Buying a Car: Making the choice between new and used

If you follow my other blog, you know that recently my husband was in a serious car accident. Luckily, the only casualty was "old faithful," our 2000 Jeep Grand Cheroke. She was given to us by Hubs' parents when we first married and served us well. We have never been the type of people who pay more for our car note that for our house note, but I have to admit I had more than one daydream about getting a luxury car when the time finally came to replace her.

It's interesting that this decision comes as I'm really trying to maintain a focus on simplicity. For most of us, our cars is the item on which we spend the most money aside from our homes. For a while, I even wondered what it would be like to be a one-car family. It is definitely possible. It would mean that my husband and I would either ride together or carpool which would naturally provide an atmosphere for developing relationships. However, since we live in the suburbs and our places of work are not in the same neighborhood, it would be a logistical nightmare. Among that and a other smaller reasons, we have decided that we shall still remain a two car family.

So the choice is new or used? We have had experiences with both and have said in the past that we were getting a new car this time around. The expenses incurred in years past on a used car did not outweigh the benefits of being the only one who had ever driven your car. Perhaps ironically for us, the decision of new or used has not changed given our focus. My husband puts a lot of miles on his car. We are not the people who get new cars every 4 years (hence the 12 year old Jeep!). So we have decided to purchase a new car. However, we will be able to afford a decent down payment from what we got for the Jeep when it was totaled and have a plan in place to buy it with cash when my husband is able to drive again. I thought only rich people bought cars with cash (although "rich" is relative) so it's exciting to know that with a disciplined plan, we can do it.

Although we've decided on new, we are getting a smaller, more affordable sedan. Since my husband will be the primary driver, I'm leaving the make and model choice up to him on our agreed upon budget. It feel nice because I'm not attached to it or the price, so I don't feel stressed. I also feel great to know that my husband is going to get a car that HE wants instead of what I want. I say that because part of my focus on simplicity has caused a paradigm shift in the decisions involving money between my husband and myself. In the past, I've tended to make all the financial decisions.

More often that not, there were not wise.

Because of this, hubs was along for the ride and didn't feel empowered. Now he is feeling empowered and making smart decisions, and I am feeling an unrealized burden lifted.