I would continue to save, since you mentioned house at this post. I'm sure kids might cost more in 2.5 years as well. Good luck! It actually sounds like a fun problem to have. I would actually use the savings and buy a cheap car for $5k, just because I've never taken the transit to work.
From the features you're wanting, I'd suggest a Subaru Outback. AWD and backup cam standard, has a trim with leather heated seats, plenty of room, top rated IIHS safety features, reliable and economical. You don't need it now. Wait until you need it. You might want that money to go towards a down payment as real estate prices will be higher in 2 years. I think anytime you take out a loan and make timely payments shows you are a responsible borrower. You'll take a small credit hit in the short term but gain credit in the long term. There's no point in paying cash when APR is 0-1%. Invest that and come out ahead when you're done paying it off.
Longest I've ever kept a car was 6 years, and that was mostly because I was broke. That thing was a POS. I have had my current car for a year now, and that was after having my truck totaled at a red light. Had that for a little over a year as well. I'll be getting a new truck here in about 3 weeks, and am hoping to at least have that for 3-4 years minimum.
DonnyMost - I'd also suggest staying in the car you're in. After you buy a house, you can look for something for yourself then. I'm always wanting to get a new car, but just keep letting myself know I don't "need" it. Needs VS wants are huge.
I keep my vehicles for about 3-5 years max, BUT, I also don't buy new! I usually by a car that's 3-5yrs old with relatively low miles that hasn't been abused. I feel like I'm buying in the Goldie-Lock zone where the the car isn't too expensive and the wear isn't too great. Has worked well so far! I also pay in cash, I despise car notes!!! ....... ....... .......
I think once I can afford it, I may just lease every 2-3 years. The itch for new cars is too strong. That being said, I keep my cars forever.
The newer Silverados have really been catching my eye, which is shocking because I'm a Ford guy. I went window shopping online yesterday and quickly decided that I'll stick with my 08 F150 FX2 after seeing those prices. I'm at 4 years and 107k miles with my current truck. I'm sitting in the waiting area at Discount Tire getting four new Cooper Discoverer ATPs as I type this. So I'm going to try and get another 2-3 years out it before I move on.
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to stick it out with the old car until after we got our house. It really helped keep our focus on our new home (which we love and needed every penny we had to afford). I ended up having to spend about 2 months making a terrible 90 minute slog on public transit or paying for ubers to get to work, but it all worked out. We ended up getting a 2016 VW Tiguan. Got a great deal on it. A little on the small side, but we'll worry about that later when our family grows. Great features on the base model. AWD but has a fair amount of zip. Fun car!
Paid off the Sonata in December so now we have NO car payments! I will drive it until the 100K mile warranty is up, then pay cash for another used car. We will never finance a car again.
This has no bearing on yall's conversation, but I just sold a '97 F250 with 275000 miles for $1500. Do they price used cars by weight? Like a duck?
Wife ended up getting a 3 row SUV some months ago, so now we have 2 car notes. Hooray. But I should have my Colorado paid off before too long so that's something. Not Nov 2018; I don't know where I got that date from in this post. What a dumbass.
I still have my 2008 Honda Fit (two kids fit, and we've gone places with all four of us in there, lol). Wife's Outback has been paid off since end of last year. I'll definitely be keeping the fit until the end of this year. After that, we'll see. But I rather enjoy the no car note thing.
10-12 years. And with two cars we try to stagger them, so we're not buying two cars at the same time. We don't need to have a car note, but the APR was so cheap we decided to just take the loan. I think it was like 1.9% over 6 years or something.
Try to run the car into the ground, usually I'll get rid of it once repairs cost more than the value of the car. Last car was a 07 Altima, had about 185K miles and the transmission failed, this was in 2016. My brother in law has a mechanic shop and he even told me the part alone would be more than the value of the car so I sold it to some random person in Pasadena for $1500. Now I have a 2017 Explorer sport, hoping I can get it 200K miles..
Why are folks so averse to car notes, other than just hating another bill (which I understand)? Car loans are so absurdly cheap. If you can do something with your cash that will earn any type of interest, I'm not sure sinking it in a car is the right way to go, if someone will loan you money at 1% or something to drive it off the lot. I mean, I'm glad ours is paid off, and I hope to drive it until it's good and old, but I didn't mind taking out a small loan on it either.
