The issue over our vehicle situation has come up for me and Chris several times over the past year or so. We have one too many vehicles. We currently have a 2000 Range Rover, a 2001 BMW 330xi and a 2000 Ford Contour, which are all paid for. I drive the BMW, Chris drives the Contour and the Range Rover sits in the garage for most of the time, Chris mainly just drives it to the golf course. One thing about having these foreign vehicles is that when something breaks, it costs a fortune to fix it. Last year a head gasket went out on the BMW, a $5 part, costing us $1000 to fix. This was an expensive venture that got us thinking about whether or not it would be better to find something else to drive. In January we test drove a few cars and were not very motivated to buy anything. I was unemployed and was very adamant that we did not get a car payment, so our primary goal was to see if we could get enough on trading in both the BMW and the Range Rover to pay for most of the new car leaving us we maybe a few thousand to pay out of pocket. This didn't happen. I love my BMW and it's really hard to drive a nice car and then go to something mediocre when you're not really forced to do so. Now this month we are throwing the idea around again and actually are doing some calculating that I hadn't taken into consideration before when we talked about it. After figuring gas, insurance, and oil changes, it costs us $231 a month to keep the Range Rover, and $414 a month for the BMW, a total of $645. This doesn't even include what it would cost if we had to get new tires, other maintenance or registration. All this is dependent on how much we spend on gas a month. One thing about the BMW is that we have to use premium or mid grade gas, it costs over $60 to fill it up versus the $40 something it costs to fill the Contour, not to mention the fact that it costs twice as much for oil changes on the Range Rover and BMW than the Contour. With all this taken into account, even if we were to have $350 car payment on a new car, we would eventually end up ahead in the long run because we would have one less registration and one less car to buy tires and pay other maintenance for. The outrageous thing is that about the best we could get on a trade in on both vehicles is about $9000! I tried to tell Chris that it would probably be a better idea to sell the cars ourselves. Even if we sold them well below their actual value, we would surely get more than $9000! Chris is being a little paranoid that since the economy is so bad, we wouldn't be able to sell the cars ourselves. So right now we are trying to decide what to do. I figure, even if we trade in the Range Rover for the $3000 they were going to give us and then try to sell the BMW ourselves for $10000, we would be ahead $4000, and then we could actually go as low as the $6000 that we would have gotten on the trade in. Chris was still skeptical. It's hard for me to come to grips that nobody would buy my car for just $6000, but there might not be a lot of people with the money to buy cars right now. Anyways, the car that we are looking at getting is a Ford Fusion. They seem like pretty decent cars but I haven't test drove one yet, so we'll see. The main things we wanted were: leather seats, a V6 engine, and possibly AWD. We are extremely picky and only like the color black, silver, charcoal, or some shades of blue as exterior colors, I will settle for white if I have to. Also Chris and I both despise camel colored interior. There are some shades of light tan that are acceptable but I'm worried it will show dirt easily (heaven forbid I have to clean my car on a regular basis). These things all together make it kind of difficult to find the right combination. When we were looking at cars back in January I could tell it was starting to frustrate the car salesmen. They'd show us a car and we'd say, "No. It has tan interior." or "No. I don't like green." I guess it's their fault in a way because we were very upfront with what we wanted and they were the ones trying to talk us into other vehicles that didn't match the criteria. You don't show a person a cobolt blue car right after they tell you they don't like colorful cars, or show them a Malan when they asked for a Maxima. I was also previously looking at Honda Accords and Mazda 6's. I test drove an Accord that I really liked and would have been happy with but we didn't end up getting. Now mom has an Accord and Rachel has a Mazda 6, both of which are the colors we were looking at. Mom's car is very similar to the one I almost got. Now it would seem like I was copying them if I got either. GRRRRR! Angry fist at both of you! Anyways, it all just depends on what we decide. I would like some opinions on the matter, it would greatly help.
Here are our options:
a) do nothing and keep all 3 cars
b) trade in both cars for a new car
c) try to sell both cars and then buy new car
d) trade in Range Rover for new car and then sell the BMW and apply the proceeds to the loan for the new car
e) sell the BMW first, trade in the Range Rover for new car and use proceeds for a down payment
f) sell the Range Rover ourselves, put proceeds in savings and keep the BMW
g) other (be specific)
Also your opinion about what car I should get:
a) Ford Fusion
b) Honda Accord
c) Mazda 6
d) other (specify)
The main thing about the type of vehicle we wanted was something that wouldn't cost a fortune to fix if something broke and that you could possibly fix yourself. Also we wanted something a little larger since we have to keep in mind that we could possibly be fitting car seats in the back eventually. This is why we chose the Accord over the Civic and the Mazda 6 over the Mazda 3. Also Chris isn't a fan of certain car manufactures. We were also looking at Nissan Maximas. I'm not a fan of the newer body style that makes them look a little like an egg. I don't like weird shaped cars that are egg shaped or box shaped. An other thing I despise: Hatchbacks on a 4 door sedan!!!!!!! Yucky!!! One of the ugliest cars I've ever seen is a Ford Focus hatchback. Also, I hate the crossovers, I don't care what people say, they are station wagons!
This is a station wagon, not a "crossover"!!!!!!!!
Ford fusion
Ford Focus Hatchback, also an example of an egg shaped car, 2 things very wrong with this car!!!!
5 comments:
I vote e) sell BMW yourself then trade in Range Rover. I think it would be extremely hard to sell a gas guzzler by yourself right now. Plus, if you have a hard time selling the BMW yourself, it gives you the option of trading it in too.
The Fusion seems ok, but I've never been in one before. If you really wanted an Accord or Mazda 6, I would say get one anyway just get a different color. It's not like mom and Rachel live at your house or something. Plus, who cares if you have the same car?
Have you ever considered a Camry? It's cheaper than an Accord and I think it gets better gas mileage. Or is Toyota on Chris's ish list?
Sell both the BMW and the Rover. Get a Camry or an Accord. Both are very reliable and have excellent gas mileage. How you sell the Rover and the BMW are up to you. Despite the loss, I would do a trade in because that's easier and less time-consuming. You guys may have more time on your hands for such things, however.
Oh, and NO hatchbacks.
I feel a little better knowing that our thought process is on the right track. The good thing about trading in both cars is that we would be done and over with everything very quickly and can move on with our lives. I really did like the Accord I test drove. We don't have any objections with getting a Camry. One of Chris' friends is a faithful Camry owner and they seem to last forever. When his last one went out he got another one. I asked Chris about them and he just prefers to get something else.
Well, I will say it was hard to turn in my LR3 but it was the same situation....really not worth the money in the end! Now if I was a millionaire that would be different! ha ha. I say sell the BMW yourself...people LOVE BMW's and I bet you could sell it for a good price. The Range Rover is hard....you have to remember that people who buy they old body style are die hard Land Rover owner's...trust me, I know! But trading in is always easier...but yes, they rape you and barely give you anything...this I also know VERY well having worked at a dealership for so long! Why don't you like tan leather? You're crazy...leather and fabric are two different things....tan leather lasts longer than you think and looks much better than black, yuck! I would vote the accord or the camry. I do hear that camry's have amazing gas mileage so you might want to consider that! Maybe you should look into buying privately...you will spend much less than at a dealership but again it means time. Well, that's my opinion. You definitely need to get rid of the expensive cars, they aren't worth it in the end!
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