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I got 11 1/2 years out of my Toyota Yaris. 365,000 miles. THE best $13,000 I ever spent on a commuter car new.
The Yaris hatchback is ugly. But it has lots of room. They can be had for a song on Craigslist because they aren't pretty. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another if I were in your shoes.
11 1/2 years over 100 miles per day.
Changed the alternator twice, and the water pump once. Changed the starter once. Tires and brakes of course as needed. Super reliable, 36-38 mpg over all.
GEt the hatchback and not the sedan. Hatch has way more room.
Good luck!
If you want a reliable car, I highly recommend either Toyota or Honda. Unfortunately both hold their values so you will pay a bit more for a used car of either brand. Certainly don't buy a Ford. There is a reason "quality is job 1". They still have no figured out how to build quality cars.
Next I would recommend spending substantially more than the $7K amount you mentioned. That is likely to get you another persons headache that is no better than what you have. In my area a Corolla, Civic, Accord or equivalent is going to be in the $12K range for a 3 year old car coming off of lease. Bump that up to $15K and you can get a certified used car with a warranty. We even bumped it up a bit more for the extended Honda care warranty so we have no concerns about towing or repair costs for the next 7 years. I live in a high COL area where auto service and repair costs are very high so a certified car with an extended warranty is good insurance.
Here is the thing though... I've been dedicated to a mortgage payoff plan. We have an emergency fund of $100k that I don't want to touch. We have $5k in a "short term savings" that I would use to either repair the car or buy a used one.
The $100k number is meaningless without knowing how much runway you have with that. If $100k represents ~6 months expenses you're right, don't touch it. If your emergency fund is overfunded then how can you make the previous statement that you're "dedicated to a mortgage payoff plan". That plan shouldn't include saving more than you need while holding a mortgage.
In any event, if I were in your shoes, I would buy a ~$10k car from the emergency fund and then make a "car payment" to yourself to replenish it. 10% from your emergency fund shouldn't make or break your finances.
And I would consider having a vehicle to work/shop/go to the doctors an "emergency".
Id go with a Honda civic or a Toyota something or other. They are know for going to 250k miles relatively cheaply.
That is, if they fit your husband.
I drive a 06 kia Sedona minivan, 111,130 miles on it. It HAS cost me some bucks to keep it going...but in thesnow/salt/rust state i live in, parts rusting out and at the 10-12 year mark its reasonable to assume youll be replacing stuff on an 'ordinary ' vehicle. We bought a brand new 14 Hyundai Elantra for cash in 14. Its a sister company to Kia. It has about 80k on it now, but has had things go wrong on it as well. Much was done as we bought an extra warranty policy on it, so it cost us little. I questioned at the time buying it, but i think the AC repairs ( already!) Was well worth buying the warranty for 'engine attachments' in addition to the drive train.
I really dont think id buy another of either of these!
If i get another minivan, I'll get a used Honda odyssey.
We'd really like an AWD vehicle, and like the chevy equinox or GMC terrain. The Hyundai and Kia AWD suvs are much cheaper, but i think they are cheap for a reason!
I'd vote for either forgoing a few extra payments on the house or actually take it out of the $100k efund and buy whatever youd like in the honda or Toyota realm.nissans arent quite as well known for trouble free operating compared to the Honda or Toyota, but they are still very good. Ive also looked at the Nissan rogue or morano, just dont care for them, though.
If you take it either from tye efund, or delay the mortgage, i have faith you will catch either up quickly.
We paused the extra mortgage money ( half paid for in just under 4 years!) To devote the excess funds to the accumulated debt for updating/upgrading the house. It was foolish for me to pay down rapidly the mortgage with cash and instead charging and taking loans for the updating! Lesson learned. Itll be 2 years more then that debt will be paid off and we can resume extra on the mortgage.
Good luck car shopping and finding the perfect replacement!.
( by the way, I'd never have bought a ford fiesta to begin with!)
Go get a 2018 new car. I also recommend Toyotas. I love small cars and drive a 2007 Toyota hatchback Yaris. Grandma's blue bubble, a very cute car that is roomy inside. I bought it new for $13,500. I get about 42 mpg and don't have to pay for a Prius.
If you're going to keep your cars a long time, you can buy new.
Do not even consider keeping a lemon, been there done that. Trade it in asap or set it on fire.
