Want Vs Need: Stacie got a new car
After selling the Chevy Malibu in August, we were going to wait either 1 year, or until the Pontiac Grand Am died before getting Stacie another car. This past weekend, we chose not to wait. We found the exact vehicle Stacie has wanted for at least 4 years now, and bought it.
Do you want to know which car? Take a look:
Yep, that’s Stacie with her shiny new (well, used) 2005 Mini Cooper. And yes, Stacie really is that little too.
Now hold on a minute! I know you have a bunch of questions, and may even want to yell at me for going back into debt, but let’s handle this in a civilized manner. I’ll do a little Q&A format for most of your probable questions:
Why would you go into more debt when you’re trying to get out?
Simple. Because we have a plan. And Stacie has wanted a Mini Cooper for a long time. We found a way to fit the purchase into our budget, although it did come a bit sooner than we had expected.
Tell us the story about the purchase!
Well, here’s the short form. A couple weeks ago, Stacie saw the Mini at a dealership up the road. She mentioned it, I went online, but saw it was a manual transmission. I said no deal because she doesn’t want a manual. However, she mentioned the Mini again on Thursday, so I went back online since I forgot why we skipped it the first time.
This time around, I looked more closely at the pictures. Well, surprise, surprise, the pictures showed an automatic, not a manual! I stopped by the dealership with my grandma just to peek at the car to make sure the pictures were right too. Sure enough they were, so I left my information with the salesman.
The next day, Friday, both Stacie and I took a day off from work. I took off to dethatch the lawn, which I did in the morning. I was exhausted so I took a nap, but was awakened by the salesman calling to ask if we wanted to drive the Mini, and reminded me that it was the end of the month (almost). I woke up instantly, came downstairs and asked Stacie if she wanted to go. However, Stacie hates dealerships from the last 2 auto purchases, so I went by myself.
I showed up at the dealership and drove off with the Mini to let Stacie test it. Of course I was also testing it out for soundness, noises, drive, etc. Even before I drove it, I knew Stacie would accept the purchase, but I wanted her final approval. I got home, we went out for about 45 minutes, and we both agreed that we found her a Mini.
What are the numbers?
The dealer price was $20,990, but the “rock-bottom” internet price was $17,990. I got it for $17,600. Before you shout that a car that small isn’t worth that price, I’d say that you’re right. But if we all only bought what we needed, not what we wanted, then we’d all be Amish. And I don’t think that beard would look good on me.
With tax, tags and title, and some extra wheel and tire warranty ($485) for the run-flats, the final price was about $19,200.
Did you get a loan?
Yes. I got a 5 year, 6.45% loan on about $13,200 from the credit union, and put $6,000 on a credit card. The card has a 0% offer for 6 months. Ironically, it’s our Mini Cooper Credit Card (with a picture of almost the same Mini on the front). I’ll write up a different post about the credit card another time.
Since Stacie didn’t go with me, I got the loan in my name, as well as the title. Although it means I can pull rank on Stacie and claim the car for my own whenever I want, I won’t (probably). I got it for her, but it’s ultimately out of our combined income.
And as a side-note, even with the new credit card, my credit score was about 800 when I applied for this loan. That’s the highest I’ve ever seen it, but I’m sure it’ll come down quite a bit with this new loan and credit card debt. We have no plans for more debt in the future, so I’m not worried.
How will you pay for it all?
Here’s where our plan comes into play. When we sold the Malibu, we got $10,500. When we canceled the extended warranty and GAP insurance, we got another $1,115.50, for a grand total of $11,615.50. And instead of spending that on more crap, or paying down more debt, I put it in the bank for a Mini Cooper. We were set on buying a Mini as Stacie’s next car.
The first loan payment isn’t due until mid-November. We had a $2,000 over-payment set for my student loan this month, but I’ll set that aside for the loan. When the first payment is due, we’ll pay off the loan in full from our back account. Next up is the credit card debt.
Since the CC debt is at 0% for the next 6 months, we’ll stash away the money each month in a high-interest money market account until we reach the $6,000. I expect that to happen around January, given Christmas is around the corner.
