A Car Graveyard, likely where our car will end up!
It happened. We knew it would eventually, but I was holding out hope the hubby’s 10 year old car would last another 2 years. Enough time to finish paying off our debt, and save up for a new car.
But lady luck is not on our side, and our car was pronounced dead by our mechanic today.
The car is a 1999 Passat Wagon. It was a dumb purchase. We had been a one car family and decided it was time for a 2nd car after about a year. I researched, and feel in love with Volvo wagons. Too expensive though. So I started looking for another wagon, and found the Passat Wagon. Found a great deal at a local car dealership, and we went and bought it.
We had 2 kids. I did NOT want to be a minivan mom. What can I say, I was 25?
Nearly a year later we welcomed our 3rd child into the world. OOPS! We had to purchase a minivan anyway, and suddenly we had 2 big car payments. It was tough, and I regretted buying the car.
We paid off the wagon last year. We also put about $1,200 of work into the car over the last year. And the $300 back windshield.
Here’s how the math works.
Repairs= approx. $2600
Trade-in Value according to Kelley Blue Book, fair condition =$1925
Private Party Value according to Kelley Blue Book, fair condition =$3,290
Our car is NOT in fair condition. It’s undriveable right now. So sinking $2600 AT THE LEAST into it is not worth it. Especially considering the amount of cosmetic damage, and other things that would need replacing or fixing to make it fair or good in value. Things like the lack of floormats, the dings and dents, and the broken sunroof.
To make it driveable, we’d need to put $2,600 into it, there is no getting around it.
So we’re thinking about options. I’m of the mindset that we can get by for this month without 2 cars. We’ll be on vacation for a week, and there are no obligations that overlap. This will give us about 30 days to make an informed decision on how to replace his car.
We do not have the money to buy a car outright, and we are working out if we can squeeze a monthly payment out of our super strict budget.
I’m sure we can get something out of the car, even if it’s just selling it for scrap, and selling off the nearly new tires.
What would you do in my shoes?
Kelly
UPDATE
Word from the cashier when we went to pick our hunk ‘o junk up was that the mechanic is interested in buying it from us!
The hubby is also on board with saving up for the next few months and going to one car for now. That should give us time to save, and get rid of some debt, and earn more making buying a car more affordable.
Who knows maybe we’ll love the one car thing and never go back. It will certainly make us use our car more thoughtfully.
I’ll update you when we make any decisions or sell the old car.
Thanks for all your comments!
FreeFromDebtGuy says
Sounds like a great plan to go to 1 car for a short time and save up for the next car plus you get to spend more time with your husband. Sounds like a win-win…
I agree. We’ll see how we feel in a month though!
FreeFromDebtGuy says
Sounds like a great plan to go to 1 car for a short time and save up for the next car plus you get to spend more time with your husband. Sounds like a win-win…
I agree. We’ll see how we feel in a month though!
Jason Wier says
I say keep the VW and put $2600 into it. Do not fix the dents and who need floor mats. Really if you pay $2600 to fix it you will be better off than paying $15,000 for a “new to you” used car, plus taxes, title, registration, insurnace, and interest will add up to over $2600 by them self. Then save the money until you can purchase your new car with cash. Start making payments to yourself.
Jason, I’d have to borrow to put the $2600 into it. We have about $500 earmarked for repairs and could stretch, but I’m not touching my mini EF for the car. Plus that’s the LOW end. It could be more. The mechanic was clear he thought it could be worse once he got into it.
I would rather pocket whatever money we can from it, and save up.
Also secretly I’m hoping the one car thing works out for the long-term. (though don’t tell the hubby, he’s not crazy about the idea! 😉 )
Jason Wier says
I say keep the VW and put $2600 into it. Do not fix the dents and who need floor mats. Really if you pay $2600 to fix it you will be better off than paying $15,000 for a “new to you” used car, plus taxes, title, registration, insurnace, and interest will add up to over $2600 by them self. Then save the money until you can purchase your new car with cash. Start making payments to yourself.
Jason, I’d have to borrow to put the $2600 into it. We have about $500 earmarked for repairs and could stretch, but I’m not touching my mini EF for the car. Plus that’s the LOW end. It could be more. The mechanic was clear he thought it could be worse once he got into it.
I would rather pocket whatever money we can from it, and save up.
Also secretly I’m hoping the one car thing works out for the long-term. (though don’t tell the hubby, he’s not crazy about the idea! 😉 )
tanya says
makes you wonder what happened to quality doesn’t it? We had a brand new dodge grand caravan that was a money pit from the start until we finally traded it in (at 7yrs old ) for $1000! I would say take the gov incentive, put as large a downpayment down as you can, bite the bullet and get a new reliable car!
