My Thoughts On Cars
A reader emailed me a few days ago, asking for my thoughts on buying a car – so I figured I’d share. I drive a 1991 Honda Civic wagon. It has 218,000 miles on it, and has never once left me stranded on the side of the road. Well, the muffler fell halfway off one time, but I was able to tie it back on with a rag that I had in the trunk, and make my way home MacGyver-style. My husband and I bought the car in 2003 for $2300 cash. We bought it from a private seller; he had been the only owner, and gave us meticulous records of all of the service work that had been done on the car over the 12 years he had owned it. In the years since we bought it, the car has needed very little work, and has been very reliable.
I have no plans to get another car until mine just won’t go anymore. At that point, we’ll look for another car, likely one that is around ten years old. We’ll buy from a private owner again (Craigs List makes things like that pretty easy these days), and pay cash.
Driving an older car means that insurance and license fees are very low. We pay $50/year to register our cars (it was $25 in our old city, but we also had to pay $25/car every two years for emissions testing, which we don’t have to do here), and only carry liability insurance on our vehicles. We both have clean driving records and have our auto insurance, homeowners policy, and liability umbrella policy with the same carrier, so we get a discount on our insurance.
Coolness and looks play no part what so ever in my car shopping decisions. A car is strictly for getting me and my family from one place to another, and most of the time it’s parked in my garage. Anyone who cares about whether my car is cool or not isn’t a person whose opinions matter to me. There are some factors that I do consider worthwhile when it comes to choosing a car: safety and fuel economy.
When it comes time to buy another car (hopefully a long time from now) we will look at safety ratings and fuel economy numbers, and base our final decision largely on those factors, combined with availability and price. In terms of safety, yes, I know that there have been a lot of advancements in car safety since my car was built 18 years ago. But my own driving is the biggest factor when it comes to my family’s safety in my car. In 16 years of driving, I’ve never had a ticket (nor have I ever talked my way out of one). When I drive, I drive. Nothing else. I don’t eat, mess with my phone, or look at a map while I’m driving. I would never dream of driving after I had been drinking. I always wear a seat belt and never exceed the speed limit. My opinion is that those things make me safer – even in my old car – than someone in a brand new Volvo who is eating a burger and talking on the phone while tailgating the person in front of them.
Fuel economy is a major issue for me. Environmental conservation is a huge priority for me, and driving – in any kind of vehicle – is something I try to minimize specifically because of fuel consumption. We live in a small town (5000 people) and I don’t drive at all in our town – I bike or walk instead. The town is only a few miles from one end to the other, so there’s no justification for me to drive anywhere here. We have baskets on our bikes, and backpacks, and our son’s stroller has a compartment underneath that is perfect for hauling groceries or library books. I usually make a trip into the nearby town about once per week (ten miles each way). I combine all of my errands into one trip, and make sure that I don’t drive more than 65 mph on the highway into town (even though the speed limit is 75). Keeping my speed down and avoiding aggressive driving while I’m in town means that my car averages 30 mpg, even though it’s almost 19 years old and on the larger side as far as Civics go (it’s a full wagon, with tons of room in the back). Considering the fact that I drive less than 2500 miles per year, and that my car gets 30 mpg as it is, buying a new car in order to boost fuel efficiency doesn’t make sense – from a financial perspective or from an environmental perspective. The energy required to build my new car would offset the small gain that I would make by driving a more efficient car (and it would take a hybrid to get significantly more fuel efficiency).
For a small segment of the population, space is an issue – if you have more than five people in your family, you’ll probably need something bigger than a car in order to have seatbelts for everyone. But I will note that I often see large SUVs and minivans driving around with two or three people in them (or worse, just one person). Unless you literally can’t fit your family into a car, why pay for more vehicle than you need? Not to mention the higher fuel, insurance, and licensing costs that go along with larger, more expensive vehicles.
For an even smaller segment of the population, four wheel drive is an issue. I would say that this is limited to people who live in small, snowy mountain towns where the roads aren’t plowed after every storm, and people who live on dirt roads. In most urban areas, four wheel drive isn’t necessary. In my opinion, it’s detrimental; I notice that as soon as the snow flies and the roads get icy, people in SUVs often think that they can still drive the speed limit. And they end up in the ditch.
