Looking at getting a new car!

Having two car payments would suck but if you have the ability to pay off your current car out of savings and not have it strap you down then Id probably do that. I only say that because from what I know about buying during 'clean outs' you can get some killer deals. It all comes down to how strapped you would be with two car payments or how long it would take you to build your savings back up if you used it to pay off the current car.

If it were me I would basically make a checklist of pros and cons of buying now and waiting to buy and go from there and see which one looks better on paper. Also the other thing to look at is that while a salesman will say what they can to get the sale is it in black and white that you specifically can get the deal they are offering and they arent just spewing stuff. Sometimes you can even get a better deal. When BIL went and bought his new truck he thought his initial payment was gonna be so much and when he bought the truck his payment was actually less and still had a great deal on it.

You can't go wrong with a Subaru Leigh Ann.

Personally, I never buy a "new" car (new to me, I prefer used) until I have cash for it... which is why my first car was so cheep-cheep, and why my current cars are from 1995 and 2001, heh! So the idea of a double-debt is not too appealing IMO.

You can save a tiny bit buying a last year model new, but then you lose that money you saved on resale, especially if that new model year had significant changes. End effect is you really didn't save anything.

Why not look at used vehicles? The first year is a MASSIVE depreciation on a new car even though its still barely used, and there are plenty of great repos or leases or people that simply purchased a vehicle beyond their means and better THEM take the hit than you. That market is absolutely fantastic right now, whereas new vehicles are lukewarm at best as production has been reduced and Toyota and Honda are having supply issues.

^^^ Speaking of resale value..I find it horrible and atrocious that a 100th Anniversary limited edition model Harley Davidson F-150 had a lower resale value than a freakin Hummer.....Sorry story behind that but needless to say I could still kick Df in the head for selling his 100th Anniversary Harley Truck AND Harley motorcycle...GRRRR

I hear you, Mooch....we're doing that, too. We'd like to wait until spring, if possible.

We're looking at the Hyundai Tucson or the Hyundai Sonata. I'm leaning more toward the Tucson; Rick is going for the Sonata. I still like the LaCrosse, but can't justify that much money on a car. And now the 2012s are out.

I hate the thought of going back into car debt; we paid Rick's Tundra off quickly because it was used. Plus we do have a nice downpayment as I've been saving money all year.

I don't buy used cars. The last used car I had was a Chrysler Sebring and it was the worse car I ever owned in my life. I had it for a little over a year and hated it with a passion. Completely soured me on used cars and I'm not going there. Rick is OK with that; I tend to keep my cars for at least ten years, so he doesn't care that I prefer new.

I'm torn. Clarence is 11 years old now (bought him new) and still only has 140,000 miles on him, but this year he's been in and out of the garage quite a bit (although most of that is for chewed wires...I've posted about that before).

Good luck! We may be buying our vehicles around the same time!

You're not going to trade your current almost-paid for car on the new car, are you?

In that case, you might want to put either put down a little extra, just to get your payments down, or you might want to put the money in savings and just use that account to pay the payments until your current car is paid for.

When I bought my current car (a 2011 Malibu), I looked at the Scion Xb, and I wish I had bought that one. Oh, well.

I'd keep the current car, pay it off, and learn to pack lighter! Then save up money each month and buy a new(er) car in a few years without worry. There's no rule saying you must have a house and car payment at all times! It is SO freeing not to have to worry about a car payment!

Honestly, your days of "mega packing" for trips will ease as your daughter gets older. She will need less stuff (and probably doesn't need it now)! And if/when baby #2 comes along, you won't have the energy to pack all that stuff anyway!

Think about the "no buy" option. I don't think you would regret it!

Cally

I'm not certain if things are the same in the US, but here in Canada January is a good time to buy a car. The dealers are anxious to get rid of the last of the previous year's stock, and it's a slow month for them after Christmas when most folks are still getting out from under their holiday spending.

Unless you have a trusted mechanic or can do the job yourself, I'd advise against buying a used car - been there, done that and ended up paying more in repairs than I saved.

My SO's son and his wife just had the same issue - they had a baby in January and needed a larger vehicle and one that was easier to get the baby in and out of. They ended up getting a vehicle like mine - a VW Tiguan - and are thrilled with it. I'm again not sure how much these vehicles cost in the US but they are rather expensive here in Canada and may be out of the price range you are looking to pay. Mine was just over $38,000 and they bought the model one up from mine so I'm guessing theirs was over $40K.

If you are doing those long distance trips to see family, would be A LOT cheaper just to purchase a few large items--pack n play, umbrella strollers, high chairs and leave them with your family members!!!! Garage sales are great for finding bargain gear!

We bought a Nissan Altima (2011) a few months ago. We also keep cars a LONG time! We had a Honda Accord for 16 years, and when we bought the Nissan we sold our 1999 Accord (11 years old) We also have an '06 Saturn. It's a nice car, but nothing like the Japanese cars. We almost bought a Sonata, but went with the Altima. I had said we'd never buy a new car again, but never say never!! If I were you I'd wait to have only one car payment. Two would make me very nervous -- actually I don't even like one payment, but this one is just for 2 years, as we were able to do a big down payment.

