Used Cars

Gary North - March 23, 2013

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.

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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