This is my van. It’s a 2000 model, and it has almost 130,000 miles on it. It’s my secret money saving weapon, because keeping your old car until it dies is one of the BEST ways to save money. There are several reasons why keeping your old car should save you money, and these are just a few.
1. NO payment. You are NOT paying interest on your old car (as long as it’s paid off). You’re never going to get out of the debt trap if you keep paying interest on items for which you could pay cash. Plus, you’ll pay less in insurance!
2. An old car is almost ALWAYS cheaper. While it may be an inconvenience to have your car in the shop, and it may seem like mounting car bills make it necessary to purchase new, this isn’t usually the case. If you take all the repair bills from the last two years and divide them by 24 months, you are probably still WAY below a normal car payment.
3. If you HAVE to buy another car, here are some DEBT REDUCING TIPS:
- Pay Cash- This will still save on the intersest.
- If you have to get a loan- get a LOW interest rate.
- Buy a used car. Many dealerships have Certified Used programs that help consumers from getting stuck with a lemon.
4. Cast impatience and vanity into the wind. Whether you’re a big fish in a little pond, a little fish in a little pond, a big fish in a big pond, or a little fish in the end, it doesn’t matter! Also, while it may be frustrating to have things break down, it will be better in the long run financially to keep the car you have!
I totally agree. My husband still drives his 98 dodge stratus back and forth to work, I drive my 05 dodge grand caravan that has about 70,000 miles on it but we did buy a new truck last year but got money back, put money down AND got 0% interest (we needed it for pulling our pop up trailer). I know that when the truck is paid off (in 5 yrs) it will be time for me to get a new car and hope to be able to go to a 4 door car instead of a van (oldest will be 17). We buy new (very BAD experiences with used) but run them into the ground!!