So, although I would rather have had all the money up front for the purchase, this deal happened anyway, and isn’t going to kill our budget. We got a car that Stacie wanted (although she prefers new), for a decent price (Minis barely depreciate) and in pristine condition (except for a small chip near the door and the chicken noodle soup smell). And although the car takes premium fuel, it gets about 5-8 mpg better than the Pontiac.
How much did you save getting it now versus later?
I’m glad you put it in those words. Had we waited to just buy a new Mini, with the exact specs of this used car, we would have paid $26,000, and probably waited 2-3 months to custom order it. By buying this 2-year-old Mini with only 30,000 miles, we saved $8,400! I should mention that we probably wouldn’t have ordered the sports package (with sport seats and run flat tires), or custom leather, but everything else on the car is as we wanted it.
You can download my custom-configured 2007 Mini spec sheet here. It shows all of the add-ons that the prior owner put on this car, but in 2007 pricing.
Conclusion
So there you have it. I got Stacie a new car. We should have gotten it years ago, but we were buying based on what we thought we needed (family car) versus what we wanted (coupe). Now we have a family-sized multi-purpose truck and a cute, little hatchback. And we still have the old, faithful Grand Am, which I’ll drive to classes now to save on gas.
Try one of these related posts too!:
- Murphy’s Law: Pay off your car, get into an accident
- Weekend in NY
- Examine Your Motives Series: Introduction
- Do we miss our car?
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I think you did a great job. It wasn’t an impulse purchase and you have a plan to pay it off long before the car depreciates significantly. You also saved money buying now vs. buying later. I guess “clever dude” really fits….LOL
nice. Im forcing my wife to learn a stick. They cost WAY less to repair than automatics, are more fun to drive (especially on such a small car). I think the new mini’s suck (we had an old original mini when I was a kid) interior wise, those ugly dials and all.
My wifes car is dieing, so we are in the same position. Only got 4k left to pay off to own both cars, but we really need to ditch hers and get another.
cars are a bottomless pit for requiring cash
I’m also running into the practical vs ugh deal. You know the one where its pracitcal to get a minivan but you keep getting the ‘ugh, i dont want to drive a minivan’ responses back
have fun driving the mini!
Good for you. Here’s to actually enjoying ourselves by spending money every now and then!
Well, since you open your lives up to us on the Web, I’m going to say what I think about this.
First, the long post is obviously a justification to say that you made the correct decision. You may be trying to make yourself feel better for knowingly putting yourself into more new debts, but it won’t work after your “new-car-eyes” wear off. It’s good you have a plan, but you and your wife are only going in circles. This is clearly a situation where your wants really took over good judgment on your part. From where I am sitting, I saw no need for a NEWER car when you had a perfectly fine grand-am.
Second, not only does this purchase make no sense now, but all your future goals will have to slow down a bit because of this new debt. What you could’ve done with a $300+/mo payment could’ve been invested to help you retire a lot sooner, or to pay cash for your next car. Instead of delaying instant gratification, you decided to go into debt even further to get what you wanted.
Third, you’ve now got yourself back into credit card debt, which you JUST PAID OFF like a few weeks ago. Why you do this to you and your wife is beyond me. Being out of debt and then having the urge to go back in is disheartening.
Fourth, you now have 3 cars for 2 people, in which you must pay gas, maintenance, insurance, and auto care for. Not to mention, you live in a city where they provide AMAZING public transportation! I’m flabbergasted.
This blog should not be about getting people out of debt. I think you should avoid this topic all-together. This blog is more like a reality-show gone wrong.
The above statements of course are my opinion, and because you open your lives up to us, I think I can give it. I know this is not what you wanted to hear but I only give it to people straight. No BS.
Unnecessary, it’s great that you hide behind a unanimous cloak while leaving comments, but I’ll respond to you anyway. I don’t need to justify the purchase to all of you, because it’s 1) something we’ve wanted for years and 2) we have a way to purchase it. However, I posted because it’s a big money item and I don’t want to keep those types of things secret since I’ve exposed mostly all of our other financials on this site.
To some of your points, I 1) don’t live IN DC, I live in the suburbs. I DO take public transportation to work everyday, but it’s easier for my wife to drive to work. 2) We’re in debt for a brief time…Period. Do you own a home? Why did you put yourself in debt for 30 years when you could be renting? Do you own a car? Why? Just walk you lazy bum. Do you have clothes? Why? Just go naked. Sell it all and have more to invest! Why do you have the internet? Why do you have power, or running water? You could live in the forest like a caveman. Then you can talk to me about buying needless things. Everything we buy is needless because we ultimately can get it cheaper some other way.
