I’m on the verge of buying a new used car but, in keeping with the layoffs that occurred at my place of employment yesterday, there are rumors of a possible shutdown for our entire department later next year.
Do I carry on with my present plan of taking on the $300 monthly car payment with the iffy state of things at work? My current car is a Ford Taurus with about 115,000 miles on it. It’s still running fine, I was just starting to worry that things would start to go on it soon. Do I have faith that things will work out with the payments whether I’m laid off or not, or is it better to be cautious in the long-term and hold onto my Ford?
There really isn’t enough information to go on here but I’ll throw in a couple points:
If you even have to ask the question then just hold off. Don’t take on the extra burden as long as your current car is working and you’re not missing out on a particularly good deal (which is unlikely). As long as the car is safe and you haven’t let the brakes just completely go then I wouldn’t worry about it. The financial burden may force you in to unwise employment decisions. Just drive the car into the ground.
Now for the real reason I’m answering: Please don’t buy a car based on the monthly payment - buy it on the base price. If you say that $300 a month is too “expensive” then he’ll make it $250 a month and extend the loan another 6 months. You can always play with the monthly payment once you’ve negotiated on a base price.
$300/mo = $3,600/yr. Chances are pretty slim that you’ll wind up with those kinds of maintenance bills unless the car is really falling apart. The old car will be cheaper in the near future, when your finances might not be as strong.
Many millionaires drive Tauruses. They drive them until the wheels fall off. When the wheels fall off, they buy another used Taurus and drive it until its wheels fall off.
You have a car that works. There is no reason to get rid of it. If it breaks and will cost a fortune to repair, then you get rid of it. If you’re worried about your income (and who isn’t?) you should not even consider buying a car.
I buy used cars and drive them for a decade. I could afford to pay cash for Porsches. The reason I could afford to pay cash for Porsches is because I buy used cars and drive them for a decade.
I used to like new cars, but have found that when stuff goes wrong, the home mechanic can’t usually do anything about it–and so a $50 part carries a $300 labor charge to diagnose & replace it.
I love my $1,500 1983 Corolla. 34 mpg, starts every morning in all weather, almost 100% non-electronic (so I can find & fix any problems), and if I lose my job, nobody can take my car cuz it’s paid for! Oh yeah, and nobody’s going to steal it.
Paid cashish for it about a year ago…that makes my “car payment” about $125/month so far.
You’ve convinced me. Just doesn’t make sense to buy it now.
I’m just a worrier by nature, so every clink and sputter I hear in the Taurus has me jittery. However, losing one’s job in a year and not having the scratch to make car payments- that beats fretting out car repairs by a mile.