I’m a wishy-washy muddle-headed milequetoast when it comes to decisions. So I turn to the cool heads of you dopers for some advice. Almost exactly one year ago I sold my car and bought a different one. I sold a 1989 Honda Civic w/172K miles that was in fins running shape although a bit rusty. I got $1200 for it. I paid $5K for a 1996 Saturn SW2, which has been a fine car. I didn’t need the car at all, I think I bought it because a couple guys I knew just bought “new” cars, and I was jealous. I’ve been kicking myself ever since. It was a silly, unnecessary move and, while we had the money, it could have been spent on something that didn’t depreciate immediately.
Anyway, there’s been some registration trouble with the Honda, I kept getting tax bills and I finally got it all taken care of about two weeks ago. Well, the buyers just stopped by the house and they also are having problem registering the car, mostly due to the fact that the lady who bought didn’t do the transfer properly. They have asked for my help completing the transfer and mentioned that they might be selling it. I joked that I’d buy it $800. They said sure. AAUUUGGGHHH!
Should I buy back the Honda and sell the Saturn, assuming we get all the title stuff straightened out? I could sell the Saturn for way more than $800, so we’d have a few $K to bank and I’d have my car back. Then I could breathe a little easier, I think. Maybe.
I can’t decide if I’m reacting emotionally like I did when I bought the Saturn, or if I’m correcting a mistake I made last year. Please help!
OK, I’ll bite: I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving around a 1989 model car with that many miles on it. I’m a Honda fan too (I drive an Accord) and I know they can last forever, but the hassle of being dead on the highway one time would make me keep the Saturn.
(Also, I’m guessing you have two kids, which would quadruple the hassle of having your car die on you.)
I’ll use the car for commuting to and from work and the odd weekend errand, and I take my kid to preschool once or twice a week. It’s all in the neighborhood, no long trips. And I owned the car for eight years, I know what “the deal” is with it. I’m rally leaning towards buying it back. Maybe you could tell?
Well, it sounds as though you’ve regretted the whole Saturn thing from day one. I am also a Hondaphile, nevertheless I kind of agree with TaxGuy about a car with so many miles on it . . . but it sounds as though you’d rest easier if you got the Honda back.
There’s also the advantage that if something goes wrong with the older Honda, it would easier to fix yourself (within reason, of course).
Yeah, looks like you wanna buy it back alright. You may not mind a little car trouble now and again, but I’d rather have two root canals and a prostate exam instead of having my car not start or break down on the side of the road. YMMV.
“I wonder how much damage a person could to a car in a year?”
I love it. It’s like one of those movie scenes where people say, “At least it can’t get any worse!” And then it starts raining. Someone can do A LOT of damage to a car, especially one with so many miles on it, in a year. It really depends on how much you trust these people, and whether you want to spend money on a mechanic for an $800. Me, I’d just buy it back. But I can also work on my own cars.
Let me tell you, though, if I had a chance to buy back my 1982 Civic, gone these many years, for $800, I’d jump at the chance.
Actually, I didn’t see that car, they aren’t driving it because the tags are expired. I ordered a new title because of the expired one, and I’ll probably be going to see “my” car at that point. I’ll drive it around and see what it’s like. Then I’ll know.
These folks seem pretty honest. Heck they bought it from me without taking it to a mechanic. So I think taking them at their word isn’t a big stretch.
