As much as we’ve been trying to avoid it, Ames and I started thinking recently about our car situation:
We have a 1997 “Mommy Car” Camry that after replacing the AC compressor, we’re worried is about to hit that maintenance prone part of it’s life. Our other vehicle is a 1995 S-10 pickup with power nothing and a dead AC. Neither of which are really road-trip worthy vessels, and with the impending move to South Carolina, we’ve definitely got some road trips coming up – soon.
So we needed to do something. The weakest link is definitely my truck. Amy can’t drive it because it’s manual, and for all I know the thing might not even make the drive up to South Carolina. As pathetic as it is though, I’m really fond of my lil’ red s-10 and would gladly drive the thing into the ground before trading it for another vehicle. Luckily, Amy doesn’t feel the same about her Camry. We actually bought it as a rushed replacement for her beloved 92 Accord (with a sunroof) that was rear-ended and totaled in February of last year.
- The Idea: Ditch the Camry and get a newer used car that we can depend on.
- The Roadblocks:
- If we sell the car first, we’ll have no time shop since Amy needs a car to get to work and cannot drive my truck.
- Even if we got what the car is worth, that leaves us with a budget for a similar year, high-mileage vehicle.
- The Solution: Figure out what we want, and what we want to pay. Go car browsing the dealerships on Easter Sunday when there are no salesmen. Get pre-approved for a used car loan. Go back to said dealership Monday night after work. Buy Car!
The newest member of our family: She’s an 02 Honda Civic EX with under 38k miles, power windows/locks, keyless entry, CD player …and of course, a Sunroof.
Hahaha. I love that commercial.
Nice car. At first I thought it was one of the new Accords that I drool over. But like your S-10, I’ve got a ’98 Accord that once paid off (I bought it used) I want to drive into the ground. I love it. And one of the reasons: Sunroof? Check. When the day comes that my current Accord won’t start anymore, I’ll go buy a used Accord of the current model and do the same with that car.
I’m wondering something though… If it was a ’92 model and was totalled last year, that made it about 13 years old. How many miles were on it and was it still running well? I’ve got just over 100K on my ’98 Accord so that’s not bad for a 7 to 8 year-old car. I’m trying to figure how many years I’ll actually get to keep this car.
“And how did I do it? I’m in debt up to my eyeballs. Somebody help me.” 🙂
Maybe she’ll let you drive it, to church, on Sunday, once a month, perhaps, if you’ll wash and wax it afterward, and fill it up and top off the fluids, maybe…Now, get back to work!
Nice blue, and it looks fast.
Nice car. 🙂
I’ve got a ’98 4×4 durango with ~120k on it. I plan to drive it into the ground since I’ve finally finished paying it off. I may get a small car (love the mini’s) for the gas mileage but keep the durango for fun. It’ll be a while tho, I’m loving not having to pay a car note right now 🙂
Nice Car!
I got 98k on the Corolla now, and might take it on two road trips. One to Tennessee for a rafting trip and I might drive up to where my grandparents live in PA. I have lots of life left in my car, just did the 90k maintenance in December.
The 92 Accord was a trooper, I don’t remember how many miles it had on it but we only had one minor problem, the transmission went out. Ok, not so minor, but I think we caused it…somehow. It was actually read-ended a week after we had the work done. Oh, and it had a bent radio antennae since I took it (before Amy and I were even engaged) through a carwash with the radio on. DoH!
I just happened upon your site by doing a search for “Sushi at Publix”…. It is a great site…fabulous colors. My brother lives in Chicago and has a blog site which is wonderful as well! I really enjoyed reading your entry from May 13 2004…your comments about your wife should be written in a book…. you have the gift of writing….perhaps that’s an avenue you should explore! Blog on! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