3) The car payment is under $250 per month. Do the math. I put the details right there for you. Oh, and we’re paying it off at the first due date.
4) You “give it to people straight” from your opinion, not from fact, just like I do. I’m up front, open, and almost uncensored in everything I say as well. This isn’t a blog against debt, or for frugality, or against consumerism. It’s a blog about our own decisions and advice based on our experiences if you want it. I invite constructive criticism, which yours barely is.
5) The Pontiac’s frame is starting to rust, and with a 45 mile round trip for my wife every day, we wanted something safe, comfortable, fun and reliable, with decent gas mileage. That’s why we sold the Malibu. It wasn’t fun, comfortable or safe. Even with the Mini’s small size, it has 3x’s the airbags as the Malibu. And it has better gas mileage than the Pontiac. And it’s a blast to drive.
6) The only thing extra we must pay by having 3 cars is insurance. We only pay maintenance and gas FOR WHAT WE DRIVE! If we drive the Mini all the time, we pay for the gas in the Mini, not in any other vehicle. Insurance on the Pontiac is a measly $30 or so per month.
I don’t disagree with your questioning our purchase when we just got out of credit card debt, and want to get out of total debt, but I think you either read through the post too quickly or you’re just stupid because I clearly stated our plan. If you look through the archives, you’ll see we have a goal. This auto purchase doesn’t change that goal, it just means that we have to give up some things elsewhere in our lives to achieve it.
Wow, obviously I struck a nerve. Yes, I ‘hide’ behind a cloak because my privacy is important to me, unlike you and your life which you freely discuss. That is fine, just not for me.
You say you use public trans. Then WHY do you have a truck that is not paid for? Why can’t you just take the Pontiac? Sell the stupid truck. There is no logic in this for you. For your wife, yes maybe because she drives a lot more.
@ #3, you forgot about your CC payment that you must now make. Also, the insurance? And premium fuel costs!? I think this adds to more than 300! You do the math, not me! I know you’ll pay this off, but you still have $6000 in CC. All I am saying is I don’t understand the logic of you wanting to get rid of your CC debt, but then you go back into it. I just think there is better things to spend $ on.
@ #4, what I say is my opinion and because your blog is open to ANYONE in the world, you will get ALL types of comments. This will not stop me or anyone else from really saying what they want. This is an open blog. If you don’t want comments, don’t allow them! How crazy for you to say what others should be saying. You have an open floor, why can’t we?
@ #5, I don’t doubt the big improvement over the Malibu. The Malibu was a bad purchase and you know it. We also all know American sucks in all categories. I’d buy a Mini also, but just not with debt.
If you don’t disagree with my questioning, why the rebuttal? I never said you were dumb, I just did not think your purchase was a smart one. You WANTED a new car, you didn’t need one. For me, it’s easier to do this, you, not so much.
Again, your life is yours, and I don’t care whether you make a decision or not, I just gave you my OPINION. Take it or leave it as you wish. I just don’t think you should criticize people who wish to leave comments on a PUBLIC website for ANYONE to comment on. You knew you were going to get flack for this. It says so in the first few paragraphs!!! This was not unexpected so I don’t think you have any justification to say I can’t question it.
Unneccesary, I could have financed the whole loan rather than putting a third of it on a 0% credit card for 6 months and save myself interest. Would that have made you feel better?
I bought the Mini with debt, but as you apparently know, I’ll be paying off that debt immediately once I get the first payment. The reason I got the loan is because our money was in mid-transfer from HSBC to Bank of America. Otherwise, I would have paid cash for the $13k and still put 6k on the 0% credit card.
I’ve already gone through, on this site, why I bought the truck and why I still have it. I have considered selling it a number of times, or trading it down for another vehicle, but I’m not, for now. We’ll continually revisit that idea, but I just don’t want to sell it right now, and that’s my decision, however illogical it seems to you.
