OK, a semi-long story.
Back in 1998, we had a 1987 Cadillac Brougham. Nice car, easy to drive, great ride. Unfortunately, it got stolen from our employer's parking lot. To get out, they drove it through a chain link fence. Two good pieces of luck. Getting through the fence and the succeeding ditch, he knocked off the license plate and flattened a tire. The license plate made it possible for company security to call us and let us know it had been stolen. The flat tire made it so he didn't get very far. It had locking wheel covers, and he couldn't figure out how to get them off. The police caught him just a couple of blocks away, sleeping in the car.
Of course, the Cadillac went from being worth $5,000 to being worth $1,000 in just seconds. Eventually we sold it.
But we needed a second car, so we did some hunting. I found a Hertz outlet in Dallas, and we ended up getting a really nice 1998 Chevy Lumina there for an absolutely great price.
We paid off the Lumina early and drove it for 8 years. But we weren't putting many miles on it. My sister's family needed a good used car, so we sold them that one. We didn't think we needed a second car.
Oops. Our dedicated run ended, and our employment ended up changing. We each needed a car to get to work. I tried to find a good cheap used car, but no luck. We ended up getting this 2006 Cobalt for Dottie to drive.
We got it for a great price, because we got it with almost no extras. It comes standard with power steering and A/C. We got an automatic transmission and cruise control. With tax, etc., we drove it off the lot for less than $14,000. It's the car Consumer Reports calls a "Toyota Killer." It's rated at 34 mpg highway, and we've gotten as high as 38.
We financed it for 5 years, knowing we'd pay it off faster than that. The payment was $238/month, but we paid at least $350 per month all the time.
Well, our checking account got looking pretty good, so we have just paid it off.
So, Dottie's hot rod is now all hers! That means the only thing we owe any money on long-term is the house. A very good feeling.
Back in 1998, we had a 1987 Cadillac Brougham. Nice car, easy to drive, great ride. Unfortunately, it got stolen from our employer's parking lot. To get out, they drove it through a chain link fence. Two good pieces of luck. Getting through the fence and the succeeding ditch, he knocked off the license plate and flattened a tire. The license plate made it possible for company security to call us and let us know it had been stolen. The flat tire made it so he didn't get very far. It had locking wheel covers, and he couldn't figure out how to get them off. The police caught him just a couple of blocks away, sleeping in the car.
Of course, the Cadillac went from being worth $5,000 to being worth $1,000 in just seconds. Eventually we sold it.
But we needed a second car, so we did some hunting. I found a Hertz outlet in Dallas, and we ended up getting a really nice 1998 Chevy Lumina there for an absolutely great price.
We paid off the Lumina early and drove it for 8 years. But we weren't putting many miles on it. My sister's family needed a good used car, so we sold them that one. We didn't think we needed a second car.
Oops. Our dedicated run ended, and our employment ended up changing. We each needed a car to get to work. I tried to find a good cheap used car, but no luck. We ended up getting this 2006 Cobalt for Dottie to drive.
We got it for a great price, because we got it with almost no extras. It comes standard with power steering and A/C. We got an automatic transmission and cruise control. With tax, etc., we drove it off the lot for less than $14,000. It's the car Consumer Reports calls a "Toyota Killer." It's rated at 34 mpg highway, and we've gotten as high as 38.
We financed it for 5 years, knowing we'd pay it off faster than that. The payment was $238/month, but we paid at least $350 per month all the time.
Well, our checking account got looking pretty good, so we have just paid it off.
So, Dottie's hot rod is now all hers! That means the only thing we owe any money on long-term is the house. A very good feeling.
