Talk me off the ledge...

[sam_gordon]

Here's the situation... DW drives a 2001 Toyota Sienna. It has 250K+ miles on it (still running fairly well). Built in VHS player. Our 'tentative' plan was to replace it in 2012 (end of). This would allow us to build up our savings, which we're currently working on.

Her employer is turning in three 08 Siennas off of lease next month. Their lease buyout is $12K and change. They have 45-47K miles on them. According to Edmunds.com, 08 Siennas sell for $16K+. When I put in that mileage and 'average' condition, Edmunds says $14K to purchase from a dealer, which would match what my wife is being told the car dealership is saying.

The possibility exists that we could write a check to my wife's employer for the buyout amount, the employer buys out the lease than turns the van over to us.

We have about 2-3K in savings right now, plus 5K in a mutual fund, plus an 'emergency' fund.

Do we dip into the emergency fund to get one of these vans to save a couple thousand dollars (sell our van to help replenish emergency fund)?

 

[Gr8t Fan]

As DH always tells me, there will always be cars for sale, and if you're ready to purchase (especially with cash in hand), you can find a good deal.

Personally, I'd stick to the original plan.

 

[dis-happy]

I wouldn't wipe out all your savings at once, but that is a good deal! How about getting an auto loan for a used car from your bank, credit union or AAA? See how it stacks up in your budget and if you'll be able to pay it off quickly. I assume the cars coming off the lease have been well maintained???

 

[snowywhite89]

I would only do it if the deal was a great deal. This is not a great deal.

 

[tonilea]

As DH always tells me, there will always be cars for sale, and if you're ready to purchase (especially with cash in hand), you can find a good deal.

Personally, I'd stick to the original plan.

Your DH sounds like a wise man.

 

[sam_gordon]

I wouldn't wipe out all your savings at once, but that is a good deal! How about getting an auto loan for a used car from your bank, credit union or AAA? See how it stacks up in your budget and if you'll be able to pay it off quickly. I assume the cars coming off the lease have been well maintained???

1. That doesn't wipe out savings. I should have specified, that's what we have in savings that could go towards the van. We would still have savings left over for our Disney trip & other cash "emergencies".
2. I refuse to get another loan. No offense, but I want to pay cash whenever we replace the current van.
3. I think they've been well maintained. That's something to check on. But considering they are state vehicles, I think they have been.

 

[dis-happy]

1. That doesn't wipe out savings. I should have specified, that's what we have in savings that could go towards the van. We would still have savings left over for our Disney trip & other cash "emergencies".
2. I refuse to get another loan. No offense, but I want to pay cash whenever we replace the current van.
3. I think they've been well maintained. That's something to check on. But considering they are state vehicles, I think they have been.

I totally understsand. We don't do car loans in our family either. WTG!!!

The only other consideration is the state of your current van. If it completely and expensively dies in a few months, do you have a back up plan? We keep high milage cars but most haven't lasted a whole lot beyond 200,000 miles.

 

[FINFAN]

don't do it. You made your 2012 plan for a reason, you too the time to analyze it and reach that date..just because a situation has presented itself it does not sound "killer" enough to derail your savings plan.

 

[sam_gordon]

No backup plan aside from an 'emergency' trip to a car dealership.

Our van is getting new tires tomorrow (desperately needed). There's some work that needs done on the catalytic converter, but aside from that, it's in good shape (but definitely 'lived in' )

 

[Swimalie]

I would stick to your original plan. And I can tell you that my husband drove a public vehicle as a police officer and he didn't treat it nice at all. I know I would never buy one that he drove. I'm not sure I would buy one from an employer, either. What if something goes wrong right after the sale?

 

[RitaE]

Saving $2000 on a $14000 car is about a 14% discount - be generous and call if 15%. Look at it this way - if Penney's sent you a flyer in the mail today saying sweaters were on sale at 15% off, would you decide not to put money in your 401k or something like that to run out and buy one you don't really need yet?

Probably not. Because you pretty well know that a 15% off sale is fairly common. right?

If you want to buy a car, then buy a car. But this isn't the best deal ever presented in the entire world. There'll be cars on sale in 2012 too. I promise.
And if the van craps out on you before the end of 2012, there'll be cars on sale then too.

 

[tlbwriter]

I think the only reason to deviate from your plan would be because there was something special about the vans, something you wouldn't be able to get if you bought a van later. Is there? Do you know more about their history, for example, and how they've been driven and maintained? I know I drive a lot more carefully when my employer's logo is on the car, but that's just me.

 

[cvjw]

I got a 20% discount on my Sienna when I bought it new from the dealership. It was the end of the model year, and the dealership still had about 10 Siennas from the previous year left. They were ready to move them. I personally wouldn't buy a state owned vehicle. I used to drive one in my old job, and they were not maintained very well, and not treated very well by the employees who drove them.