Regarding counting insurance in the loan payment, that’s just wrong. It’s a monthly cost, but that’s different from the monthly debt payment. Perhaps it was just a confusion over wording? And the CC debt payment will be under $50 minimum, but as you know, I’ll be paying much more than the minimum (but not until I need to). You can easily say my monthly payments are $2300 a month by your calculations.
I accept all comments, but although this is a public site for commenting (i.e. it’s on the internet and not password protected), it’s still MY site, and I control what comments appear. Simply because you leave a comment doesn’t mean I can’t delete the whole comment or edit out banned words (cussing) or unsavory sections.
But to keep things real, I will keep all constructive criticism. If I get a troll who isn’t adding anything to the discussion, then I’ll delete their comments and mark them as spam. So, just as you have the ability to comment, I have the ability to moderate.
Well, sometimes it all in how you say things, not in what you say.
Clever Dude, congrats on your new car. I hope you enjoy it. I agree that you have to take care of business and take care of you at the same time.
A balance is good when you can afford it and obviously you can. You have a good plan and I applaud you for thinking the purchase through.
I understand that you can moderate and yes I know it’s YOUR site and I’m glad you do watch over it, but taking out things that just don’t “jive” well with you kind of keeps the 2-way street of communication to just one lane don’t you think? I agree completely with bad words, spam, etc. and this should be taken care of.
However, putting your family’s thoughts up for the world to see WILL generate some controversial and unlikeable comments (mine included). I only comment because 1) it’s an opinion that you’ve allowed us to share 2) to maybe give you another angle of how things work with other people (and how it works in their lives) and 3) to help you with your AdSense! Kidding about that, but I do enjoy your site. I just don’t agree with all of the things you do, and that is fine. People don’t agree with me either which is fine too. And that is what makes this world great. We can share ideas and offer criticisms without being hauled off to jail.
In any case, enjoy the new car
Clever,
I hate to say it but Unneccessary makes a valid point. The entire write-up on the subject is a justification of adding more debt. Did you really “need” another car?
You say the car payment is $250/month. What is the length of that loan? One rule that I have stuck to is if I can’t pay off a car loan in 3 years then I can’t afford the car.
Also, $30 a month for a third unnecessary vehicle is $30 dollars that you could apply to other debt. It is that incremental justification of debt that puts us in the position of being in a position where we wonder “how the heck did we get this far in debt”.
Joe, read the article. I say what the term is, and I will pay off the loan in full next month. That’s $13,285 I will pay CASH. I got the loan simply because our savings was in-transit from one bank to another over the weekend.
You should be glad you got the run-flats with your wife driving it. Twice now my wife has hit something and the tire was ruined…but she could keep driving to get home. They are worth the expense.
And the Mini really is worth the $20000 or so…Civics cost almost that much, and this is a way better car. We love ours. Oh, and nice that you went all one color…ours is all solar red from top to bottom. Enjoy.
Clever,
So you are not adding “debt” but didn’t you sell the malibu to pay down your other loans?
I am not trying to preach…. I have made and probably will fight to make the same justification
on getting into debt that you have made.
Here is my example:
Last year my wife and I bought our first new car (2006 Mazda MPV) after years of me saying that I would NEVER buy a new car. I would always find a good 2 year old american car with low miles for less than 10K. I bought a 1990 dodge spirit for $3500 cash in 1994. I bought a 1996 dodge stratus in 1998 with 18k miles for $8500 and paid it off in 2 years. I drove the 1990 spirit with 160,000 to the junkyard in 2003 after buying a 2002 Ford Taurus w/18k miles for $9900.
Paid off the Taurus in 2 years and continue to drive in with 60k miles on it and plan to get at least 150k on the car.
So last year the 1996 stratus with 153,000 miles stared to break down frequently. I sold the car for $500 and needed to find a second vehicle.
We had 2 kids since we got married in 98 so we were looking for a bigger car this time (minivan..SUV). We also wanted a reliable vehicle since our family lives on the other side of Pennsylvania.
So instead of buying that 2 year old minivan we decided (and somehow justified) buying a new $17,000 2006 mazda mpv. My wife likes the size of the mpv compared to other minivans so she “wanted” the mpv.
