I’ve decided on a grad school, and it’s about 300 miles away from where I live. I have a 2001 car with about 130,000 miles on it that I’ve had for 4 years, and it’s been running great for me so far (knock on wood)! I recently dumped about $570 into it and to date, that makes my total maintenence costs $2300 over the 4 years. I paid only $3000 for this car because I bought it from a relative.
After the $570 repair ($250 of that cost was just for a pre-trip inspection; the other big cost was getting new brakes), my car drives better than it has in years. I actually drove it down to my new university earlier in the month and it held up fine.
My relatives seem to think that I should buy a new car so that I won’t end up stranded somewhere if my car dies, but should I really have to worry about this when it was checked out by my mechanic and completely tuned up and everything? 130,000 miles is very low and the car is in good shape minus some rust around the wheels, and I really like it and don’t WANT to buy a new one. I have a good credit score and could probably get a loan with a decent interest rate, but since I’m going to be living off 15k/year for the next couple years (and possibly more time if I go for the PhD), should I really be taking out car loans and such?
I don’t even plan on using it all too much since I hope to live close enough to the university to walk/take the bus. I’ll use it to come home, of course, and to go places where the bus doesn’t go, but I hope to be more stationary than I am right now (I have to drive a lot to get to school/places).
I make good money and drive a truck with 130,000 miles on it. Sure at this age I have had to pay $500 to replace an alternator. tires and brakes are planned expenses. It’s paid for. I’ll keep driving it. A plan for road side assistance is cheaper than a new car if you must. I keep a quality battery backup in my truck so I can jump start myself if necessary which is probably the single biggest reason folks get stranded. Don’t skimp on scheduled maintenance and you’ll be fine.
Sounds like it should last a couple more years. What kind of car is it? Do you have AAA or some kind of roadside assistance plan in case of a breakdown? Repairs/maintenance (which you’ve just done, so you should be OK for awhile) will be cheaper than car payments. I’d just keep the old car for now–unless someone else wants to pay for the new one. (We have two '01 cars still on the road with very high mileage.)
A monthly car payment on a new car even at 0% interest over 5 years will be about $200 or $2,400 a year. It is a huge chunk out of that $15k! Plus, a lender will require you to maintain comprehensive coverage on your car in addition to collision insurance, so there is that cost many people forget about. Depending on the state law, your tabs might be higher as well if they are based on the car’s value. Get a AAA card and make sure you have emergency kit in the car and good cell coverage in the area where you likely to be traveling most.
What, are you going to grad school in Syria, where if you break down you could be in mortal trouble?
Otherwise, I can’t understand why your relatives would want you to be so foolish with money. Take a loan for something you don’t need, when your income is really low? How about financing a brand new set of furniture from a high end store while you’re at it?
Listen to yourself (and us, of course), don’t get yourself into a bunch of foolish debt. Try to graduate on the plus side, not the negative. You won’t regret it.
Thank you, everyone! The consensus seems to be unanimous on this one.
I do have a AAA card with road side assistance, but I have a question about that: will it work out-of-state? I live in Michigan (and thus have my car insured and licensed in MI) but will be attending school in Ohio. I don’t plan on changing my residency, so do I have to let AAA know that my car will be driving in Ohio x amount of months out of the year or something like that?
I would wait. There current technogical changes in automobile industry (electric, driverless, navigation assistance,…) will provide some “ideal” cars to buy in the next few years.
Our kids have Hawaii AAA and have used it in VA and CA with no problems. They have the one with the 100 mile extended tow package so I sleep well at night. After the 1st year, I have paid for it to be renewed. D has used it. Both age and S have older cars–hers is 2006 and his is 2004. We keep them well-maintained.
I think you should check Ohio rules.
When my son started grad school in MA, he had to register the car there. I couldn’t keep him on my AAA plan, so got him one in MA.
Just checked with my mom, and she said we have AAA membership and AAA insurance (and the membership has the tow package of 100 miles, like what you have, HImom).
I definitely will check OH laws and will talk to our insurance agent, too. I wonder if it would be cheaper to just change everything over to Ohio? I read recently that we have the most expensive car insurance rates in MI, lol.
I didn’t see anywhere what type of car this is. For some cars, 130,00 means there are still may years of usable driving. We typically drive cars for 200,000+ miles and rarely experience breakdowns. Sure there’s maintenance, but a reliable car will have maintenance costs less than the cost of a new car. I think the only time I was stuck in my Rav4 (which ended its lifespan at 190,000 after a deer ran into it on the highway) was when the alternator went at about 150,000 miles. Same thing for our Corolla at 165,000 miles. Funny thing is - the alternators went within two weeks of each other! If it’s a reliable car, keep it and keep up on the maintenance.
Check with your insurance about the car - you may be able to get a cheaper rate without switching things just based on where the car is housed and used the majority of the time.
We’ve never had a problem using AAA NC in other states.
Membership with roadside assistance works all over US.