Driving an older car that we paid for with cash means we have no car payments, which is the best part of the deal as far as I’m concerned. We’re saving money now for the day when we will eventually have to replace my car. I haven’t thought much about a replacement, as we have two vehicles (my husband drives a 1990 Audi) and could use the other one for a while. But I doubt that we’ll spend more than $5000 when it comes time to get another car.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this subject. Do you have car payments? Are you trying to get rid of them? Did you buy your car with cash? What is the most you’ve ever spent (or would spend) on a car? Are you (or would you consider being) a one-car family? Would you ever consider giving up your car all together and switching to bikes and public transportation?
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I have similar thoughts to you on the this subject. I drive a 19 year old car too. It’s a Honda and has an awful lot of mileage on it. It still goes ok – starts every time although it takes a wee bit of time to get it warmed up.
I don’t see the sense in buying a flash car – I’ve done that in the past and am over the concept.
My only issue with my car is that I don’t trust it enough to take it long distances. It’s fine for around where I live and the odd trip into the city but I am loathe to take it further than that.
I use public transport 90% of the time for getting to and from work. My car is used to get me to the train station, doing grocery shopping and other chores.
When I do eventually need to replace it I will be looking for something similar and I certainly won’t be buying something that will require me to get finance.
Your story is amazing, and I think a lot has to do with reliability of Hondas–that’s why any new car I buy will only be after a lot of research on Consumer Reports.
We purchased our last car brand new about three years ago, and have seen how the cost of doing that affect us. From this point forward, I will only consider purchasing used cars.
As to becoming a one-car family, I think we could do it (we often do, on a voluntary basis). Right now, we’re doing it because my 9-year old car needs about $1,000 of work, and I’m debating what to do with it. I’ve been debating for a few weeks now…
I’m going to be completely honest–having two cars is much less hassle for us and makes life a lot easier. But if the price was right (or wrong, in this case), I would consider going to one car.
I have a 96 Outback, because I live in said snowy little town and my husband needs to be able to get to work, regardless of the weather (I can WFH, sometimes). He has a 94 Ranger (that isn’t 4WD). We’ve always been truck + wagon/hatchback people– my qualifications for the Outback were 4WD/AWD and wagon/hatchback/small SUV body.
Public transit does exist here (but not often and not in the snow), and when I lived in the city, I was effectively car-less (as in, I never drove our car, and my husband rarely did, as he wasn’t working). That said, it’s not an option for where he works, and I drive to a park and ride and bus in or ride with him.
My biggest regret about moving out to the middle of nowhere is entirely due to the fact that I have to have a vehicle.
I bought my car new… in 1987. An Acura Integra. I have been driving it since then and it has never left me stranded either – and yes, the muffler has fallen off (I used an old power cord to tie mine back on – in fact it’s still like that a couple of years later). It’s “only” got about 180,000 miles on it since I often take public transit.
I’m hoping to never buy another car again. Instead we want to move close to a public transit hub which is also close to shopping. We want to be entirely car-free in a few years.
Oh Frugal Babe. You hit one of my biggest beefs with America, the ridiculous love of the automobile. A car is not only a monstrous expense and needs more physicals a year than a person; it’s a damn heavy thing to carry around a pain to find a place to park. I still can’t believe that we actually build houses (garages) for the silly things. And, we’ve gone from one to two to three garages attached to our homes. What’s the square footage of a three-car garage? If it’s 1,800 square feet, it’s on par with my home! I’d rather have a green house; it’d give me healthier produce.
The Golightlys were a one-car family for the first eight years of our marriage. While single, I lived in downtown Chicago and Boston and used public transportation and loved it. The company I worked for in Boston subsidized most my T Pass and I paid the remaining $11 a month that took me just about anywhere I wanted to go. I even applied for a pass that allowed me to take my bicycle on the commuter rails so I could go for weekend rides around beautiful places like Cape Ann. When I wanted to escape to Vermont or the Adirondacks, I rented a car for about the price of 1.5 parking tickets.