 

[csharpwv]

I don't think I would buy a multi-driver car. (meaning one from a rental company, a corporate vehicle, fleet vehicle etc...)

No knock against you personally - but you may want to reconsider buying a Toyota as well. While at one time their quality was the best in the industry (along side Honda) - their quality, value, resale, and reliability ratings have been tanking in recent years.

I would not rely on the past performance of your current van as a predictor of future performance.

Ford vehicles are predicted to have the highest resale value in the industry starting with 2009 models.

Honda has not had the MASS amounts of recalls over VERY serious problems that Toyota has had.

Family vehicles carry very precious cargo - and if Toyota had been confident in the quality of their products they would not have settled out of court on the number of cases that they have. That's proof that they don't know what it wrong with their vehicles!

 

[ceecee]

Toyotas and Hondas have a much higher resale than Fords, we'll see in the future if that stays the same. I couldn't give my Ford Windstar away...they didn't want it as a trade, finially turned it in to Cash For Clunkers. In the 9 years I had it, I put $9000.00 in repairs in to it and it only had 115,000 miles on it. At 90,000 mi they were no longer making the plastic part I needed so it would be 3 months until they got the new ones out in metal, I was without a car for weeks until I find called Ford and they found a part in Al and had it sent to my dealer. It was $3000 that time (2nd repair for the same problem since the plastic part warped!). I can appreciate Ford didn't take a buy out and I really hope they are making better cars.
As for the price on the Toyota that seems like it's good, I looked at used as well as new and the used ones were high. Still, I think I would stick to the original plan.

 

[My2Angels]

I would never take all of my savings and emergency fund out at once to buy a car. What happens if you lose your job tomorrow? A new van will not buy groceries. I can only say this because my husband very unexpectantly lost his job this summer. Thank God we had an emergency fund!

 

[disneyfan2kids]

My company also offers "off lease" vehicles to its employees. I would NEVER advise someone to take one. I see (first hand) how people treat vehicles when it is not theirs (ie. our employees beat our vehicles to death because its not theirs.)

Anyone "behind the scenes" in a company that deals with the company vehicles would probably advise you the same. Don't take an off lease car from a company. Chances are the employees beat it to death...

 

[sam_gordon]

Thanks all! Exactly the advice I was looking for. lol

 

[csharpwv]

Toyotas and Hondas have a much higher resale than Fords, we'll see in the future if that stays the same. I couldn't give my Ford Windstar away...they didn't want it as a trade, finially turned it in to Cash For Clunkers. In the 9 years I had it, I put $9000.00 in repairs in to it and it only had 115,000 miles on it. At 90,000 mi they were no longer making the plastic part I needed so it would be 3 months until they got the new ones out in metal, I was without a car for weeks until I find called Ford and they found a part in Al and had it sent to my dealer. It was $3000 that time (2nd repair for the same problem since the plastic part warped!). I can appreciate Ford didn't take a buy out and I really hope they are making better cars.
As for the price on the Toyota that seems like it's good, I looked at used as well as new and the used ones were high. Still, I think I would stick to the original plan.

I don't think you read my post - Ford's vehicles, starting with some 2009 models - WILL have better resale values than Toyota, Honda etc.

That's from Consumer Reports, JD Power, and and other reputable sources.

Were the resale values comparable on older Ford vehicles - NO - definitely not. There were in fact a few clunkers that didn't hold much resale value at all.

However, if you check out the quality ratings for Ford vehicles NOW (2009 and forward) you'll find what the ratings agencies are talking about.

I rent vehicles all the time for work - and I have never driven a single Toyota vehicle that impressed me in the least (Camry, Corolla, Prius, Rav 4). As a matter of fact the Camry I drove last year - as far as overall quality - fit and finish are concerned is the WORST vehicles I have ever driven. I wouldn't even put that Toyota up against the junk vehicles that Dodge is producing these days.

It fely like cheap plastic crap - and it drove like cheap plastic crap.

 

[Colleen27]

As others have said, I wouldn't want to buy a state/fleet car. I've seen how they were treated at the office my mother works in and the one I worked in, and it isn't always pretty. To me, the savings you're talking about isn't worth giving up the assurances you'd get buying from a reputable dealer (assuming here that you're going the "certified used" route with that limited warranty protection).

As far as vehicle choice, I personally don't drive Toyotas but when it comes to the Sienna I can understand the appeal. There are so few minivans left on the market these days, and a 3rd row SUV just isn't comparable as far as ease of access to the back row. It is all well and good to talk about Ford's quality (and I'm partial to them myself) but they haven't made a minivan since 2006.