Never again...

disconnected · Post by **disconnected** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 4:27 pm

I just PAID OFF our family vehicle. New cars are such a rip. It is going to be so nice to not have that payment leeching our funds every month!

From here out we will only purchase used vehicles.
This is the part where freedom starts to be reclaimed... Exciting stuff!

lilacorchid · Post by **lilacorchid** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 3:20 pm

Awesome! It's a great feeling! We are never buying new again either. (I had already had that experience once and decided that, but my husband wanted to buy a new car. He's now on board with me too.)
Congrat again!!!

BeanHead · Post by **BeanHead** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:08 pm

Congrats on that final payment!
My car is paid off (a GENEROUS gift I received after college graduation so I'd have something reliable for years). I plan on keeping that thing until the tires fall off. I refuse to get involved in car payments. My family always bought used growing up and we never had a problem except for one car.

Seneca · Post by **Seneca** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 5:05 pm

Congratulations, that is an awesome feeling!

djc · Post by **djc** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 6:00 pm

I know I'm in the minority but we always buy new cars and run them forever and ever. We still have a 1998 Honda CR-V (15 years old) that runs great with 150k miles on it. We need it for snowy weather. We also have a subcompact we use for any trips we take.
djc

frugaladventurer · Post by **frugaladventurer** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:56 pm

I'm like you, djc. I've found that in the car range I tend to buy (low-end Hondas or Toyotas), if I find a good sale on a new one without all the extra bells and whistles (usually a loss-leader sale, and I don't need or miss any of the extras)that it's a better deal for me than a couple years old car (that usually was sold to some sucker with $3,000 worth of extras, so that the resale price is almost the same as my new "stripped" car).

For instance - my current ride is a 2009 Toyota Matrix, stick shift, plain jane (does have air conditioning though - a first for me!). I bought it at a loss-leader sale, no extras, for about $16,500. I figure, buying that new, and maintaining it well, and driving it for 200k, is as good or better a deal as buying used.

frugaladventurer · Post by **frugaladventurer** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:57 pm

Bought for cash, of course

dot_com_vet · Post by **dot_com_vet** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:20 am

My current philosophy is to buy new and drive for 20+ years. It's really about total cost of ownership.
I've bought used cars in the past when I was driving a ton of miles. That's a bad combination. I regret doing that, as all savings is lost when you're paying someone $70 - $80/hour + parts markup to do major repairs every few months.

spoonman · Post by **spoonman** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 4:39 am

Congrats, disconnected! I paid my car off a couple of years ago (I had a 6% loan on it) and it felt great to get that monkey off my back. It's an awesome milestone.

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:51 pm

Congrats! Both on the final payment and on the decision to never do that deal again.

disconnected · Post by **disconnected** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:59 pm

Thanks for all of the replies! Its already feeling like a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders.
I'm planning to attack my mortgage next, or possibly relocate to a new homestead that is more fitting to my vision of an ERE lifestyle. I will keep you all posted on that journey when it begins.