When I moved out west to Boulder, my new husband immediately made plans to get another car. I said no way and found a job in downtown Boulder and walked the half-mile to work, while he drove the 18 miles to work. When we moved to Denver, he took a 10-minute bus ride to his office downtown and was sold on public transportation. Then, we had to take another job 20 miles from home and we accepted a hand me down Geo from my father for husband to commute because I needed a car to shuttle the children.
I just paid one of our six-month insurance payments begrudgingly. I long for the days of being a one-car family again. As for now, we park our cars on the street of our urban neighborhood – it’s one of the best ways to meet your neighbors. The detached garage in the alley is a workshop, garden shed and hike house for all our camping gear.
We do have a Honda Pilot. Two reasons, I shuttle a lot of children around and we take the old fire roads and mining roads into the high country of Colorado to find pristine camping spots. I feel somewhat bad about driving and not packing in, but I can’t rightly put a 50-pound pack on a 54-pound eight-year-old and have her hike five miles uphill at a high altitude. She will someday though.
I love My Old CARS!!! I’ve never had a problem with their reliability after the 90’s. There is something special about having something for an long time, really comfortable.
My car was a 1991 Toyota Tercel, and after growing up with cars averaging around the 1985 mark, to me it was new and really cool. I paid $2000 for it, cash, and with the combination of smart driving and a stick I got amazing gas mileage averaging between 35 and 40mpg. I will never in my life buy a brand new car from a dealer, I see it as pointless when you can wait a few years and have the price drop dramatically. At some point in the future it is a financial goal of both my husband and I to save the money for a relatively new Jeep Wrangler, at that point I’d like to have another run about car like my old one for primary use and the truck would be reserved for fun days out, camping, and the like. My husband and I also are very against having car payments, when we purchase another car together we will wait, save, and pay in full.
I can’t say that I will have the same car for over 15 years, but I can certainly say that I am looking forward to not having any car payments for a while. I am literally 2 months or 3 payroll deductions away from no car payments. I have an ‘04 VW (bought 2 years ago) & an ‘05 Civic (that I bought brand new). Back then, I didn’t know any better about buying new vs. used. Why do I have 2 cars? I gave one to my mom in order for her not to have a car payment. However, I won’t buy new again. I also look forward to not having to carry such high insurance in the state that notoriously has the highest avg. cost in the country.
I am essentially giving myself a raise during this recession by reducing eliminating debt which means increasing the disposable income that can be used for savings and paying off other debt.
Nice post – I also subscribe to the idea of utility over everything else when it comes to cars, as well as cell phones (as long as my phone is reliable and allows me to call and text the people I need to, it’s the only cell phone I need). I grew up in a family that never got rid of a vehicle before it reached the 200,000 mile mark, and they were quite reliable up until that point. When the vehicle stops being reliable, however, then I think it becomes an issue of safety – as well as convenience. There are only so many times one can be late to work or miss an event because their car won’t start.
I buy Subarus and have been so pleased with their reasonable price, reliability, function, as well as their style (I think they’re cute – though I know not everyone agrees). Consumer Reports consistently ranks them as one of the top vehicles, and the fact that it’s often quite difficult to buy a used Subaru Forrester or Outback speaks to the fact that once people buy them, they keep them for quite a long time.
My only beef is your comment on 4-wheel drive. I grew up on a farm in North Dakota — definitely not mountainous terrain — but still a place where 4-wheel drive is essential. Many folks who live in the country have to traverse roads that are not regularly cleared from snow until a local farmer does it themselves — and even then, the farmer has to be able to get to his/her tractor and snowblower to clean everything off!
These days, my husband and I live in a mid-sized city and I have all wheel drive and my husband has 2-wheel drive. There are many times during the winter when slick, snowy and icy conditions prevent him from making it up our (not at all steep) driveway in his 2-wheel drive car. This, again, becomes an issue of convenience for him. He loves his car, but will never again buy a 2-wheel drive vehicle. I think anyone living in a city that deals with 3 or more months of snow and ice each year is perfectly justified in getting all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive.
Great Post.
I wish I could say the same. These are all great instances but we are really looking at keeping a vehicle versus “upgrading” to something new. In this situation it is just for cosmetics. However if you have to get a payment because you need a reliable vehicle then you are speaking in a whole different ballgame.
