Used Cars
I sold my 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan Minivan for $200 this week. Its radiator had a crack. It would have cost me $500 to get it repaired. I sold it to the repair shop.
I bought it for $2,300 in 2003.My wife looked at the total costs beyond the $2,300 -- all repairs and maintenance, including oil changes. The total was $8,213. That's $820 a year.
What if I had bought a new Dodge Minivan for $25,000 in 2003? Think of the forfeited uses of the money. There still would have been repairs. There still would have been oil changes.
I used the car to haul my dogs around every day for three years, 2008-11. My advice: don't spend $25,000 to haul dogs around.
The car was a back-up, just in case my Toyota minivan ever went into the shop. It didn't.
What could I have sold it for? Maybe $3,500. Maybe $4,000.
Here are tips on buying used cars.
Salvage cars: the cheapest cars of all: //www.garynorth.com/public/4033.cfm
On negotiating: //www.garynorth.com/members/9488.cfm
Used or new: //www.garynorth.com/members/8607.cfm
Used car for a child: //www.garynorth.com/members/6997.cfm