The $100k number is meaningless without knowing how much runway you have with that. If $100k represents ~6 months expenses you're right, don't touch it. If your emergency fund is overfunded then how can you make the previous statement that you're "dedicated to a mortgage payoff plan". That plan shouldn't include saving more than you need while holding a mortgage.
In any event, if I were in your shoes, I would buy a ~$10k car from the emergency fund and then make a "car payment" to yourself to replenish it. 10% from your emergency fund shouldn't make or break your finances.
And I would consider having a vehicle to work/shop/go to the doctors an "emergency".
Our income varies and so do our expenses. So for example: Looking at just year to date: 10% of our total spending has been on my kid's soccer club and he's only playing his first tournament this weekend (and there will air travel involved next winter for sure). We've never had a kid in a competitive team sport before. I had no idea parents across the country were shelling out this much $ and I think it's crazy (totally different subject, but man, holy $%1@, I am struggling with this new expense BIG time!).
Leaving the soccer out of it (like in a real emergency situation) at minimum we need $4200 each month. The math on that emergency fund is about 22 months, but it assumes a worst case scenario: both our properties' furnaces die out (one is 20 years old, another is 16) at the same time that our already-established clunker of a car dies.
Assume $10k for each furnace, $10k for the soccer club and related expenses and $20k for new car.. that leaves us $50k, which at most will give us 11 months, but probably more like 9 months or so.
Our plan is only "overfunded" if you put a particular definition on how much it should last and what it should cover. Should the plan include the travel soccer club?
Like complaining about the personal finance of kids' extracurriculars, talking about the worth and quality of an emergency fund probably deserves its own thread.
In any case we made up our minds late last night: We are looking specifically for a 2015-2016 Prius with less than 100k miles. I will spend several hours today quickly educating myself on buying a used car and the 2015-2017 Prius. I'm seeing a range of $11500-$15000. I'm not sure, as a cash-paying customer, if this means I can barter or by how much (that's part of the used car education I'm looking for).
A Prius is a good choice! I am very grateful that my grandmother recently gave me her "old" 2016 Prius (with all of 6,000 miles! and garaged in our New England winters!). She swiped a wall while pulling it out of her garage for me so I'm deciding whether I want to get the scratched bumper repaired, but it's a testament to how much money I feel like I'm saving that I'll even consider a cosmetic repair (though if I have this car another 10+ years, it will make sense)!
I would have kept driving my 2011 Civic until it croaked, but at 90K miles it was finally starting to need the first of its *big* repairs that I managed to skirt around. To that 90K miles, the only thing I needed beyond standard maintenance was replacing a brake rotor that rusted out thanks to our salty roads and parking outside. Even with significant body damage, a less-than-perfect interior, needing new tires, brakes and exhaust, and some rust, I was still able to get almost $4000 for it! That just goes to show how Hondas hold their value.
It's been more than 2 weeks since I last filled my Prius and I'm sitting just a hair under half a tank of gas. My daily 2 hour round trip commute is about 68 mpg, though it drops down to about 60 when I turn my AC on. I feel like you'll really enjoy figuring out how to maximize your gas savings while driving a Prius. I keep my battery indicator screen on so I get the feel of how to use/charge the battery more.
The (what I thought was the) transmission on my 2011 Ford Fiesta has been gradually acting up and today we were in route to a coffee shop when it seemed to take it up a notch.. so we drove straight to the service center instead... and... it needs a new clutch at $2350 (before taxes).
The car is a lemon. It had complete transmission failure at around 65k (under warranty, but we paid $500 to have it towed out of a national park). We had a $2k repair last fall.
We're looking at $5k in less than 6 months. We just hit 100k miles.
I don't know when it's time to just call it quits and buy another car. I've heard personal finance people say to buy a new used car about 3-5 years old. Toyota, Honda, maybe a Nissan.
Here is the thing though... I've been dedicated to a mortgage payoff plan. We have an emergency fund of $100k that I don't want to touch. We have $5k in a "short term savings" that I would use to either repair the car or buy a used one.
I'm sure I could be convinced to spend $7-8k on a used car, maybe my husband would go higher. Seems like anything less would be dicey.
But then I'm like, "Get the <$5000 car because you'll pay off the mortgage next year. The new used car only has to last 18 months.". But then, for that matter, I put in the $2500 clutch and maybe my car will last us the 18 months...
