Frugally buying a vehicle
By foxyfire33
@foxyfire33 (10005)
United States
September 22, 2008 9:49am CST
Ok, so this might be a stretch for "frugal living" but here it goes...
I sold my 1981 Mustang finally for $400. We know a guy willing to take the stupid 1993 GMC van that I hated as a trade for a 1995 Chevy Suburban that I really like. The downside is that the Suburban needs a motor...but we know where one is for $200. So...we spent $1300 for the van and $300 for the Mustang, we got $400 back on the Mustang and only need to spend $200 of that for the new motor. When it's all added up and the amount of use we got out of the van and Mustang are factored in, I figure I'm getting a 1995 Suburban (including the new motor) with a nearly perfect body and interior for a grand total of $100 (we had a $100 profit on the Mustang so only have to spend an extra $100 for the motor).
Of course this is still probably a few weeks away but I'm still excited! We've been trying to get this Suburban for almost 11 months now!
What was the best vehicle deal you ever made?
2 people like this
4 responses
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
22 Sep 08
Wow, thats a super good deal. I have never made out like that on a car purchase.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
22 Sep 08
Oh wow. How do you find such a good deals on cars? I always worry that when I buy a used car it will need a lot of work.
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
22 Sep 08
Ehh...we just take a chance usually. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. My GMC van came from a "trustworthy dealer" but was nothing but trouble. The little Dodge Shadow we bought from the same place a few month before that was super cheap because they said the motor was bad...it ran perfect the whole time we had it. It would run now if I wanted to buy a $200+ fuel pump for a car I only paid $250 for.
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
22 Sep 08
I think this is probably our best deal...we did have two given to us in the past but one was about to fall apart (literally, the rear quarters turned out to be mostly cardboard, duct tape and newspapers painted to match the car!) and the other had a bit over 200,000 miles on it already.
@cobrateacher (8432)
• United States
22 Sep 08
In February, I was in an accident that totalled my new-ish (2 years old) Chrysler PT Cruiser. I decided to use whatever was available from the insurance to get an old car I wouldn't worry about if it were full of parking lot dings, etc., and not have a car payment. I got a 12 year-old Toyota Camry equipped with everything imaginable except for a cd player. I'll add one one of these days, but it's not very important. I did have to have a brake job, but it still cost less than a single car payment! This frugal move feels pretty good!
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
22 Sep 08
It does feel so good! My ex-hubby and I had a "keeping up with the Jones'" phase...We ended up with $510 a month in car payments plus a huge insurance bill because the banks required full coverage....all on an $11 an hour income. Those were rough times! And the real kicker of it is that those "newer" vehicles weren't really any more reliable than the older ones we pay cash for now, they just looked a little nicer and weren't "old".
1 person likes this
@cobrateacher (8432)
• United States
22 Sep 08
Even if something needs repair now, it beats those car payments, and it costs much less to insure an old car, even with full insurance. I resisted at first, because I've never bought a used car before, but it's great!
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
22 Sep 08
Hard to say, we make bargains all the time. Real wheeler dealers. If hubby does it without my knowledge or consent it is sometimes not the greatest. We have a Mercury Capri convertible, gets 40 mpg on the highway. Paid $900 for it. I am driving an Escort Station Wagon we got for $250 in June, that gets 30-35 mpg. Our latest deal is a 96 Dodge Dakota pick up, we got it for $600, and then we sold our 3/4 ton van for $500, so we are out $100 on it. Not sure of the mileage. We did have to get two tires for it. Neither the Escort or the Dakota are beauties, but they run good.
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
22 Sep 08
LOL...I'm sure nothing compares to our old Suburban (old as in, it is old. We still drive it everyday). It's far from being a beauty! I shouldn't even call it old since it's only a 1990 but it has been worked hard. From the 2nd doors back there are more patches than original boby...and there's still a lot of holes! But it runs real strong and that's all that matters. S/o only got stranded once in the almost year since he got it.
I had an Escort Station wagon once too! That was a good running little car! It was still running fine when we parked it but the body was in horrible shape and I just couldn't do it anymore. The dust and exhaust fumes were just way too bad to haul kids around in it (see my above comment about cardboard and duct tape, that was the car I was referring too!). I hope you enjoy yours though! They are nice, reliable cars.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
23 Sep 08
My Escort needs bumpers. All the ones in the junk yards also need bumpers. Our front bumper was okay, until we were driving by a semi on the interstate, and it had a blow out.
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
22 Sep 08
AWw...that's a bummer! That sounds like a really nice car!...well, you know, it sounds like it used to be a really nice car...
1 person likes this
