Help me decide - car decision

[fortnightlily]

I drive a 2015 Subaru Forester. It's in good shape, only has 66k miles on it as I've been working from home since Covid. That could change if I get a new job.

Normally I would just drive it forever, but I was thinking lately it'd be nice to have a hybrid (I'm hesitant on fully electric just because I don't really know what charging infrastructure is around me. Our electric is on the opposite side of the house as our driveway. No carport or garage.) It'd also be nice to have the newer safety features, Android auto integration for maps, etc.

And at 10 years old I could still get a decent amount for trading in or selling my Subaru. Which may not be the case in a few years.

Since I barely drive is it silly to think about a new car? DS is 11, should I wait until it's closer to him reaching driving age?

I'm also so burned out at work and would love to take a break, except DH is against it (a different issue) but I just keep thinking it's unwise to spend 20-30k on a car if I then find myself taking a break from earning income at some point.

I test drove a Camry this weekend and liked it. Though I'm also second guessing sedan vs small SUV. We don't need an SUV but DH has a Prius. My parents are in their late 70s and still drive, but in 5 years I could see myself having to drive them more and would a higher car be more comfortable for them, etc.

[lavenderblue]

I personally would not be car shopping if I was you unless you just happen to have another $30K+ laying around, it sounds like you have a pretty reliable car and no car payment. You didn't say if you would be financing or paying cash, but if the prior, I'd start putting an amount equal to a monthly car payment into savings each month, that way, you can see how it affects your budget, and also possibly have a good chunk of money to put down if/when it is time to buy. I hemmed and hawed for several months about whether or not I should keep driving my 2014 MDX with 196,000 miles and ultimately decided to trade it in to get something more reliable. That said, I did keep my 2006 Accord with 96k for when DS starts driving, that car might outlive me LOL

[jinkies]

My parents just traded in their similar aged Forester, with similar thinking: that they could still get something for at its current/age mileage, but it would be worth less in the future. They talked to a couple dealerships and We Buy Any Car. I think they ended up getting around $8k for it. Which isn't *nothing* but to me also didn't seem like enough to use that as the main reasoning for getting a new car.

FWIW my car is a 2014, also in the 60-something miles, and I'm having similar conversations with myself. KBB says its probably worth about 7k. I would like to have a new car, but I work from home, basically only drive to and from my kids activities, and don't really need one. I had been hoping my son would take it when he got his license, but now that he is 16 he is dead set on buying his own car, and wants to drive H's beater car in the interim.

I've looked at cars periodically, but just can't justify the cost at this point, since there is nothing wrong with my current car. That obviously makes me biased toward your question, but that's where I've landed on a similar decision.

[fortnightlily]

Oct 21, 2024 8:25:27 GMT -5 lavenderblue said:

I personally would not be car shopping if I was you unless you just happen to have another $30K+ laying around, it sounds like you have a pretty reliable car and no car payment. You didn't say if you would be financing or paying cash, but if the prior, I'd start putting an amount equal to a monthly car payment into savings each month, that way, you can see how it affects your budget, and also possibly have a good chunk of money to put down if/when it is time to buy. I hemmed and hawed for several months about whether or not I should keep driving my 2014 MDX with 196,000 miles and ultimately decided to trade it in to get something more reliable. That said, I did keep my 2006 Accord with 96k for when DS starts driving, that car might outlive me LOL

I'd be paying cash. Affording it isn't the issue, just whether it's wise to spend it, especially if I'd get a much better offset from my trade-in now vs in a few years. KBB is $10-11k.

[atarianna]

Personally I think it would be best to keep the car with the intent of passing a safe and reliable vehicle to your child when they are driving age and then getting something newer/more efficient or fun or whatever then.

I am in a similar boat and that is my plan.

[lavenderblue]

Oct 21, 2024 8:53:32 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

Oct 21, 2024 8:25:27 GMT -5 lavenderblue said:

I personally would not be car shopping if I was you unless you just happen to have another $30K+ laying around, it sounds like you have a pretty reliable car and no car payment. You didn't say if you would be financing or paying cash, but if the prior, I'd start putting an amount equal to a monthly car payment into savings each month, that way, you can see how it affects your budget, and also possibly have a good chunk of money to put down if/when it is time to buy. I hemmed and hawed for several months about whether or not I should keep driving my 2014 MDX with 196,000 miles and ultimately decided to trade it in to get something more reliable. That said, I did keep my 2006 Accord with 96k for when DS starts driving, that car might outlive me LOL

I'd be paying cash. Affording it isn't the issue, just whether it's wise to spend it, especially if I'd get a much better offset from my trade-in now vs in a few years. KBB is $10-11k.

I think that I would still wait. Cars are a depreciating asset and you'll make more money keeping your cash in savings until you have to buy something new, whether that is when your DS starts driving or when the current car becomes a liability that you can no longer justify spending money on repairs. Yes, the value of the current car will go down as well, but not as much as new car would. I would have much rather kept my Acura if I could have, but for me, the cost of the repairs that it needed outweighed what I am now paying for my new car. The Honda on the other hand is in great shape (other than the AC not working) and my DS actually is in his 3rd year of automotive technology training and can do a lot of any future work it might need. 