So my justification was to get into more debt purchasing a new minivan instead of buying a used minivan to get out of the cycle of paying on a vehicle. Since we drive our vehicle(s) until the wheels literally fall off we calculated that we would get nearly 10-13 years at 12-15,000 miles/year of reliable driving out of the new 2006 mpv and another 10 years of driving the 2002 ford taurus at 6,000 miles/year.
So “IF” we get 10-13 years of driving out of the new MPV and another 10 years out of 2002 taurus we will have at least 7 years of not carrying any debt on a vehicle.
Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to post my contrived logic on going into debt. Who knows if it was good or bad logic….
Joe E., The Malibu was paid off back in June (about 4 years early), so it wasn’t done to get out of debt. We actually sold it to get rid of it, and intentionally put the money into the bank towards the purchase of a Mini for Stacie. The original plan was 1 year so that we could save up even more money towards a new Mini.
As I mentioned in this article, we were planning on buying a brand new Mini, but saw this one come along. This purchase saved us at least $5000-8400, depending on whether we would have opted for the custom leather (doubt it) and sports package (maybe). You can see that near the end of the article.
So basically we knew we wanted to get Stacie a Mini, but only because there were no used ones on the market that exactly matched what she wanted. I should have said that this is THE only car that makes her smile every time she sees one, and is the only car the has wished for in years. Hence the “Wants vs Needs” in the article title. This Mini isn’t a Need, it’s a Want, but as I mentioned to a previous commenter, you can justify anything you buy (clothes, house, food). It’s all in whether you can afford it and how much risk you’re willing to take on.
We can afford the car now, but it means we won’t get to pay down other debts with that extra money from the Malibu sale. However, it was locked up for another purpose anyway, so it’s not an impact.
Congratulations on the purchase!
That said, I have to agree with a couple of the other commenters. I think it’s great that you have a car that you both will enjoy, but I’d have preferred to see you and Stacie wait a year or so until you could pay cash. It’s true that buying *new* in a year would cost a lot more than buying *used* now, but there will undoubtedly be similar deals next year on a 2006 Cooper.
What surprises me is that this purchase came so quickly after you sold your Malibu. I recognize that you’re paying off the primary loan on the Cooper quickly, but to pretend that you’re not taking on debt is misleading. If you weren’t putting that cash toward the Cooper loan, you would likely be putting it toward other debt.
I’m not going to lecture you; you and Stacie are making great progress toward your goals. I do think this is a bit of a “slip”, and that some of the arguments presented are merely justifications. I also think you may have paid a bit extra for some things ($485 for a tire warranty?)..
What do you think the Grand Am is worth? Why not sell that, and put the money toward other debts? The money you’ll get from the sale, along with savings on insurance and maintenance will by far exceed the gas savings you get from driving it instead of your truck.
Congradulations… some guys give the gift of flowers… cheaper but day in a few days, there dead an gone…
you like my husband gave the gift a car that will make his wife smile!(smart) and can be seen forever… just keep up the maintence and waxing… and in 30 years it will be a classic! and a nice little love token….
No hiding for me! My MINI and I live next door to Clever Dude.
First off, I think it’s great you got your wife a car she actually likes. It seems her commute is the #1 source of unhappiness in her life, and a MINI will do wonders to help that… for a while, at least.
It’s also great that you got a MINI because they are fabulous cars. Safe, fuel efficient, fun to drive. And blue is a great color.
Since you put this out here and seem to be looking for comment, I’ll just point out that the 2005 MINI is probably the worst of the bunch compared to the ‘04, ‘06, and ‘07. 2005 was the year they introduced the MINI Convertible, and I think their focus on the convi made the base model suffer. Lots of reliability issues have been reported, so many folks are shelling out the extra $2,000-some bucks for the extended warranty.
You mentioned in our brief conversation that you’d probably get the extended warranty. Depending on when the original owner bought the car, I think your manufacturer’s warranty will run out in 10-22 months. Yes, you’ll almost certainly want the extended warranty because of the expensive ‘05 problems being reported.
All that said, you could have had an ‘06, ‘07, or almost an ‘08 for the price of the ‘05 plus extended warranty.
