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We have two older vehicles (2010) and have always kept our cars until they get too expensive to keep up. I am retired, and my husband plans to retire in 2021. We most likely will purchase a 3- or 4year old vehicle when replacing either of the ones we have, to keep costs down. If we need to take out a loan, would it be difficult to do so after my husband retires? Is it more difficult to take out a car loan when your income is based on SS and 401K withdrawals only? My 87-year old mother has been pushing the idea of replacing one of the cars before retiring if we would be taking out a loan. I'm not certain, and would appreciate any input.
By the way, both vehicles are presently running smoothly and we have not had any major expenses with either of them. Just tires, oil changes, normal expenses based on mileage. I have a 2010 Hyundai Sonata with 112,000 miles and my husband has a 2010 Toyota Tacoma pick up with 85,000 miles.
I personally wouldn’t replace anything. Both vehicles should give you another 100,000 miles of trouble free service as long as you maintain them.
We have two older vehicles (2010) and have always kept our cars until they get too expensive to keep up. I am retired, and my husband plans to retire in 2021. We most likely will purchase a 3- or 4year old vehicle when replacing either of the ones we have, to keep costs down. If we need to take out a loan, would it be difficult to do so after my husband retires? Is it more difficult to take out a car loan when your income is based on SS and 401K withdrawals only? My 87-year old mother has been pushing the idea of replacing one of the cars before retiring if we would be taking out a loan. I'm not certain, and would appreciate any input.
By the way, both vehicles are presently running smoothly and we have not had any major expenses with either of them. Just tires, oil changes, normal expenses based on mileage. I have a 2010 Hyundai Sonata with 112,000 miles and my husband has a 2010 Toyota Tacoma pick up with 85,000 miles.
My opinion which is different then everyone else here would be to replace the 2010 Hyundai with something newer and 4WD if you drive in snow. They make smaller SUV's that are a little higher up then a car. I have a 2015 Mazda CX5 AWD that is not as great as my 2002 Mazda Tribute was in snow. My newer Mazda has some cool features, seat warmer, headlights that move, lane assist, GPS and a really good stereo. The AWD is not as good as my 4WD was and it's supposed to be some new and improved AWD that senses snow and ice but I always slide on one street in my development.
I suggest doing one now for the same reason your MIL said, if you're going to need a loan. Everyone here seems so confident you can get one with SS and a 401K but I wouldn't be too sure. I was recently declined as a co-signer due to only getting SS (disability)..
You're better to get one now when you have time to shop for cars and deals then if you lose one car for whatever reason. God forbid one of you gets sick and it sucks up any money you have put aside. My hub had stage 4 tonsil cancer which drained us in 2009 (his 50's). My dad had AML Leukemia at 68, my MIL fought breast cancer 3 times, the 1st in her early 70's until it finally took her a month shy of her 84th birthday.
My opinion which is different then everyone else here would be to replace the 2010 Hyundai with something newer and 4WD if you drive in snow. They make smaller SUV's that are a little higher up then a car. I have a 2015 Mazda CX5 AWD that is not as great as my 2002 Mazda Tribute was in snow. My newer Mazda has some cool features, seat warmer, headlights that move, lane assist, GPS and a really good stereo. The AWD is not as good as my 4WD was and it's supposed to be some new and improved AWD that senses snow and ice but I always slide on one street in my development.
I suggest doing one now for the same reason your MIL said, if you're going to need a loan. Everyone here seems so confident you can get one with SS and a 401K but I wouldn't be too sure. I was recently declined as a co-signer due to only getting SS (disability)..
You're better to get one now when you have time to shop for cars and deals then if you lose one car for whatever reason. God forbid one of you gets sick and it sucks up any money you have put aside. My hub had stage 4 tonsil cancer which drained us in 2009 (his 50's). My dad had AML Leukemia at 68, my MIL fought breast cancer 3 times, the 1st in her early 70's until it finally took her a month shy of her 84th birthday.
I’m sorry your husband had medical issues but if something medical was to happen they would have medical bills on top of a car payment that would be anywhere from 48-72 months? There are only a few way to “lose” a car. Theft, wreck or breakdown. All three are redeemable by simply having insurance or money set aside in case of a breakdown.
A Tacoma has a starting msrp of 25,000. A Sonata has a starting price of 22,000. A Santa Fe suv as you suggested starts at 25,000. Not counting tax license fees and getting anything over a base model. So your answer is to go in debt for 40/50,000 dollars? Why exactly? Because at some later date they may have a breakdown that may cost at most 3-3500 for some major repair? Which may not happen. All my vehicles have anywhere from 140,000 to 185,000 miles. I have no reason to not easily get 200,000 out of every one of them with nothing more than a maintenance
I suggest doing one now for the same reason your MIL said, if you're going to need a loan. Everyone here seems so confident you can get one with SS and a 401K but I wouldn't be too sure. I was recently declined as a co-signer due to only getting SS (disability)..
Roselvr, thats interesting, because we qualified for a mortgage with my SSDI, and my OH s 2 part time jobs.
Maybe this area is different, maybe because my OH had paychecks coming in, i dont know. But my OH would not have qualified alone, we needed my SSDI to help qualify.
I think it might have more to do with age than SS???
I personally wouldn’t replace anything. Both vehicles should give you another 100,000 miles of trouble free service as long as you maintain them.
It kind of depends on your zip code and where the car is parked. In snow country and parked outdoors, a 2010 car is going to have the beginnings of corrosion issues from all the road salt. In Vermont parked outside all winter, I’d be keeping a close watch on a 2010. With many cars that have seen 9 or 10 winters of road salt, any repair under the car starts with a torch or SawzAll and EasyOuts. There is nothing to put a wrench on.