[janegold]

I would also hold off on buying a new car, for the reasons you identified in your post. If you are driving very little, you are already being environmentally friendly in that regard. I would wait a few years until your child is driving.

[fortnightlily]

Oct 21, 2024 8:59:23 GMT -5 atarianna said:

Personally I think it would be best to keep the car with the intent of passing a safe and reliable vehicle to your child when they are driving age and then getting something newer/more efficient or fun or whatever then.

I am in a similar boat and that is my plan.

I don't actually think my car is as safe for a new driver as a newer car would be, because it lacks things like blind-spot and rear-cross-traffic warnings that are standard these days.

DH's Prius is a 2019. That would likely be the one passed down and DH would get a new car at that point. And I'd prefer to stagger our new cars.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Oct 21, 2024 8:59:23 GMT -5 atarianna said:

Personally I think it would be best to keep the car with the intent of passing a safe and reliable vehicle to your child when they are driving age and then getting something newer/more efficient or fun or whatever then.

I am in a similar boat and that is my plan.

I normally agree with this thinking, but her kid is 11.  In 5 more years, I don't know that I'd consider the Subaru 'safe and reliable' even if it still has relatively low miles.  

I have a 15 year old ds who is going to be driving our 2017 Honda Civic that also has low miles because it was dh's car and he often worked from home.  And even now I wish he was getting a car that had the newest safety features (and was a hybrid).  If we had to wait another 5 years for him to be driving, I don't know that we'd have kept it.  

I have no knowledge of the car market really and if it's likely that cars are going to keep getting more and more expensive/continue holding their value, but if I were you I'd prob. be trading in the car and buying a hybrid now.  

[waverly]

I would wait as the answers to your questions may become more clear with time.

Questions being your job, which car would be better for your parents, teenage driver.

On a different topic, are there ways that you can approach the burnout at your job?

[Susie]

I just went through great debate about whether to fix an issue with my 2017 Jetta (~50k miles) or replace with a hybrid or plug-in hybrid like a CRV or Rav4.  In the end it came down to, I just could not stomach the cost of a new hybrid without having saved more to pay cash and/or good dealer incentives or finance rates.  I could afford it, but I didn't want to.  I hadn't bought a car since we replaced both of ours in summer-fall 2017, and I was stunned at how expensive even "affordable" non-luxury cars have gotten.  We're fixing our Jetta and sticking with it for the foreseeable future.

[fortnightlily]

Oct 21, 2024 11:54:33 GMT -5 waverly said:

On a different topic, are there ways that you can approach the burnout at your job?

I changed roles in July, which has helped somewhat. I'm just tired. I crave the space and time to replenish my energy and figure out how I want to pivot to expend it in a more fulfilling way.

[CloudBee]

I’m not a fan of this new viewpoint that we should get rid of our older cars for ones with more safety features. Your child will be just fine in a 10 or even 15 year old car.

My 12 (or 13?) year old car is at 100k and we won’t replace it until it starts costing us an arm and a leg to maintain / repair.

[heygrey]

I would not be shopping for a new car in your situation. I also don't think it's bad for new drivers to learn on an older vehicle. They need to learn all of their spatial awareness, safety checks, and defensive driving without relying on the machine to do the thinking for them. I'm also not super keen to toss a brand new driver on the road in an expensive car. Let them put a couple dings and scratches on an older car first.

[laterz]

We have a 2009 Forrester, and as much as I'd love a new car - it's still running well, and can't rationalize spending the money yet.

[noodleoo]

I'm in a similar boat and I can't justify buying a new car. I have a 2009 Toyota Rav4 with a little over 100K miles on it. I also WFH so we put very few miles on it. It is a great car, has been very reliable and is in great condition. Sometimes I want a new car, but I don't want the huge car payment that would go with it. At this point, I may keep it 20 years.

A few other random thoughts:
* Sometimes it is actually better for the environment to drive an older car longer even if it is less fuel efficient, especially if you don't drive much. The process of making new cars is incredibly polluting.
* While sometimes I miss the newer features in new cars, I actually like that my car isn't very "techy". It doesn't even have a touch screen. My H's car is 5 years younger, has a touch screen that is already starting to not work. It is super annoying to not be able to access some of the audio controls because the button on the screen just doesn't work anymore.
* I think all the tech in cars today is very distracting to drivers. I like that I can control the radio and heat/AC using physical buttons, I can do it without looking by feel. It is so much harder in newer cars. I actually hope the trend reverses back to physical buttons soon.
* Newer cars seem to be so much more expensive to maintain too, probably because of all the electronics in them now. Same thing with appliances, I'm keeping my old, mechanical appliances as long as I can.

[jobae1234]

I’m in a very similar situation. According to my values I should be in a car that’s either a hybrid or an electric. However, I walk to work and rarely drive more than a mile in any given direction. My car is paid off and it’s going to last for freakin ever at this rate. Every now and then I tell myself all the reasons why I need a new car, but it’s all BS. I need to keep my current car.