I think that's the thing. I just want to stay on the plan and spend the least amount between here and mortgage payoff (likely Nov or Dec 2020).
Who has been in this position? What did you do in the end?
Buy a new-to-you car. The Piece of mind is worth it.
Lots of people have been in your position but not with a $5K short term fund and $100K in the "other" Emergency Fund. I think even Dave Ramsey would tell you to buy something pretty new.
Since you're using the term "Emergency Fund" I'd assume that it isn't your only nest egg, that there's also a funded longer term retirement plan.
Cars Depreciate. The newer they are the more there is to lose in depreciate.
They also cost money to repair/maintain. The older they are, the greater the risk that they will stick you for bills down the road.
Figure out on a piece of graph paper where you're risk tolerance is and your stomach for depreciation/cash outlay.
I'd be concerned that at your price range, you'll trade one set of problems for another. I'd buy a gently used Prius and enjoy the car. That E-Fund seems really rich.
The (what I thought was the) transmission on my 2011 Ford Fiesta has been gradually acting up and today we were in route to a coffee shop when it seemed to take it up a notch.. so we drove straight to the service center instead... and... it needs a new clutch at $2350 (before taxes).
The car is a lemon. It had complete transmission failure at around 65k (under warranty, but we paid $500 to have it towed out of a national park). We had a $2k repair last fall.
We're looking at $5k in less than 6 months. We just hit 100k miles.
I don't know when it's time to just call it quits and buy another car. I've heard personal finance people say to buy a new used car about 3-5 years old. Toyota, Honda, maybe a Nissan.
Here is the thing though... I've been dedicated to a mortgage payoff plan. We have an emergency fund of $100k that I don't want to touch. We have $5k in a "short term savings" that I would use to either repair the car or buy a used one.
I'm sure I could be convinced to spend $7-8k on a used car, maybe my husband would go higher. Seems like anything less would be dicey.
But then I'm like, "Get the <$5000 car because you'll pay off the mortgage next year. The new used car only has to last 18 months.". But then, for that matter, I put in the $2500 clutch and maybe my car will last us the 18 months...
I think that's the thing. I just want to stay on the plan and spend the least amount between here and mortgage payoff (likely Nov or Dec 2020).
Who has been in this position? What did you do in the end?
A <$5k car is fine if your husband can take the bus to work or has a very short commute. Otherwise you probably should go a bit higher for reliability.
Our income varies and so do our expenses. So for example: Looking at just year to date: 10% of our total spending has been on my kid's soccer club and he's only playing his first tournament this weekend (and there will air travel involved next winter for sure). We've never had a kid in a competitive team sport before. I had no idea parents across the country were shelling out this much $ and I think it's crazy (totally different subject, but man, holy $%1@, I am struggling with this new expense BIG time!).
Leaving the soccer out of it (like in a real emergency situation) at minimum we need $4200 each month. The math on that emergency fund is about 22 months, but it assumes a worst case scenario: both our properties' furnaces die out (one is 20 years old, another is 16) at the same time that our already-established clunker of a car dies.
Assume $10k for each furnace, $10k for the soccer club and related expenses and $20k for new car.. that leaves us $50k, which at most will give us 11 months, but probably more like 9 months or so.
Our plan is only "overfunded" if you put a particular definition on how much it should last and what it should cover. Should the plan include the travel soccer club?
Like complaining about the personal finance of kids' extracurriculars, talking about the worth and quality of an emergency fund probably deserves its own thread.
In any case we made up our minds late last night: We are looking specifically for a 2015-2016 Prius with less than 100k miles. I will spend several hours today quickly educating myself on buying a used car and the 2015-2017 Prius. I'm seeing a range of $11500-$15000. I'm not sure, as a cash-paying customer, if this means I can barter or by how much (that's part of the used car education I'm looking for).
Of course you can barter at most places. Do your research on their values. Don't expect that as a cash-customer it makes much difference. They make money loaning you money but are happy to take any sale at a profit. Run a Carfax. Search for one being sold Private Party for the best price. I have a 2017 Prius V and am mostly very happy with it (though its a company vehicle.) If Private Party, make sure there are no outstanding liens on it, if there are you have to ensure its paid off at the time of sale.
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