Husband Wants Car Buying Advice

[Guest]

My husband asked me to post this.

Kathy,

Maybe you could put this up for discussion on your tightwad message
board, or at least let’s talk about it.

1990 Honda Accord. Paid for.

It requires NYS inspection by end of July 2003. It will fail the
inspection because it needs the following:

Problem/Replacement Cost

1.) Windshield/New $300/Used $183(if can find at Junk Yard, Kneer’s
didn’t have one).

2.) Springs/Both $250 (recommended)/One $110

3.) One Tire/$80

Total: $363 – $630

The car has 201K miles on it. So it is due for Timing Belt/Water Pump
replacement. The preventive maintenance will cost ~ $525.

Insurance is a little complicated. Because I have two cars on the
road, I get a 25% discount. But I pay $700/6 months or ~$1400 per
yr. From the $700 total, $383 is the Honda policy. If I take the
Honda off the road I lose the 25% discount, so the insurance for the
one car becomes not $317 (700-383) but $455. The savings is (700-
455) $245/6 months or $490/yr. The Insurance bill due at the
beginning of July is $700.

To keep this car on the road, it will cost me $1291 – $1538 over the
next 3 months. And this is for the problems I know about. If I
take the car off the road, I save the above amount plus $245.

Will it cost more than $1500 to replace it? I have no doubt that the
insurance for a replacement would be higher. And I don’t think it is
possible to get a reliable car for < $1500 that doesn't require
sinking money into it. At least with the Honda I know the brakes,
exhaust, CV, alternator are okay.

We live in a (very) rural area. My commute is 45 min one way @ 23
miles. Is it unreasonable to have one car for the family? We have
a 15 yr old and an 8 year old. What if the one car breaks down.
It’s a 1998 Windstar. Doctors’ appts, piano lessons etc. all during
the day. Who makes the sacrifice of not having the car during the
day. I don’t live on a bus route, No one in my area works near where
I do.

Would a tightwad take this car off the road?

Dan

I’m going to add that we have $2,900 in our savings. Dan brings in
$3,200/month and so far this month we will have approximately $200
left over if we are very careful.

We had a couple of steep bills, and can look forward to more in the
next couple of months, including the car insurance bill. We are
trying to pay off our credit card debt of $3,900.

I am willing to drive him to work, and pick him up, if I need the car
for the day, but I am a little concerned about emergencies. There
have been a couple of times a few years ago when we didn’t have a
second car for a couple of weeks and it worked out fine. The second
car was being repaired.

I can plan shopping trips around the piano lesson or scheduled
doctors’ appointments.

We homeschool, so I don’t have to pick my children up from school for
any reason. If a senior citizen luncheon is planned during the week
for church, I can get someone to pick my daughter up.

If Dan travels, he can rent a car, and his employer will reimburse
him for it.

I should also tell you my husband is angling for a brand new Honda
that will cost approximately $16,000 after sales tax, etc. :o)

I don’t mind too much, but I’m a little concerned that our budget and
spending is already a little tight and there won’t be anything in our
savings. When he traveled extensively we always had extra money.
He got a promotion and travels rarely now.

He bought this Honda used for $4,500 and he has done very well with
it. I’d like him to do it again.

Kathy

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