WFMW: Buying a New Car to Save Money
In keeping with my theme from last week of saving money by upping my grocery budget, this week I'd like to share how buying a new car to save money has really worked for us.
Eric has been driving a '94 Buick Century for the past 4 years to and from work. This car was rock solid, and it was also a sentimental car. It was passed down to us from my parents, who received it from my late grandfather.
Eric drives at least 80 miles per day, 5 days a week, for our cleaning business. The Buick had been handling this tough regiment beautifully, even at 105,000 miles. But lately, the last 5000 miles or so, it has been slipping under the pressure. Our mechanic estimated the repairs, including some transmission work, at $1800 or more. He also said he would NOT recommend doing it as it just wouldn't be worthwhile. The Kelly Blue Book value for the car is $300-$500.
With the transmission and other issues, this Buick that used to get fantastic gas mileage has been getting worse and worse in this area. With gas prices where they are, Eric has been spending $17/day in gas for the past few months. That works out to $368 per month in gas. A serious change was definitely needed.
Eric began researching new cars, specifically focusing around the new smaller cars that get fantastic gas mileage and that are bargain priced. Yesterday, he purchased a brand new Chevy Aveo with no added options other than the extended warranty (a necessity with the amount of miles he drives in a day) that gets 40miles to the gallon. He has done all the math and estimates that he will need to spend $186 per month in gas. That is $182 difference in gas expenses from the Buick. Our monthly payment for the Aveo will be $197. So, for $15 more per month tacked on to our gas budget, Eric is driving a brand new car. Now that just makes sense, and it definitely works for us!
(A note from Eric, who has come a long way in his life: "I'm cool for the man that I am, not for the car that I drive!")
To read what is working for other people this week, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.
5 comments:
I couldn't believe it when I saw this post. My husband and I have been researching that very thing. He drives a small truck and I drive an SUV (mostly because 3 kids, 2 in carseats, won't fit in an economy car). But we just realized that adding a car payment on a small economy car (our truck is paid off) would actually save us money in the long run if we used it for trips to Wal-Mart (closest one is 20 miles away) and the grandparents house, etc. It sound counter-intuitive but we ran the numbers and it is exactly what you found. We could save over $500 dollars a year!!
This is exactly what we're doing too! We're getting rid of our SUV and buying a Toyota Corolla (used but in mint condition) for our around town use. The savings should be monumental and it just happens to be much better for the environment as well. We love buying used from private parties to save on costs, but it does take a lot of extra time and effort.
As the wife of a Chevy salesman, I thank you. :)
I think the used car lots are going to be flooded with SUVs and trucks very soon.
My Husband and I have been having this "car" conversation the last few weeks. Our main car is a PT Cruiser with the silly Turbo model which requires Premium GAS grrrr..so I am trying to talk my husband into a "Sensible" car instead of a "Fast" one lol
Congratulations on your new car! :)
Thanks for letting me know how the corn chip recipe turned out! :) Ours turned out great. I added a little nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic, powder, paprika, and salt.
Flax seeds sound like a great idea! I should try that next time.
Blessings,
Michele :)
www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com
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