Do You Really Need That New Vehicle? Think Long and Hard About That!

We actually plan to add a third car to our family next year, likely will be low milage used one.  But wife's has baby seats and they must stay a few more years, I have a truck and we're to the point of driving the inlaws around a good bit now so wanting dependable car without taking baby seats in and out and in-laws can't get in and out of my truck easily.

I am a recovered Caraholic . From age 25-50 I traded in cars every 12-24 months . Always bought them ( no leasing) . I had a friend who went out to buy a box of Cheerios and came home with a brand new Mazda Miata . …

Dear Mike,

In real estate, you often haul weird stuff in your vehicle, so too fancy may be overkill. Same with clothing. Every time you squeeze behind a water heater, walk in a muddy yard or are greeted by an enthusiastic canine family member, your fancy pants may have seen their last day at work. Sometimes good enough is just that. 

It is sad how much insurance in all areas of our lives has gone wild. We all make those purchases we regret. Hang in there!

Hi Mike.

I applaud you for this warning post. So many people make the same mistake. When I buy a vehicle, I usually keep it for 10 or more years. The last one I sold (privately) after I bought my new (used) car was 13 years old. It ran perfectly and looked new. I got top dollar for it since I sold it myself instead of doing a trade-in. I told the dealer not to even give me a trade-in estimate because it would pi$$ me off. LOL  I now own a 2006 Toyota Van that runs perfectly but has a few scratches and a 2019 AWD Ford Taurus. When I'm ready for a new vehicle, I will scale down to one. I'll enjoy the reduced costs of insurance and tabs with only one vehicle.

Hi Mike- getting caught up from Hurricane Beryl!!!   Larry and I love cars but not new cars for the sake of having them. The mechanic we had here before told us the best thing to do was drive a car and before the warranty is up, sell it. He says the older cars are easier to work on. 

We have a Prius (2008) and it works beautifully. We sold our big Expedition (my fave car) years ago because we had 4 cars and decided it was time to sell one of them. Larry bought a 2008 Jag XKE and we love it. If we had the room I'd have a Ford 250 but really...do I really need one???

I love your candor!! See...I told you ...you need to keep sharing this with us. 

Hi, Mike

  I own a Honda van, we use that for local errands and trips.  For everything else (showing real estate, taking road trips) I rent cars from Enterprise, sometimes Avis.  $250-$350 per week.

  A friend razzed me about this recently. "You are spending $10K or $12K per year to drive something you don't even own?"

  The friend has a late model Suburban similar to the one in your photos.  It was totally tricked out, he paid close to $80K.   He financed it.  I don't know his interest rate or the monthly payment, but it has to be a lot of money.

   "Enterprise gives me a nearly new 4-door pickup truck.  I don't pay for maintenance, or oil changes, or brake jobs. I don't even pay to drive it through a car wash.  I can take it back every week or every month and get another freshly washed, freshly cleaned vehicle. 

   "Do the math on your $80K vehicle.  You are paying interest, and it is depreciating  (losing value) the minute you drive it off the Dealer's lot.  And speaking of Dealers (aka "Stealers"), if it needs servicing you have to take it to them, right?"   I will guarantee you are paying more than I am for your ride!

     When my van conks out, I will replace it with something.  I will pay cash, no payment.   I am always driving a newer truck  which is very roomy, and very comfortable.  BTW, the insurance coverage on my van also covers my rental car, so I don't pay all those add-on charges for additional insurance.

   I've been doing this for many years, and don't see any reason to change.

Thanks for sharing your experience.I drive a 2013 Sonata. It’s been paid off for many years. I’m doing my best to avoid a big car payment. 

Jeep family here. Bought a new Gladiator that is sinking in value faster than the Titanic. I would be embarrassed at family functions except my sister did the same thing and rolled 8 grand of negative equity into her loan. 

So yes, I am the smarter kid. But the bar was pretty low :)

I drive a Honda Civic and bit on the lower end side since most clients drive brand new Tesla. I almost never showed people homes in my car meet there and depart. No one cared and well presented. It has 84K on it. 2005 Year passanger vehicle.

Ive got a powertrain warranty on my truck until 250K miles, so thats probably when I'll probably retire it and look for something new. I'm at 150K miles right now. No payments for me.

     Know a broker who to kick himself in the pants to dig in and work hard would go out and buy a Lincoln. Then the payments would create the better step it up to keep it from repossession.

     I love cars, SUV's, farm machinery, anything paid in full and free and clear. Ego to own and impress is not small town rural approach to living Mike McCann Nebraska Land Broker.

Mike McCann Nebraska Land Broker I'm a NYC kid. Moved to California for a year a loooooong time ago and spent the first three months swearing I'd rather drive a horse than a car. Hadda get rid of that idea, bought a Corolla which I miss to this day. Get older, move around some more, have a kid, big dogs, get an Explorer. Had it quite a while, but moved out here to Washington from Maryland and discover Maryland winters did a number on the Explorer, Explorer wasn't long for this world. My 2010 Rav4 has 223,000+ miles on it between work and family and Imma gonna drive it until the engine drops out on a highway. I soooo dislike changing cars! Especially since I'm too short to fit many of them - that Corolla? Found it after a day of doing nothing but being squired around by a friend as I sat in cars testing to see if I could get the seats close enough to the pedals for my feet to touch them. How close I am to the steering wheel worries heck out of my son to this day. Lauren

Yes! I always do 😉

Haahaa...Great story Mike. Thanks for sharing!

We have two cars. One car was built in 2014 and I drive it. One was built in 2017 and my wife mostly drives it. I like not having car payments.

I think you are good if you have a well-kept car that will seat 5. However, I have had new people (clients) who in my Lexus or BMW say "You must be good to have such a nice car?????