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Hi Everyone! My MIL needs a car. She's 64, she doesn't have much money, but does have a job, on top of which she makes SS and a small pension. She has about $3K saved and pretty bad credit - bankruptcy 3.5 years ago.
I have a Hyundai Elantra and love it. Bought it new from the dealer. I have a special relationship with the dealer due to this and they said they could probably work something out for her. I went online and I see Hyundai Accents 2010 for about $12-14K which I think is a lot. There aren't many of them available in our area either. A new one is about $18K. I think this is too much for her to spend.
The other option is to buy a Honda or Toyota for the $3K. My only issue is, how do we know we are not buying a piece of crap?
What other options are there? She won't be able to afford much of a payment if she gets any credit at all. I think getting a loan at 18% is stupid, but I think it's the best she might be able to do.
I know I can figure this out, I just need some suggestions on where to start. Maybe better options for vehicles out there. I am thinking a newer car might be better, that way she can pay it off quickly since she's working and then have it for sometime.
Find a 15-year-old Honda for $3K and take it to a trusted mechanic for a once-over to make sure nothing is about to break loose right away before she buys it, then have her put the money she would have used for a car payment in a savings account specifically to use for repairs when they are eventually needed. If she doesn't have to dip into the savings she'll have another 3 grand socked away after a year (assuming a $250/month payment).
From my experience my Taurus 2004 has 164k , no issues. mechanics love these because they know them well and are easy to fix. Was offered $4 k for it but refuse to give it up
A reliable domestic used is my vote. Low cost.
Easy... why don't you sell her your Elantra and you get yourself a new car?
I still owe money on my Elantra and I bought it with the intention of keeping it forever (or as long as I can). I don't want to keep having payments, I'm on track to pay it off within the year.
Find a 15-year-old Honda for $3K and take it to a trusted mechanic for a once-over to make sure nothing is about to break loose right away before she buys it, then have her put the money she would have used for a car payment in a savings account specifically to use for repairs when they are eventually needed. If she doesn't have to dip into the savings she'll have another 3 grand socked away after a year (assuming a $250/month payment).
I'm afraid that she'll either get stuck somewhere once something does break, then it'll be dealing with going to pick her up and towing fees etc. Plus, she would need another car in say 5 years maybe. Then we'll be stuck here again.
I'm wondering if it makes sense to purchase a maybe 3 year old car right now for $10K and possibly she could have it for 10 years.
I don't know. Cars are just so expensive to buy and to keep and her credit isn't good.
I still owe money on my Elantra and I bought it with the intention of keeping it forever (or as long as I can). I don't want to keep having payments, I'm on track to pay it off within the year.
I don't know what kind of a relationship you have with your MIL and I am not judging in any way. Having said that... if I was in your shoes....
MIL having horrible credit, I would not want her to pay excessive amounts in interests and at the same time, I would not want her to drive some POS. I am not saying all $3000 cars are POS, but the chances will favor toward the POS. Good used cars are hard to find and older they are, even tougher to find.
I would take that $3000 that your MIL would have used as down payment and pay off the Elantra so that you can transfer titles and registration over to her and if any leftover, added towards the down payment on my new car. I would assume that the Elantra is worth more than the $3000 and hence I would just take monthly payments from her to cover the difference. With this money, I would just add on for the new car for myself.
Understood that you do not want to keep having payments but I think this is something I would sacrifice for family. Besides, nothing like a smell of a new car and your MIL will love you for it!
I'm afraid that she'll either get stuck somewhere once something does break, then it'll be dealing with going to pick her up and towing fees etc.
Which can also happen to a brand new car.
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Plus, she would need another car in say 5 years maybe. Then we'll be stuck here again.
Not if she does what I suggest. If she pays cash now and socks away $250 a month for future repairs, she could have as much as $15K in the bank at the end of that time depending on how much she has to spend for repairs along the way. The only way she gets stuck is if she borrows $10K at 18% and winds up needing another car just as she gets it paid off.
It's easy to walk away from a paid-for car if the repair bills get to be too high. Not so much so when you've got a note to pay off.
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I'm wondering if it makes sense to purchase a maybe 3 year old car right now for $10K and possibly she could have it for 10 years.
If she's making payments on a note is she going to have enough discretionary income to replace things like brakes, struts, timing belt, exhaust, etc? These are the things that generally need replaced between 60K and 100K miles. From a strictly financial standpoint the best deal on a vehicle is the one with about 105-120K miles. It's been through the first round of routine maintenance, if the drivetrain components are all functioning properly it will probably be good for another 100K at least (premature failure usually happens before 100K if it's going to happen at all), and the purchase price is low.
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