In the desert, sure. 100,000 miles on a 9 year old car is nothing.
It kind of depends on your zip code and where the car is parked. In snow country and parked outdoors, a 2010 car is going to have the beginnings of corrosion issues from all the road salt. In Vermont parked outside all winter, I’d be keeping a close watch on a 2010. With many cars that have seen 9 or 10 winters of road salt, any repair under the car starts with a torch or SawzAll and EasyOuts. There is nothing to put a wrench on.
In the desert, sure. 100,000 miles on a 9 year old car is nothing.
And that depends on the vehicle. Have a 2005 Honda SUV parked outside, exposed to road salt each winter, over 200,000 miles - very little underbody corrosion. A consideration but modern auto bodies have much better corrosion resistance than they used to.
Now if you live in Halifax, all bets are off. That is where the OEMs send test vehicles for the worst corrosion environment in North America.
It kind of depends on your zip code and where the car is parked. In snow country and parked outdoors, a 2010 car is going to have the beginnings of corrosion issues from all the road salt. In Vermont parked outside all winter, I’d be keeping a close watch on a 2010. With many cars that have seen 9 or 10 winters of road salt, any repair under the car starts with a torch or SawzAll and EasyOuts. There is nothing to put a wrench on.
In the desert, sure. 100,000 miles on a 9 year old car is nothing.
OP here: just to clarify our personal circumstances, we live in the Raleigh, NC area, which should not pose the corrosion issues from road salt that those in other areas of the country may experience. I know GeoffD was making a general statement for all to consider, but I just wanted to clarify our situation. It seems hanging on to our cars as long as possible seems like the best option for us. We'll address replacing either one of them when the time comes that they get too expensive to repair. At that time, we're thinking a used vehicle will be the way to go, and will hopefully have saved enough cash to cover the replacement cost.
I have not had any problems with my 2010 Hyundai Sonata since I bought it new in the Fall of 2009. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one; however, that said, I have a feeling my husband's 2010 Toyota Tacoma will outlast my Hyundai. We've owned mostly Toyotas and Hondas (used and new) throughout our marriage, except for two times when we bought a used Chevrolet and a used Chrysler, which were the worst cars ever. I would not hesitate to go with Toyota, Honda, or Hyundai when the time comes.
Last edited by MoMo_Gnome; 02-22-2019 at 12:46 PM..
Reason: meaning
It kind of depends on your zip code and where the car is parked. In snow country and parked outdoors, a 2010 car is going to have the beginnings of corrosion issues from all the road salt. In Vermont parked outside all winter, I’d be keeping a close watch on a 2010. With many cars that have seen 9 or 10 winters of road salt, any repair under the car starts with a torch or SawzAll and EasyOuts. There is nothing to put a wrench on.
In the desert, sure. 100,000 miles on a 9 year old car is nothing.
From the OPs description it doesn’t sound like they are driving around in cars that have swiss cheese for bodywork. But ok i see your point. So if you can see outside of the vehicle through anything other than the windows and that opening can double as a window then it may be time.
Unfortunately a lot of people are talked into the “need” for a new vehicle. For example a friend of mine grandmother was coerced isn’t purchasing a new car. Supposedly her old car was not repairable (mechanics determination) so they bought her a new car. The lady is in her early 80s.
He brought the car over to me. After looking at this absolutely pristine 90,000 mile Buick LeSabre it was determined that lower ball joints and brakes on all four corners and a set of plugs and wires means the car is ready for the junk heap. So basically $450 in parts and about two hours worth of work made the car perfectly fine to drive.
The lady did not need a new vehicle. Oh the mechanic did offer to take it off their hands for $100. After all that’s what the junkyard would give them. This car has a good 80% of its life left. I drove it. Runs smooth shifts like butter. Even if you put a engine and transmission in it it wouldn’t be more than 5k.
I am beginning to think I need to get a new car but have not decided yet.
Spent the winter in TN with my Infinity EX 35. It would not start. no lights on the dashboard, no starting sound. nothing. jumper cables may help or not. Son couldn't start it either. I bought new battery and still the same problem. Had to get tow truck a couple of times. Dealer could find nothing wrong with it because it started for them but offered to keep it on their lot and keep trying it to see if some other factor may be the problem. They suggested that it miiighht be that a signal loop was going between the car and my fob using up just enough electricity/power to drain the alternator.
So I am back home in FL and am separating the fob some distance from the car and so far so good.
That was reason 1.
Reason 2 is that the other day, I nearly turned my car into a car that was in my blind spot. I checked all the mirrors and visually checked the side before I put on my signal and started the lane change. The other car tapped their horn so I stopped. It is possible they were zooming up and around my car so they weren't there when I looked. It is near a university and the students drive with one thought "i must get to class" so I don't know. But a lane changer/blind spot indicator does have some appeal to me as I age. And I am hitting possible cataract so seeing as well as I would like is a problem
So OP, if your car is in good mechanical shape and reasonably repairable AND if you don't think the new safety features are needed; then do consider keeping what you have until you are uncomfortable with it. Depreciation, wear and tear, and usage have already been applied and more money should not be a consideration at this point. Ability to get a loan might be.
Also, in the past a year or so ago I was turned down for a loan even with excellent credit and assets in the bank and was told it was because I had no income and they didn't consider assets. I had SS and pension but they didn't count as income to my bank either. Is a conservatively managed bank but still... Having a part time job or OH with a part time job would have made all the difference they said.
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