Talking yourself out of fun is no fun :)

[siggy_freud]

Pay off the loans and then enjoy the cars. I've meet a lot of people who buy and sell used cars. Gives me heartburn. I hate car shopping. That being said I think it's an inexpensive hobby for many.

Now if you would like to give your friends help and shop for cars and say "hey I found a deal on X, Y, Z" Please give me a call. I'd love to have someone who just magically produced a car for me for a year or two then trade to something else.

I always toy with a minivan for a few years then i'd like to get back into something smaller but hate the idea of losing money on the cars, not even buying new but used. But it's still depreciating. Versus buying a a car and driving it till it literally dies.

My mom and MIL have/had cars that 20 years olds. Sigh. See where we get that habit from.

I have become the defacto car hunter for a few people who are close to me. They hate the buying process. I don't really enjoy it much, but have done it enough to know where you do and don't have the power, and can leverage it.

My friends have benefit from my habit a bit. One of my best buds drives the last project car my dad and I did together (07 twin turbo BMW).

Honestly one of the best ways I've come across to find good deals is to first go through Costo's program, get the quote from them, then to email all the local dealers and ask who can beat it. Don't BCC them, let them see that it went out to each other. That will get it well under invoice usually. Also hunt the forums for threads on what people are paying in various locations.

Also look for programs. Like on a Mustang forum I found out you could email Ford for a promo brochure about the new Mustang, and in the brochure is a $500 off coupon from the manufacturer, so it's in addition to whatever you can get from the dealer.

Stuff like that adds up . And I never buy any of the dealer add-ons. Even if you want the extended warranty, don't get it from the dealer. There are some regional dealers you can find through forums who give you the same warranty for a LOT less money.

[Nutria]

There are some regional dealers you can find through forums who give you the same warranty for a LOT less money.

Good to know.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

But don't you usually buy used? Can't use the costco program for used right?

[siggy_freud]

But don't you usually buy used? Can't use the costco program for used right?

Yes, sorry, that only applies to new cars. If you're buying used then forums, craigslist, and ebay are your friends for determining pricing. I use KBB and Nada as a gut check, but rely more on craigslist for determining what the market looks like. Forums too, as they usually have a for-sale section, and the people that post there are usually enthusiasts who tend to take better care of their cars.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Do you buy salvaged titled cars a lot? Does that work for losing less money? Are they safe?

[TexasHusker]

Yes, sorry, that only applies to new cars. If you're buying used then forums, craigslist, and ebay are your friends for determining pricing. I use KBB and Nada as a gut check, but rely more on craigslist for determining what the market looks like. Forums too, as they usually have a for-sale section, and the people that post there are usually enthusiasts who tend to take better care of their cars.

I'm wondering if you could give me an opinion!

We need to sell my wife's 2013 Chevy Volt:

28,500 miles
Near Mint
Hard-lLoaded with every available option - leather, NAV, Bose, heated seats, etc.
Black/black

I've had one dealer offer for $11,500, but that seems stupid cheap. It is an extremely nice car and drives like brand new.

[siggy_freud]

I'm wondering if you could give me an opinion!

We need to sell my wife's 2013 Chevy Volt:

28,500 miles
Near Mint
Hard-lLoaded with every available option - leather, NAV, Bose, heated seats, etc.
Black/black

I've had one dealer offer for $11,500, but that seems stupid cheap. It is an extremely nice car and drives like brand new.

Well I just bought a 2013 volt with 42k miles. Leather and heat, but no nav. Some noticeable interior wear. I paid $15,000 which I felt was a solid price based on what I was seeing. The new generation just came out, so it is depressing the volt market a bit. But I'd say 15-17.5 would be fair on your volt in the private market. Probably 12.5-13.5 trade, but a lot are coming up on end of lease, so you have those to compete with at dealers. Not sure how much the prices range per location. Some would depend on state incentives when it was new. Oregon didn't have any, whereas California has a few grand in extra incentives.

Living, no I've never done a salvage title buy. Oregon laws are a little loose as to what people can pass as salvage, so it's hard to know what you're really getting.

[tripods68]

Hey all,

But all you fiscally responsible folks on here must have gotten to me, as now I feel like I'm denying myself some fun to do the "right" thing. And that's not a bad thing, but sometimes, it's not a fun thing either .

I learn that do the things that you love, you have to follow a path plan. This is the case, where family budgeting on a monthly basis helps a lot without 'feeling' of not fun.