Good luck with whatever you chose!

When your car is paid off, put the same amount in your savings each month and watch your money grow. By the time your car quits working, you could probably pay cash for a new one. I'd advise not to touch your savings now and stay far away from debt because of the bad shape of the current world economy - debt makes you a slave. Like you said, you never know what's down the road.

Enjoy your paid-off car!

I am looking for a new car too, although I will most likely be going new to me, but thats because Gary knows how to do everything on cars, and if he doesnt know then we have friends that do. I honestly dont remember the last time I paid for a mechanic... growing up I had my dad, and now I have Gary or a few friends its very nice!
Right now I have a 95 Nissan Sentra, its the first and only car I've ever had... Got it when I was 17, and I'm 24 now...) I have been putting a whole lot of thought into getting an SUV, because that way I could keep the car and it could become my mom car. Plus the fact we have a very impracticable car ('79 MG B), A sporty car (Honda S2000), a AWD winter car (Subaru Impresa RS), and Gary is getting a truck this week to replace Big Red (89 f150) (yes... we like cars, also all but the s2000 are paid off, and that has 2 months left on it)
The vehicles I am in love with right now are the Mazda CX7s, The Volvo X90, and the Kia Sorento. I know a lot of people are OMG KIAS SUCK! no, no they dont. They have made HUGE HUGE HUGE improvements over the past years! I prefer that all of those have a sporty look to them, but are still very family friendly! Although I have to say, I really do like Audi a4 wagons and the Volvo V50.

Honestly with you already saying that you are thinking about another kid in the future, I would highly suggest a SUV or maybe even a van. That way you know you will have room to expand, and yes packing light in theory is great, and buying stuff for inlaws yeah thats great too. But if you ever go places that dont involve family it may become a huge issue. Think about future family vacations to the beach/disney/theme parks, ETC! Plus I am a strong believer in packing a bit extra just to be safe.

The Kia, as with the Hyandai, has really come a long, long way. I like the Sorento, but I don't need that big of a vehicle. I think the Tucson is just a wee bit smaller than the Sorento, but I'm not sure. I like the Volvo X60, too.

Check out the sportage then! Its a little smaller but has a lot of the same styling features! I tested out a Kia Forte a few months back and loved it! The features that came on it vs other companies was awesome! As well as the warranty and the fact that the car just felt nicer because I wasnt paying as much as I would have been with say a Honda

I know alot of times here when you buy a new car there is no payments for 3 mths.

That might be worth looking into as well, then you wouldnt have to start paying for it until after your other car is paid for.

My SO is looking at a KIA.

I'd look for any deals on a low mileage diesel VW Jetta Sportwagon. My sister's has a roofrack that's just used for this giant supplemental aerodynamic suitcase so they have massive capacity for long trips, but it will do bikes or kayaks or whatever.

42mpg is hard to beat, even with diesel being a bit more expensive, and diesel powertrains are dead reliable and should easily give you 200K miles of service.

Its the interior capacity of your average SUV, it just doesn't have the ground clearance. Still, most SUVs don't even see a blade of grass and aren't exactly fording rivers, and so the really tall stance just makes them top heavy and handle poorly.

BTDT with 2 car payments. And I had no job. And it stank.

We had no choice. The little station wagon we had bought a year and a half into our marriage was having engine issues. And we needed something bigger- we had 2 kids- 2 carseats and the long trips we did as a family were a pain.

It was 2000, and we got a minivan (Chevy Venture). I know they don't make those anymore, but I have to admit, gas hog and all it was a pretty nice car to haul small kids around in.

A year and a half ago it needed $3000 worth of work (water pump died, I didn't catch it in time and it wound up needing valve gasket covers). Ugh. Yeah- we did pay it, Actually I call it the "teen mobile" since my almost 18 year old child drives it to school/ music etc. Not exactly a high-schooler's dream vehicle, but it's a tank and if she gets into a serious accident the car's going to be more hurt than she is.

For me I got a 2010 Ford Focus. It's really small. But most of the time it's just me (or me and dh or me and the kid that can't drive for another year).

We buy new b/c we drive cars into the ground. In the 21 years of marrige, we've gone through 4 new cars, and 2 of them we drove for over 120,000 miles. The van was new and currently has almost 125,000 miles on it. Now with a teenager driving it (who has this wonderful habit of driving over curbs ) I'm hoping that it will last at least until we get her settled in college next year
Cheryl

My brother just bought a Kia Soul. I drove it quickly and had a question on the manufacturers warranty....

Is it REALLY 100k miles? That's not the impression I'm getting online. He said he could be pay $7 more a month and extend it to bumper to bumper for 100k miles. So he did.

But his doesn't have a spare tire?

Huh?

That's what we did. We got some handmedowns from my brother's kids that are now too old, and picked up the rest cheap on craigslist since its just temporary use stuff.