Wednesday, October 08, 2014

I want a new car

I know you all are reading this blog.  I've seen the stats.  Now I need your help and comments.

I want a new car.

The problem is, the husband is not exactly on board.  At all. 

We currently own a 2004 Honda Element in only 80,000 miles on it.  And it is paid off.  This car has been a great utility vehicle for us.  We used it to haul the photo booth around for five years.  We have used it for all our triathlon gear including throwing the bikes in the back of it.  And we have used it as a way to carry all kinds of stuff from home improvement stores for projects at our previous and new house.  Now that we have a baby, however, it is proving to be a difficult family car.  First of all, it has those stupid suicide doors (the back door hinges at the back) which are impossible to open in any parking lot.  We still have the baby sitting backwards in his car seat so to get him in his car seat we have to literally climb into the car with him.  Even if we turned the car seat around, I still think we'd have to climb in with him as the seats are so high that there is no way either of us could just reach into the car to buckle him in.  Because the height of the seats, it could be a very long time before Anderson could climb into his own car seat.  The Element is quite large which makes it great for using it as a truck, however, it only sits four people.  This means even simple trips to the ice cream shoppe with my parents cannot be done in this car and our little car (Toyota Prius) is a tight squeeze for five people.  Taking two cars to any short trip to the ice cream shoppe or wherever is just ridiculous.  Finally, the Element has ZERO luxury to it.  It's like driving a tank.  And frankly, I'm over it.

I've started floating the idea of a small SUV like a Honda CR-V or a Hyundai Tuscon to the husband.  It would be a much better family car with a little bit of luxury that would feel like driving a car and would get better gas mileage.  The husband is not really excited at this idea.  Why would he?  We have a perfectly good working car that has very little mileage on it and no car payment.  Our other car is also ten years old with 120,000 miles on it and no car payment.  We haven't had a car payment for years.  Why would we start now?  I get it.  I really do.  But, how long do we plan on keeping these cars, especially for a car that doesn't really work for us anymore?  We drive probably 5 miles a day (literally).  At this rate our cars will never wear out.  We may have these cars forever.  He may be okay with that.  I am not.  I want a new car.

I feel like the only option I have is to find a way to come up with all the funds and pay for this car with cash.  I would say, right now, I have about half the expense.  Coming up with the rest of it is going to be quite difficult considering I don't work.  Plus, we have very little expenses as it is.  We don't have a water bill, we don't have a gas bill, we don't have a sewer bill, we don't have car payments.  Basically we pay for our mortgage, contribute to our IRAs, have cable, cell phones, and trash collection.  And occasionally we have someone fertilize the lawn.  My latest ideas to save a few bucks are to cancel our Netflix subscription which we NEVER use.  And I mean never!  I also am going to cancel my Stitch Fix delivery as $200 a month on clothes is ridiculous for a stay-at-home mom.  I am also an avid coupon clipper (although not one of those freaks filling up carts of junk they'll never use even though they're getting it for free - yes I'm talking to you weirdo behind me in line last night at the grocery store).

So here's where you come in.

What's a good way to save and/or make money?
What small SUVs should I be looking into?
Help me!  Help me!

2 comments:

Anne said...

My silly way to make tax free money is to collect beer cans on the side of the road while running. Laugh but I make thousands a year. I vote for rav 4s. MIne has over 400000 and is a 2001. One would go crazy climbing in the car to buckle children. Sell both, buy one. Walk more.

Jackie said...

Would you consider a used CR-V? You could probably sell the Element and entirely pay for a used CR-V with your savings and the money you make from the sale of the Element. I have driven CR-V's for the past 12 years and I have a 10 y.o. son. I hear you on the car seat struggles. Two things I will add from my experience: the CR-V will get about the same milage as your Element (approx. 20 mpg) unless you take it on long freeway trips. Second, kids are very tough on cars, etc. They are messy and just get everything dirty. I am waiting to get my nice car until my son is driving his own car. Just 6 more years!