Which brings me to my ultimate point: MINIs make people buy impulsively. CD pointed out this car online the night before buying it. I didn’t think he’d buy it for at least a week or so or that he’d just pass on it altogether. Had I known he was going out to buy it the next day, I would have screamed “Don’t do it! Get the ‘06, ‘07, or ‘08! Or even an ‘04!” It’s partly my fault for waiting, and of course CD doesn’t have to run his purchases by me. And hopefully this will be a lucky problem-free MINI.
Two more quick warning points for future potential MINI buyers who read this:
“Minis barely depreciate” is true… until the initial warranty runs out. Then they start dropping quickly, even with the extended warranty… which is why I plan to sell mine in the next few months.
And to echo previous sentiments, $485 for a tire warranty? You got ripped off hard by the dealer. (I can understand why Stacie hates them!) You can get four brand new non-runflats for under $200 mounted. All of the MINI runflats are a terrible tire in any year (even worse than the stock Contis); I’d recommend pulling them off right away and replacing them with some nice Kumhos or even a Bridgestone.
Not like you care, but I’ll throw in my two cents.
Unnecessary & Joe both have valid points, but you counter them specifically with your Want vs. Need statement.
- Could you have refrained from this purchase and put the money to better use? Yes.
- Do you need three cars? Probably not.
- Is the Mini safer and for fuel efficient than the Pontiac? Yes
- Is Stacie happier with the Mini? Yes (and that counts for a lot)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it was a poor decision. I’m glad you bought it. But you have to admit that your post today does come off a little as if you are trying to justify the purchase (not that you have to justify it to us). Fact is that you wanted the car, planed a way to get it, and made the purchase. The money could have been spent differently, but that was your decision. Hey,.. at least you were smart about the purchase.
(my only other minor concern is that the loan is in your name and not in Stacy’s, thus not contributing to her credit. Perhaps that not an issue for her at this juncture, but based on our recent experience, that type of thing is going to bite my wife and I in the butt)
Nick: We’ll probably look into the warranty in a year. We have till May 09 for the warranty. Until then, I’ll just blame you for any problems since you didn’t tell me all about MINIs ahead of time
Oh, and I’ll spell it MINI (all caps) from now on.
Rob: You’re right, as is everyone else, that we could have spent the money differently, or saved it. But we didn’t. We could have taken a trip to Disney, but we’re not. We could adopt or birth kids, but we’re not (for the near term at least). We all have different ways to spend our money, and Stacie and I both agreed that getting the MINI is what we’ve wanted for years. We should have gotten it back in 2004 instead of the Passat, but that just didn’t happen. We paid for that mistake when we paid off the Malibu loan.
Although it may sound like it, this article wasn’t meant to justify the purchase. We already justified it to ourselves. This article was to announce the purchase of something that will make Stacie very happy (and has already). I won’t get to drive it, and a hairy, fat, balding man in a MINI just doesn’t look right anyway
M- I also got her flowers last night. I’ve mentioned in past posts that I always have “fresh” flowers for her since we got married (4 years ago this month). I say “fresh” because sometimes they’re a bit dried up before I get more.
Oh, and yes it is a problem not to have Stacie on the title or loan. She does have her own credit card (she doesn’t use) and was on the Malibu loan.
You life is yours, but here’s my opinion. If I was $50K in debt, and sold an asset for $12000, would I immediately go out and spend $13000 on a third car while increasing my debt to $56K? Absolutely not. That’s just a risk I would not be willing to take.
Given your scheduled plan, you could have had your debt down to $31K in 6 months, not counting your regular debt repayment. Instead, you’re just treading water. Again, not something I’m personally comfortable with.
But hey I understand. If my lady really really wants a new pair of jeans, I’m more than willing to stretch the budget a bit. But $19,000? That’s a bit too much of a stretch for my tastes. (as an aside: Are we all so whipped?)
