New minivan now or later - what would you do?
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Anonymous
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OP again- the $3000 really rough estimate would be for: the cost of replacing the broken CD player, repairing the window, repairing a malfunctioning door which may be simple or may require a decent amount of labor depending on what’s broken and how much disassembly is necessary to diagnose/repair and replacing my tires ($900 ish). Its a pretty rough guess except for the tires.
The assumptions here are very interesting. Like anything that deviates from some posters’ personal world view is stupid and wrong. Fascinating. For example, there are many people who prefer to lease cars because they never keep them long and want something nice and new every couple of years. But they’re not necessarily stupid and broke because of that decision. Yet I’m stupid and broke because I don’t want to drive my car until it hits 250,000 miles. Interesting conclusion, but I think I’ll let my financial status remain a mystery. I appreciate (most of) the comments on both possible paths forward. |
Anonymous
| ^ no one called you stupid OP. Let’s get that straight. Your planned action is unusual and not a good way to save money but maybe, you are so loaded, you don’t need to save money. You do you. |
Anonymous
I guess you’re right PP, I’m not stupid. I’m just poor because I make bad decisions. My mistake. I guess maybe stupid is implied though because it’s my own bad decisions that keep me poor. And i get the you do you thing. It’s actually very helpful to get everyone’s perspective on the decision. It is making me lean towards trying to get a couple more years out of the car, or at least clarifying my thinking that IF i try to get a deal on a remaining 2019 (yes they’re still out there) it’s still a total indulgence. |
Anonymous
So sensitive... |
Anonymous
| NP here. I’d get a new one now OP. |
Anonymous
Tell me why. |
Anonymous
| It seems the original poster just wants a new van. The way loans work is you pay the intrest in the beginning of the loan and the principal on the back end. She should find something she actually likes this time and get an extended warranty. |
Anonymous
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If you want a new van, get a new van.
If you want to make a decision purely on the financials, get yours repaired. Even $3k in repairs is way less than a new car with a new (higher) set of car payments. |
Anonymous
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I have never owned a new car and never leased a car but FWIW would just drive what you have. The broken CD player and window are surely a PITA but for now, if I were you, I'd just replace the tires and take stock again in a year.
I am driving a 10 year-old minivan that doesn't have a lot of miles but makes all kinds of groans when I drive, but it is up to date on basic maintenance and has checked out fine when I've taken it in. So I'd do what you need to keep it running safely until it's paid for. Another thought to consider is that your next car might not be a minivan--I also need to carpool and such, but as your kids get older (mine are now 11 and 8), other options might be better/more flexible and you might not want to be stuck paying on a minivan for that much longer. |
Anonymous
I don’t like the hassle of a car in the shop. I’m curious what brand though. Seems like a lot of issues for a 3 year old car. I have a 2014 Odyssey with 56k miles and have done nothing but routine maintenance. OP’s car sounds like a lemon. |
Anonymous
| It’s only three years old so get the little things fixed, new tires and drive it until you have at least paid for it. Check to see if any or your problems are under warranty. |
Anonymous
Or it’s a Chrysler. Op, if you get a new van go with a Toyota. It’ll cost more but you’ll actually get your money’s worth. |
Anonymous
| Op are you top 1%? |