I'm so upset and I need to vent...

[RN01]

The motor blew out on my husbands car a couple days ago. We didn't owe any money on it and it did have 140,000 miles on it but we expected it to last longer. We do try to follow Dave Ramey's plan. We owe money on my van for another 2 2-1/2 years. If we put a new motor in it will be around $3500-$4000 plus car rental for 4 weeks. We think that's too long to borrow a car on. Plus we have checked around everywhere for a used Toyota (my husband works for Toyota so we feel like that's what we need to get) and there are no used Toyotas in the price range we want. I told him I don't want to go longer than a 3 year loan and not strap us so what we came up with was $8000. We don't know what to do. I would love to just go get what we want, get a 5 year loan and not worry about it but that's definatley blowing Dave Ramsey out of the water. If we put a new motor in we could pay cash for it but it would completely drain our emergency fund. Okay, I'm done venting for now...

 

[Sadie22]

How old is the car and was it well maintained? What caused engine damage? How often were the oil and other fluids changed, etc.? At that mileage I would tend to go for replacement of the vehicle rather than the engine, but have you gotten more than one repair estimate? How do you know the engine needs replacement? What does your car insurance cover? I know ours would cover car rental when necessary.

 

[eliza61]

My dh is not a big fan of putting in new motors in cars. If it's an old car I wouldn't sink another 4 G's into it and in todays environment I definitely wouldn't drain out all my emergency cash.
Go on line and hunt around you should definitely be able to get some thing halfway decent for $8,000 bucks.

 

[RN01]

It's a 2002 and yes we took care of it. We've had it for about 4 years, I think it had 80,000 miles on it when we got it. Our insurance doesn't cover car rental. I"m thinking replace the car also but I don't want the high payment for 5 years. Just don't know what to do.

 

[RN01]

The thing is we have checked online and through phone calls and can't find a used Toyota for that much. Since my husband works for Toyota I feel like we should buy Toyota if we are going to buy something. I mean really why bite the hand that feeds you? But then again if we can't find anything??

 

[Ponygirl]

Toyota currently is offering no interest financing for 60 months for certain vehicles like Camry. They are trying to clear out inventory before the new models arrive. It may be more than you want to spend, but I would think your husband could get employee pricing on top of that, which would make for a great brand new car at an excellent price.

 

[defendthehill]

I had a similar situation recently. I had a 2001 Grand Caravan that I absolutely loved. It was a fantastic van for my family. Had 167,000 miles on it and I really wanted to drive it to 200,000 and beyond. However, that was my plan, not what worked out. The van started to need some serious work and I was looking at putting more money in repairs than its value was. I broke out my Dave Ramsey book and researched like crazy before I made a decision on what to do. I drive a ton of miles in a year so I was looking at used cars that were only one year old. I found the used market to be very expensive and my loan rates were 4.9%. At that point, I started looking at new as well since most are running 0.0% right now. I even found an online calculator to compare the cost of two vehicles with all the variables. Buying a vehicle........make a good decision....not the best...because the best is so darn hard to really figure out. So we ended up buying new....5 year loan....0.0%...... My payment is actually less than the one year old vehicles I was looking at with a 4 year loan @ 4.9%

I spent some of my savings to pay the loan amount down at purchase. I do now have a payment which I didn't have before but I still think I made a wise decision. Everyone's situation is different. I would suggest putting two options on paper with advantages and disadvantages....and then just making a wise decision. There is no real right or wrong....buying cars stinks....Good Luck

 

[scrapbookworm]

Sometimes it is better to purchase a new (or slightly used) vehicle than to sink $4,000 into a car that is 8 years old. Because at the end of the day, you would still have an 8 year old care. You would probably get a warranty on the new motor, but it would still have an 8 year old transmission, etc.

Good luck!

 

[disneyfans95]

I would love to just go get what we want, get a 5 year loan and not worry about it but that's definatley blowing Dave Ramsey out of the water. QUOTE]

We listen to D. Ramsey all the also. But he is not the bible on how to live your financial life. He makes sense and has many good points.

But at the end of the day, he climbed out of his problems and is now running a multi-million dollar business. It is easier to sit there "from the top" and tell folks how to do it. Of course a vast majority of us are not going to see a huge income increase in the next couple of years and his plan does take time.

Review your budget and if you can swing the car do it. There is nothing that says you can't pay it off earlier if you can.

 

[tinker&belle]

Look at carmax.com. I don't know if there is a certain model you need but there are several vehicles between 8-9k, and a few under 8k.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I also see where you have a Disney vacation planned in two months. I don't know why things like this happen right around the worst times. I don't think that I would sink 4K into an old car. I would try to find something else. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[DawnM]

Does your husband get any discounts for working for Toyota? Can you combine a discount with 0% financing and get a decent deal?