Trust me, I’m the last person to give you a hard time about a purchase like this. And I’m willing to bet that most people here make these types of decisions all the time. Heck,.. I bought a 52″ HDTV on Craigslist for $500 the other day just because I wanted it (and I had the cash saved for a purchase of this type). Of course I didn’t need it and of course I could have spent the money better. But hey,.. life wouldn’t be fun if we didn’t splurge every once in awhile. Besides,.. I’m like you, I wouldn’t look good as an Amish guy either.
i think i remember something about the flowers, not much for flowers myself.(kudos for doing both) I’m more of a car girl myself
i think the mini is a great car. 1. small 2. safe 3. keeps the same look there is a local car show that has all sort. There are people with mini’s from the 60’s that love them as much as when they bought them new… don’t stress don’t forget the wax… it will keep a classic shiny and bright for years to come….
i think stacy might (my opinion if she doesn’t already) like to learn how to change the oil, put air in the tires and check pressure, and little mechanical things e.i. fluids changing blinkers lights. It make one feel more proud doing little things. Most of my friends that are girls really think it is cool when I take the time to show them how to do it all by themselves. Oh and AAA card all her own incase she wants someone to do it for her(not all girls are me)… =)
I agree that getting ourselves in a bit more debt is risky; our friends and families cringe at times when they get that “we got a new car” call. However, I have a commute that, on some days, can take 2 hours to get home. I want to be happy in the vehicle in which I am commuting. (I smile just looking at the mini.) Public transportation would take me >3 hours/day to commute EVERY DAY, so it’s shorter to drive. Is it crazy that we bought a car so soon after we sold the other one? Yeah, but that’s life. Do each and every one of you make the most financially frugal decision 100% of your life? Probably not. And just because in the short term, this looks non-frugal, there is no telling that it won’t be smart long term.
So, on a related note, does anyone want to buy a beautifully kept Pontiac Grand Am? And, Punny Money,I refuse to sell to you…;-)
To Unnecessary,
Thanks for your candid assessment of the Clevers’ purchase. I was on the fence regarding an auto purchase, but your words helped steer me back towards my goals (seems I get the itch for a new Jeep every summer).
Regards!
Okay, final offer: $20 for the Pontiac, as long as it still has that new Stacie smell.
JNJ, glad I helped you steer you back towards your goals. Don’t let ANYTHING get in the way of them!
Since everything has been discussed pretty well, I’ll mention something new. Get that 0% card paid off quick! Yes it is 0%, but unlike a your 6.5% term loan it’s not a fixed rate. One slip (like them not processing a payment on time), or even a arbitrary decision by the card company (who might pull a report and decide you have too much debt and revoke your 0%, or you just fit in some random computer category labeled “lets stick it to this guy!” - I’m certain all card companies have a special filing cabinet with this label on it) and they could hike your rate to 20-30%.
That would give you a month to pay it off, and if you don’t, could lead to massive interest charges. Unless you have the cash on hand, that could leave you scrambling.
Malibu to Mini Cooper - Sweet upgrade!
As long as you are progressing towards your goals to your satisfaction, I don’t see any need for justification.
Another part of opening one’s finances to the public is to realize someone will always disagree with your spending decisions - just don’t let it make you enjoy the Mini any less
Clever Dude,
I did the stupid “I just graduated college and I’m going to finance the car I’ve wanted for 4 years” thing. I’ve been driving my ‘06 MINI Cooper S since June ‘06, and still absolutely love it. I probably could (should?) sell it and buy something a bit better on gas but really, I have a 45 mile commute each way, why shouldn’t it be in a car that I absolutely love to drive? It sounds like Stacie is in a similar mindset. If you guys have a plan to pay for it, she’s wanted it for 4 years so it wasn’t just a rash decision, and you got a good deal on it, enjoy it! The “new car eyes” don’t go away.
If you really want to get out of debt, you’ll stop spending so much money on cars. If you really want to build wealth, you’ll stop investing so much money in depreciating assets. Right now you just want to have nice cars. That’s the bottom line.
For real though, enjoy the car! My parents have one (convertible) and I love driving it.
Cleverdude and Cleverdudette,
I have read all the comments and really wonder about some people. This may not be the best financial decision you could have made - but, come on…how old are you, live a little! If having a spiffy new little car makes your day then go for it. Having lived as an adult for over 40 years, I can promise you that there will be times in your life when the “best” financial decision just doesn’t cut it. Yes, you have to be responsible - but, what happened to everything in moderation. Just make sure you don’t get yourself buried into serious debt with no way out. Right now, you are both young and have full careers ahead of you. Congrats Cleverdude for returning to school - education is valuable and a solid investment in yourself.
Enjoy your car, enjoy being young, enjoy life. I will think of you, Stacy, on my commute tonight everytime I see a little MINI.