One of the most frequently asked questions I get is: When is it time to get rid of an old beater for a new car or new-to-you used vehicle?
During a recent panel discussion in Chicago for NPR’s series on “Family Matters,” an audience member named Shelly wanted some advice. She was driving a six-year-old PT Cruiser that she and her husband wanted to trade in.
Why? I asked.
“It’s just falling apart,” Shelly said.
“What do you mean ‘falling apart’?”
“Well, there are things that happen,” she answered.
“What kind of ‘things’?”
There were no specific “things.”
“We don’t like the car,” she finally admitted.
Even after her admission, she wasn’t going to give up. She tried another tactic: “We drive out to the suburbs a lot. It’s a safety issue. I don’t want to drive out there and break down on the highway. I drive to work. I don’t want it to break down on the way to work.”
You need to know she has “some” student loans and credit-card debt. She has kids to put through college.
“No, you are not getting a new car,” I said, pointing out that there is a better use of her money than trading in a paid-off car to jump into another car loan.
To which she turned to the certified financial planner sitting next to me onstage and said, “What is the other answer? I’m just curious.”
We all laughed.
“Do you really need a new car?” Louis Barajas, the planner, asked.
And I added: “How often has the car broken down where you’ve been stranded?”
“Um.”
Pause.
“Not at all,” Shelly said.
That’s really at the crux of the question about getting another car for lots of folks. Some are just tired of what they’re driving.
“I have clients who show up and talk to me about certain things where they start rationalizing why they need to get the bigger house or the better car,” Barajas said.
When people try to justify spending money that they don’t have on something that they don’t really need, they need to think about their financial priorities and what they hope to accomplish, Barajas said.
If Shelly’s car was 10 or 12 years old, had more than 200,000 miles and was really falling apart, leaving her stranded, then, yes, she should figure out how to get another car, Barajas said.
Here’s another keep-or-buy car scenario I received during my weekly online chat. A reader and her husband have 1996 Hondas that they have kept up well and are in decent shape, considering the years and miles.
“While they haven’t stranded us, there are some large repairs – likely between $800 and $1,000 – coming up on mine,” the wife said. “It won’t pass inspection without them.”
The reader believes if she makes the repairs, she could get another year out of the Accord. But there is a tempting road to a better car.
“My brother is willing to sell me his 2003 Ford F-150, which is in immaculate shape. He will allow me to make a small payment each month, no interest. (Yes, I know, he’s a great brother),” she wrote. “I can make the payment, but it’s close for us right now. (Student loans for Ph.D. are just coming due.) I’m torn between knowing that I will need a new-to-me vehicle within a year and getting my brother’s truck now even if it’s tight with finances.”
I think she should fix the Honda. She might get more years out of the car. She already said things are financially “tight.” (And I’ll throw this in for free: Don’t get into a lending situation with family or a friend, no matter how good the deal sounds.)
If you’ve got debt or need to save more for retirement, hang on to your car as long as possible. Find a good mechanic. Check out repairpal.com to help figure out if a repair estimate is fair.
I look at it this way: If the average age of a vehicle is about 11 years and you finish paying off the car after six years – the typical length of a car loan these days – you could have five years of former car payments going to address another money issue. It’s seven if you stick to a 48-month loan.
I go back to what Barajas said to the woman in Chicago.
Unless there’s a major safety issue, or the repairs are coming fast and furious, go back and figure out what financial priorities might trump your desire to get another car.
Michelle Singletary can be contacted at:
michelle.singletary@washpost.com
Twitter: SingletaryM
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