Here is what we've done with $10K of it.....
Hubby's commuting car was a 2000 Kia Spectra. We had bought that in 2001, used obviously. We've been tracking the maintenance costs(gas mileage, repairs, etc.)on it the last 2 years. It finally got to the point where we were pouring more $ into it than we were realizing a benefit from driving it. It had over 150,000 miles on it and was coming up on needing work in the $1K+ range at the end of 2009.
So hubby started researching and seeing what was available locally used. He found this 2006 Chevy Malibu. It was part of a rental fleet and only had 29K miles on it, had good maintenance records and a clean CarFax report. It's a bit larger than the Kia so will be a bit more comfortable to drive, which is important for hubby. But it gets the same good gas mileage as his old car. It will also hold 5 passengers so we all can fit in it if need be.
I just abhor spending money on cars to begin with and I absolutely will NOT buy a new car!
Why take the financial hit for buying a new car that depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot? If you think Chanel or Clive Christian fragrances are expensive, try the price tag on "new car smell"!lol
While I'm not happy about spending this money, it is something we needed. And by waiting and saving up and paying CASH we did NOT take on a car loan! This car costs $10K cash. It will not end up costing us over $12K because we took on a car payment of $340 a month for the next 3 years at a 6.83% interest rate.
Now we just have to decide what to do with the Kia. We run our cars into the ground but this one still has a bit of life left in it. Even though it won't benefit us much on next year's taxes we'll probably donate it rather than junk it for parts.
Sluggy
