Woohoo! A small celebration of my automotive self-control!

I got really, really close to buying a shiny new car, but at the last moment exerted some self control/cost analysis and made the decision to invest a bit more in my current car (as in: two months’ worth of what payment on the new car would have been) and get her up to snuff.

The series (trim-level) of the new car I really want is considerably more than what I had saved and I’ve set-up a special savings account especially for purchasing in a few years. I was ready to hop into my second choice because I was blinded by shiny new-ness.

I have a record of impulsive auto buys, so I’m memorializing this moment of good decision-making!

Now you are on the slippery slope towards driving a well maintained 20 year old vehicle.

In my experience, it’s the ability to compare number of months of payments to the cost of a repair that is key there. It * can* actually make sense to spend $1,000 on repairing a $500 car, if said expense gets you 12 months more use out of it.

Well done, Jennshark! It’s hard to pass up shiny and new, but settling for second best would have only left you resentful. Having a separate account is a great idea.

My mechanic thinks I could get another 25k+ out of the car, it’s in such good shape now. Since I average about 7k a year, I think I made a good wager :slight_smile:

Woot! Look at all that fiscal responsibility goin’ on up in here! Great story!

In one of their Car Talk books, Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers (of course, Tom and Ray Magliozzi), they said something along the lines of “Your car needs a new engine? Put a new engine in it. Buying a new car is like putting in a new engine every month!”