So I think you need to set aside some "fun time $$" for you and your wife to enjoy on a regular basis, set a side a specific dollar amount every month. Do as you like with that money for that month. If you don't use this month, rollover next month, and so forth. I'd say this because I am a car guy too. I use to go to local race track 1320, Sears Point, SCCA events with friends in my twenties and early thirties until we started having kids. Then my priorities changed, big time! I stop attending races, and eventually disappeared from the "car scene" NorCal, Bay Area completely. It wasn't just about me, me, me, it was about the 'family' and being responsible parent, a Dad! I'm not saying you should let go your passion. There's is nothing wrong to continue as long you manage it well and does not take away from the family.

I chose to let go it because I know myself. If I don't let go--I'm afraid it will consume me away to the detriment of my family at the most critical age they need me most. It was all or nothing for me. Its been 15 years away and I don't even miss it, or regret it one bit. I know i made the right choice.

FWIW--I've never an 'off-road' vehicle like a truck. So that will be my next family/fun truck in coming year or two. We'd like to do more camping trips.

[Singuy]

I'm wondering if you could give me an opinion!

We need to sell my wife's 2013 Chevy Volt:

28,500 miles
Near Mint
Hard-lLoaded with every available option - leather, NAV, Bose, heated seats, etc.
Black/black

I've had one dealer offer for $11,500, but that seems stupid cheap. It is an extremely nice car and drives like brand new.

I have done a lot of research on the volt and you really have to treat electric cars like computers. They depreciate like a rock because

1. Federal tax incentive was used up, so you can't calculate depreciation from their MSRP

2. Unlike normal cars, electric car upgrades include more battery life AND a fresh new battery while other cars rehash their tried and true engines over and over again and only updates the interior.


Best way to own a volt is to get a used one off lease. You can get a 30-40k mile volt for 13k used and it will last you a good 150k. It's a terrible idea to buy electric cars new and then sell them off in 2-3 years. Sometime leasing these is an idea because the gas savings may be worth it.

[TexasHusker]

Sounds like I'm leaving money on the table to trade it. It's a nice car. I'm gonna sell it myself

[sv2007]

Hey all,

More of a rambling post than anything else. Trying to be a good saver/spender, but sometimes it's just no fun!

Here is the setup:

I am big into cars. It's a hobby of mine. I don't smoke, I don't drink very much, I don't spend huge amounts on fancy clothes, big dinners out, etc. But I do spend money on cars. Fast cars, old cars, off-road cars (sometimes). I generally buy used, but occasionally new, but have managed to not lose my shirt in selling them but good research, and finding the right buyers. For example, I owned a Jeep wrangler, which hold their value remarkably well. I bought it for $36.5k, drove it for a year, put 13k miles on it, and sold it for the same amount.

In any case . . . years back in highschool and college I had an old pickup that I drove every day, and worked on as a hobby with my friends. Part way through college I sold it to get something more suited to adulthood. Seven years later I found it and bought it back, and started the process of doing a full restore on it, with the intent on selling whatever I owned at the time and driving the 66 pickup everyday once it was done.

During these years I've also been paying down student loans pretty aggressively. I started with about 70k in loans, and 5 years in I'm down to about 25k. Here is where the fun comes in.

My student loans cost me about $280 a month. I have about 12k I have saved set aside to knock out one of the larger of the three remaining loans, which will lower my payments another $120 a month or so.

I'm probably about 15-16k from finishing my project when you factor in the parts left, and body/paint, which is the biggest expense.

I'm still pretty young (early 30s), wife and I are in a pretty stable field of work (tech) and jointly make about $210k a year. We have manageable debt, our home has good equity and just swapped it over to a 15 year fixed (2.8%). Despite feeling like I am in a good spot, I just cant bring myself to NOT toss that money at the loan and instead put it toward my passion, which is finishing my project. I have literally done everything on this from stripping and painting the frame, to wiring the whole thing better-than-factory.

But all you fiscally responsible folks on here must have gotten to me, as now I feel like I'm denying myself some fun to do the "right" thing. And that's not a bad thing, but sometimes, it's not a fun thing either .

Anyways, sorry for the long rant.

I guess my question is, do you ever hate making the right financial decision?

What if I tell you that you may not have made the right financial decision?

I don't believe in saving. I believe in saving towards a goal. I have many goals; I prioritize them, near term, long term, high importance, low importance, then allocate savings accordingly.

Life's got to be fun; I'm no buddhist who believes that life sucks. If you don't live it now, can you still live it tomorrow? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Id I hadn't spend what I thought (way back then) was a hefty sum of money traveling many countries backpacking; I don't think I can ever do that again (because first I'm too old as a backpacker and second I don't think I can stand those living conditions). So that experience will never come back.

Money is not useful unless you use it. Youcan't take it to the grave.