Kelly says
Definitely makes me wonder about quality!
VWs are supposed to be pretty decent, but we found out a few years ago that the model year our car is was NOT a good year.
Our car is 10 years old, and has 95,500 miles on it. I thought we’d at least get to 100K!
Sadly, Tanya our car gets 20mpgs combined and doesn’t qualify for the CARS program. I wish it did, it would make the decision easier!
What did you end up purchasing to replace your old van?
tanya says
makes you wonder what happened to quality doesn’t it? We had a brand new dodge grand caravan that was a money pit from the start until we finally traded it in (at 7yrs old ) for $1000! I would say take the gov incentive, put as large a downpayment down as you can, bite the bullet and get a new reliable car!
Kelly says
Definitely makes me wonder about quality!
VWs are supposed to be pretty decent, but we found out a few years ago that the model year our car is was NOT a good year.
Our car is 10 years old, and has 95,500 miles on it. I thought we’d at least get to 100K!
Sadly, Tanya our car gets 20mpgs combined and doesn’t qualify for the CARS program. I wish it did, it would make the decision easier!
What did you end up purchasing to replace your old van?
Leigh says
is there anyone who could loan you a car for a couple of months?
Kelly says
Leigh, possibly, but likely not for the long term.
Paul, we’re looking at all the options as far as buying, but I’m honestly not a fan of beaters. We’ve had our share, and I’ve never had one that doesn’t cost us thousands in repairs. I’m sure if we were at all handy with cars it would make sense, but our experience over and over has been that maintaining older cars is time consuming and expensive.
Unfortunately public transit, and biking (or a scooter) aren’t options for the hubby. All the roads leading to his work are unsafe for bikes, and public transit in practically non-existent.
I’m going to a long look at our schedules and see what we could work out, and figure out if we could make it work to have one car, but it’s unlikely with the way our schedules overlap.
FB, definitely! I’m sure we’ll get something for it. A dealership might want it, since if they fix it up (at little cost to them but parts) they could make $3-4,000 on it.
I’m even considering trading in both cars so we end up with a payment close to what we have now.
We’ll see. It’s certainly not going to be a quick or easy decision!
Kelly says
Leigh, possibly, but likely not for the long term.
Paul, we’re looking at all the options as far as buying, but I’m honestly not a fan of beaters. We’ve had our share, and I’ve never had one that doesn’t cost us thousands in repairs. I’m sure if we were at all handy with cars it would make sense, but our experience over and over has been that maintaining older cars is time consuming and expensive.
Unfortunately public transit, and biking (or a scooter) aren’t options for the hubby. All the roads leading to his work are unsafe for bikes, and public transit in practically non-existent.
I’m going to a long look at our schedules and see what we could work out, and figure out if we could make it work to have one car, but it’s unlikely with the way our schedules overlap.
FB, definitely! I’m sure we’ll get something for it. A dealership might want it, since if they fix it up (at little cost to them but parts) they could make $3-4,000 on it.
I’m even considering trading in both cars so we end up with a payment close to what we have now.
We’ll see. It’s certainly not going to be a quick or easy decision!
Sell the tires and scrap it for metal at least..
And I’d make do without a car for 2 months, and after taking some time to look at ALL the dealerships for used cars, choose a good solid one this time.
Minivans seem to be a good deal. No one wants an unsexy minivan, but I bought one 10 years old for $2000 and it still runs.
Mechanic says it’s perfect. Just may need to change the tires in a couple years or so, but it runs like a dream…
Just finicky.
Sell the tires and scrap it for metal at least..
And I’d make do without a car for 2 months, and after taking some time to look at ALL the dealerships for used cars, choose a good solid one this time.
Minivans seem to be a good deal. No one wants an unsexy minivan, but I bought one 10 years old for $2000 and it still runs.
Mechanic says it’s perfect. Just may need to change the tires in a couple years or so, but it runs like a dream…
Just finicky.
Paul @ FiscalGeek says
Oh don’t fall for the, but we need to have a reliable car so we’ll just add a monthly payment. No public transit options? Bicycle, scooter, etc. You’re standard beater $1000 car that actually runs.
Paul @ FiscalGeek says
Oh don’t fall for the, but we need to have a reliable car so we’ll just add a monthly payment. No public transit options? Bicycle, scooter, etc. You’re standard beater $1000 car that actually runs.
Leigh says
is there anyone who could loan you a car for a couple of months?