Does he need a larger car or will a Corolla type commuter car be sufficient?

We are huge DR followers but when an emergency strikes, it strikes and you have to do what you have to do.

Also, could you swing it on only one car for a while and save up some more $$????

Dawn

 

[Aggiegrl]

Look at carmax.com. I don't know if there is a certain model you need but there are several vehicles between 8-9k, and a few under 8k.

Yes, there is a Toyota on there for $8599 I think with 80K miles. It is manual though, if that makes a difference.

I understand wanting to buy a Toyota. BUT if there isn't anything in your price range AND your husband's job is not going to be affected by driving a different brand, then I would do it. I know some car companies are a little sensitive about that...I think its GM that makes employees with other brands of cars park in the boondocks (and I've heard of managers harassing them, too).

 

[3girlsfun]

We have read TTMO, and we have studies his principles, and we have applied several of them to our lifestyle. It has greatly helped. However, we are not following the "do nothing until we get out of debt completely plan." The way I see it, if you must have a car, then you have to make the best decision for your family, and your finances. If you can afford a payment, buy a new, or new to you car, and do whatever you can do to pay off the car early, even if it is a little early.

We got into a situation where we didn't have any cars! LOL! I totaled my car, and my DH lost his job where he was supplied with a car. So, we had to do something. I bought a new to us 2001 car for $8900, I have a low monthly payment, and I am hoping in the next 6 months to start making extra payments, and getting it paid off early. I financed it for 5 years, so that I knew I could afford the "low" monthly payment, or if I had certain months that were "rough" months, we would have a little leeway. Anyway, we bought it in December, and already owe less than $7500 now, so, it wont take long.

Our goal is to just do the best we can do, and still have a "few" extras. For example, we are still going to do vacations, but we don't have brand new cars, I don't go shopping for clothes constantly like i use too, and we meal plan, and only eat out once a week now, and never get take out. So, I also don't get my hair done regularly. I do this so I can have the things that are really important to me, like family vacations, weekends away, and big birthday parties for our children.

 

[Cindyrellablue]

Yes, there is a Toyota on there for $8599 I think with 80K miles. It is manual though, if that makes a difference.

I understand wanting to buy a Toyota. BUT if there isn't anything in your price range AND your husband's job is not going to be affected by driving a different brand, then I would do it. I know some car companies are a little sensitive about that...I think its GM that makes employees with other brands of cars park in the boondocks (and I've heard of managers harassing them, too).

My father works for Ford and the employees that do not drive Ford vehicles to work must park is a very far parking lot...they also run the risk of returning to their cars every day and finding the air has been released from their tires on a daily basis. Dad says those guys usually come to work with a new Ford vehicle within a month. Thankfully, my Dad doesn't get involved with such things, he doesn't care what the guys drive, so long as they show up to work.


I wouldn't put a new engine in an older vehicle though, especially if it would drain my savings. There are so many specials running on Toyota vehicles that I would seriously look into buying new, interest rates on used really make a difference when you are looking at 0% on new.

Following financial plans that are explained in books is great, but unless you are working with a personal financial planner, there is no way to account for the unique individual needs a family encounters.

 

[VAN]

I've gotten burned with buying used cars before. In the long run, what with the new car warranty, you will know what your car expenses will be for the first few years. This worked out wonderfully when my son got his new car at age 18. Other than the usual oil changes, tires, etc. we had no other problems crop up that were unexpected because the car was under warrantly for the first 3-4 years we owned it ... long enough to have the car paid off.

Even after warranty, we had several years of reliable use before we had to think about replacing it.

I'd say buy new ... just don't get one with all the extra bells and whistles. Purchase it for the purpose of "reliable transportation."

Best of luck!

 

[dimimi]

I would purchase a used car for the money that it would cost to fix the old car. We just bought a car for under $5000 and it has worked out great...it was hard finding such a great deal, but it is possible.

 

[Kika]

Vent away. Car repairs are the pits!

Regarding what to do, I wouldn't take on a 2nd car payment when you already have an existing car payment on your other car for the next couple of years and only have approx. $4k on hand for emergencies. That is an expensive repair, though. On the other hand your car is not that old and doesn't have that many miles on it, relatively speaking. If you have taken care of it otherwise, I might do the repair or find an inexpensive used car.

Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'd replace it. Without even thinking twice about it.

You're making something new in the car, so it'll likely run even better than it did before.

 

[yooperfamily]

i didn't read all the replies yet, but can you take the money you would have paid for the motor (about $4k) and get another vehicle??