This was my situation. I always wanted to drive a nice but used car and tack on 200,000+ miles, unfortunately I ran into car mecanical issues. This is the KEY to all of these vehicles. If you have a car in great condition – keep using it. The only way I would not keep it is if you truly felt unsafe – then you definetly do not want put your life at risk.
I wish I could have kept my 95 maxima but I had leaking gaskets and who knows what other issues. It is for this reason I went ahead and financed a newer vehicle. The cost of repair was almost identical to the value of the car. Then unfortunately I had a newer car and 2 years later I had more issues (another Maxima – 02). Maybe it was the car – maybe it was a bad mechanic. I decided to get something newer (Not a nissan anymore 07 camry 20k miles) and purchased an extended full coverage 0 deductible warranty (factory warranty still in effect but I want to pay the car off and keep it for years so I got the extended warranty knowing I will have peace of mind for at least 4-5 yrs). I also do not trust mechanics so I will be going to the dealership to service the vehicle and if they try and screw me with repairs in anyway I will be covered and not have to pay anything. Anyway, I got something NEWER not New. I still have a payment but it is reasonably low (almost half the price of buying a new car) and if I make extra payments (which I always do) I will have the car paid off in 2-3 years (4 years max).
Really everything comes down to condition. If it ain’t broke Dont fix it.
There is a good side to financing – it builds your credit so you should still purchase a vehicle and finance it, even if you have cash available at some time. This is critical in the future when you want to get a mortgage or any large loans. You need to have a credit history and where else will you get it besides a vehicle loan and student loans.
Trust me – I wish I didn’t have payments for anything. I want to pay everything off – car, house, student loans, etc. But doing so will also leave you with a very low balance in the bank if any. You would also like to keep money for unexpected emergencies so throwing everything at a vehicle may not be the smartest choice. If you already have a home, credit history and such – then go ahead and buy a used vehicle. I wish I could but like I said if it warrants constant repairs then it may not be worh it. For example if you have to spend 3,000 a year on repairs your better off getting a newer car which will cost you the same.
The longer you don’t have payments the more you can save towards a newer car, house, vacation, etc. Bottom line keep what you have as long as you have no issues. If you wish to get something new I would go the route of getting a 1-2yr old vehicle with low miles. The cost of vehicle deprication over the first few years is HUGE. If you had the choice what would you choose? New car for $30,000 or a 2008 with 20k miles for $17,000. Personally $13,000 in savings for 2 years is well worth it. At minimum you should usually be able to get a 2 yr old car for 60% of the new price – yes and this covers all cars (even mercedes, bmw, honda, etc).
I am car free and extremely happy about it. I live in a city with great public transportation that I use to do all my errands (once a week) and it feels great. I get more exercise, I have sooo much less stress as a result of not having a car. I used to have a car and I was always afraid of what might happen to it- What if it was stolen or broken into? What if it breaks down? “What is this car costing me?
I love not having to rely on a car to get around. In warmer weather I enjoy biking around town. I think most people believe cars simplify their lives, make it more convenient to get around. I agree that I have to plan more, but the peace of mind I have by not having a car far outweighs any supposed pro of those death traps.
With all that said…I am afraid I will be moving next year to an area that might require a car, very anti-cyclist and poor/no public transportation. When discussing our situation with my husband, we never even considered getting two cars it seems so unnecessary. If we can’t find away around needing a car at all, we will end up getting an older used car with good gas millage, like a honda or toyota and use it wisely, planning our trips ahead of time. I am dreading having a car again. I enjoy my simple life. =)
Frugal Babe,
You would be proud of me. I paid off one of my car loans today. I’ll be finished the other one by the end of the month. Thanks for the inspiration.
I drive a 2001 ford; not the best of cars by reputation but I think it has done a really good job for me. I bought it back in 2003 but was able to pay cash for it (it has a salvaged title, so it was cheap). I took the best decision an 18 year old could have. I am now 24 years old and am driving that car; it is not in good condition because it has been my first car so I have made alot of maintenance mistakes with it (oh wait, so it needs water?? haha). I’m always listening to my friends complaint about their car payments and what they have to do without to be able to drive a car they really can’t afford. I’m getting ready to move unto my next car as soon as this one runs out and it will defenatly be paid for in cash!