad neighborhood, I'm a much bigger target (for crimes being committed against me) than your typical man. Sad but true.
I certainly don't live in fear, in fact I probably take more risks than I should. But if I can eliminate one potential risk by having a reliable car, that's worth a little extra $$ to me.
Your post demonstrates that women tend to think emotionally where as men are more rational. My wife is the same way. I think men also realize they chances are extremely small to break down especially in a bad area, but women do focus on it (my wife litterally could've written your post for you!).
In most households there isn't much financial breathing room for both to have a newer car. So, the men take the beater.
Lotta generalizing in this thread. I purchased a new Volvo back in 2007 and gave it to my wife when our kids were born in 2010. It's at 107k now and she still drives it, 11 years later. She likes it and it's safe. There's no payment but I tell people I make one big payment once a year (for repairs). While we'll get rid of it eventually, we've had it so long it's like one of the family at this point. We brought our twins home from the hospital in it and have had many adventures in it over the years. I drive it a few times a month to make sure everything is in order and if it makes a peep, I take it to our indie Volvo shop who I trust. They'll tell me what work needs to be done and what to expect in the future. I'm not concerned about her getting stuck in it, I would drive it across the country if I needed to. It did strand me and the kids once with a dead battery after a fireworks show after having the radio on for a few hours. We got a jump and I replaced the battery the next day. She actually did get stuck recently but it was a flat tire and it was right on our block. There was a hole almost the size of a dime so I put 5 plugs in the tire and went and purchased new tires the next day.
As for me, I'm the car guy and I've had 5 new cars since 2012. I have a problem.
Pretty simple. Most couples nowadays have two cars, and the wife drives the newer one, for a number of reasons. Like safety, in case of breakdown.
Yep. I hear this all the time on these forums. The hubby buys the wife a new vehicle and inherits her older vehicle. The upside to that is you know the vehicle's maintenance history, you know how the vehicle was driven, and by the time she's tired of the car (which probably hits around year 4 or 5), you're probably inheriting a good, will maintained, vehicle.
My wife's dream "car" is a Ford Raptor. Maybe I should consider getting her one in hopes she gets tired of it quickly, then I can take it over.
Your post demonstrates that women tend to think emotionally where as men are more rational. My wife is the same way. I think men also realize they chances are extremely small to break down especially in a bad area, but women do focus on it (my wife litterally could've written your post for you!).
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To flip your statement over, on average, women are more used to having to think about their safety than men are (see that "on average" qualifier). When I worked in the city, I always made sure my car was parked in a better-lit section of the garage, always had my keys in my hand when I left the building, always kept my head up when walking to the car. So it is no stretch to extend that vigilance to worry about breakdowns/accidents.
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Yep. I hear this all the time on these forums. The hubby buys the wife a new vehicle and inherits her older vehicle. The upside to that is you know the vehicle's maintenance history, you know how the vehicle was driven, and by the time she's tired of the car (which probably hits around year 4 or 5), you're probably inheriting a good, will maintained, vehicle.
My wife's dream "car" is a Ford Raptor. Maybe I should consider getting her one in hopes she gets tired of it quickly, then I can take it over.
One would almost certainly be inheriting a good car after 4-5 years...in most cases that’s at or around 75k miles...buying an extended warranty could cover the car for 6-7 years/125k miles. Personally, I would hope a future wife would keep a car at least 8-9 years/125k miles, but that’s just me. To me 4-5 years is just breaking a car in unless a person drives a ton of miles (25k+/year).
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