1 year field assignment, sell or keep vehicle ???

[tlbwriter]

I am in agreement with those that say "sell" the car. If you can almost break even then it is a good time to sell since you will not break even if you pay another year on the car even with no mileage added.

I'm confused. You're saying that if she's close to breaking even now, she will be upside down in a year, even though she will have made payments for a year and will have added few miles to the car? Does a 300M depreciate so rapidly that she will go from even to upside down?

See, the thing is, you've already paid for the most expensive year of the car. Every year it will depreciate less and less. If you sell it now, you will have paid for those years of heavy depreciation, and will not get to take advantage of the years of lesser depreciation. As long as the payment is within your budget, and you can do a better job of keeping it driven , it's in good shape, and you like the car, I think it would be best to keep it.

 

[SnowWhite]

What I am saying is that she will be paying for a car that is depreciating everyday and is not being used. That money is better accruing interest in her bank account instead of paying for an item that is not being used. Also you are correct that the 300M is a very popular car therefore it will flood the market in used cars within the next two years when all the leases come back causing the market for them to drop and their value will be brought down rapidly. Just ask any sales person what happened to Intrepid's after three years when all the lease backs came in. Trust me I know, I bought one of them for next to nothing with only 50,000 kms on it and got it for 10,000. Brand new three years before it was a 28,000 dollar car. (upgraded model) While the 300M is a very nice car, I see the same thing happening to it. Why not get your money out now, rather than take that chance later on? Look at history, it happens all the time especially to the popular cars. (look at the sales of PT Cruisers now, they had to drop the prices because there are too many on the market) Nothing is carved in stone, but this is my best assumption of what will happen again.

 

[tlbwriter]

True, but the car has already depreciated. A lot. If she sells it now, she'll have no car, no proceeds from selling the car (in fact, she says she'll have to put a few hundred into it just to break even, so she's already in the hole) and the opportunity to bank about $10K (probably less, since that includes insurance, and she is hopefully getting a multicar discount, which she'll lose if she sells the 300M). And when hubby gets back, they'll either have to buy a car for $10K (a good option for many people, but maybe not for this particular family), or use that as the downpayment and start all over again. And then, maybe sell it again when he gets another field assignment and start over again. On the other hand, if they keep the car, they can eventually pay it off and stop the madness.

If you do decide to sell the car, might I suggest you replace it with something that doesn't depreciate as quickly, such as a Toyota or Honda? Or look into leasing rather than buying, if his field assignments are likely to continue?

 

[welovedis]

I would sell it, for some of the reasons mentioned, but also because I wouldn't have the time/energy/patience to keep track of when I last drove it or moved it around, etc.... You've had one experience where keeping the vehicle didn't work so perhaps that is a sign to get rid of it now, bank the payment and insurance savings and worry about the next car when the current one shows signs of trouble.

The 300M is a popular car, however, with the model redesign from this past year, that is the one that is really selling like hotcakes, at least around here. The older models are still around but I don't think they will hold their value as much so if you can sell it for a decent amount and break even with your loan I say go for it.

Another choice might be to trade in your paid for van & his car and get a slightly used (2003/2004) vehicle with a solid extended warranty. You'd have reliable transportation while he's gone and wouldn't have to worry about 2 cars. Just thinking that a 97 van isn't getting any younger and the repairs might start rolling in soon. ( And please, for those people who have minivans that are 20 years old with hundreds of thousands of miles--great for you!! But not everyone has your luck!)


Good luck with your choices!

 

[SnowWhite]

Just remember that a car is not an investment, you will always lose money on them, unless you are trading in show cars or classics. If you can get out now with minimal financial loss then take it. Saving $10,000 for a year is a nice chuck to keep in the bank account. I totally agree you may want to look at different options for another vehicle a year from now when DH comes back. If he tends to do alot of field assignments buying may not be for you. I look at it this way, if you can get out of it and only have to pay a minimal cost than you really haven't lost much, other than the payments you made for that year while you were driving it.