impala_ws6

So just had a small argument with the gf of one year. Here is my situation I have an '01 Trans Am that I got back in '08. The car is paid off and has been my daily driver the past 3 years. Driving in a large city with all 4 seasons has put some wear and tear on the poor car but its still in good shape. I've got 5k and have been looking at getting '02-06 Audi a4 for daily driver and put the bird in storage. We have bad winters up here so I figure its a good car with AWD. Here is where the problem comes. She says I should just sell the trans am and use that for a down payment for a new car. She says a used car will be pointless to get. I would get a new car but I am also trying to save up for my first home. Me not wanting to sell the car makes her feel like I am not trying to pursue a more serious and stable relationship, if that makes sense? So do you guys think I should sell that car? lol

Jaxem

iTrader: (3)

No, that doesn't make sense. If you don't have kids yet, there's no reason to get rid of it, it's a perfect two person car. As soon as critters come into the story though... Far as needing a new car, i wouldn't know, i've never owned one and don't see myself springing for one anytime soon, i just can't quantify enough benefit coming from buying new.

Yes, you get a warranty, but if you are actually going to get enough out of the warranty to make up for the difference in new and used, then that car is going to cause you a lifetime of problems.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I've been married for almost 17 years, when my wife and I first met I was already well into the hobby and owned two cars at the time (one toy, one daily driver.) Like you, I lived (and still live) in a region with foul winter weather and I didn't want to expose my "nice" car to this crap, so I had cheap used beaters for that purpose. To this day, she has never once asked me to sell a car "for the sake of our relationship" - not when we were dating, or living together, or married. Any woman who would do such is, IMO, not the person who a hobbyist should consider spending the rest of their life with, unless the hobby just isn't that important to you.

I do agree with her on the topic of *some* used cars though. I wouldn't want the hassles of a $5k, 10-13 year old unknown-to-you used Audi myself. There are far better options that will likely be more reliable for that sort of money. I would get something more basic with less features and gadgets to break, a general transportation appliance that's as new and low mileage as you can afford. That should minimize hassles and reliability issues. If you live in a major urban area as you state, then any FWD vehicle should do just fine for most winter conditions as big cities tend to keep the roads relatively passable. 4x4/AWD would be more a requirement for the mountains and/or rural areas.

I don't agree with her about the concept of a "down payment" for any new car. I'm not in favor of auto loans and don't believe they are ever the best move; if anything, sell your current car, add the money you've saved and buy something for cash - skip the loan IMO. But, that only applies if YOU want to sell the Trans Am; if not, then go the beater route and pick an example that's least likely to give you hassles.

bleepster

iTrader: (2)

you have had the car longer than her so........................

impala_ws6

All of you make valid points. Yes I want a daily beater so I no longer have to use my TA for daily driving. I currently rent and make 70k a year and I can make more with overtime which is easy to get. I don't want a new car as I don't see the point of it at this time, but I would like a reliable daily driver I can get for less than 5k.

RPM last year the city took a week to clean the snow from my street, a lot of cars including SUVs with FWD got stuck. The city only cares about cleaning the main roads unfortunately. So I am going to keep the car, can you guys recommend a daily driver that's less than 5k? Thanks!

ragtopz28

iTrader: (57)

They won't get great mileage, but a 4x4 truck or SUV sounds like what you need. I found this one for my son for $3200. Steals are out there if you are patient.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Your logic is sound. She sounds materialistic, expensive, and financially irresponsible. ... Does she pass the "mother test?"


^ There is great wisdom here. If you give an inch before getting married, you will never drive anything fun ever again. When you get married, you need to have your T/A in the stable so the expectation will be there that you will always have a like car.



No. You should definitely not sell the car. Even if you don't want it - it's paid for and is the perfect prop for premarital negotiation for whoever the lucky gal is that comes along.

There are several things that you need to be perfectly aligned on before getting married. (ie: in the most stabile form of a relationship) Several car topics are key:
- Religion (yes/no - which one)
- Children (yes/no - how many)
- Smoking, Drinking, and Drug Use (Are any OK, and how far can one go?)
- Cats or Dogs (Cat people don't mix with Dog people. People who say they are both are lying.)
- Manual or Automatic Transmission
- Do you get to keep the sports/muscle car?


IMO - If you can't get a satisfactory answer on the latter two points now, you should say "goodbye" to the GF and find a better match.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

a NEW car is WORTHLESS to get, NEW cars drop like a stone in value the second you drive it off the lot, the last several cars I've bought had 140k+ on the odometer at time of purchase and it is still FAR cheaper to repair the old cars then to have a new one. lets give an example, I bought my Trailblazer for $3,350 then in actually needing replacement parts have put maybe $500 in rebuilding suspension (replacing control arms, ball joints and alignment, plus spark plugs and various sensors to attempt to improve vehicle efficiency) so that would be $3,850 invested, I've had it 9 months currently, so that would equate to having paid 427 a month for 9 months, unless something else breaks this number will lower as time of ownership goes on.

honestly anyone who thinks a NEW car is a smart investment needs to really look at the cost of ownership, it's rarely worth it. This would be a red flag that she just likes to spend money on new crap and would have me worried for my long term financial goals. Also a car loan just compounds the wasted money on a new car vs an older car.

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

if she is pushing you to get rid of something "you" enjoy than sounds like "she" isnt serious pursuing a stable relationship.....

cant speak to the winter aspect but I have more than one vehicle and my wife of 7 years who I have been with about 12 years counting when we dated always supported my hobbies (granted her dad rebuilds hotrods for living so I guess its second nature to her)

still, a relationship is about compromises, but its also about enjoying what makes your significant other happy. You get to share things not force the other to give up on what they are all about ( been there its not fun). That is not a healthy relationship. Not saying car before girl, but perhaps you both need to have an honest discussion about what you both want and define your relationship more. A new car off the lot is realistically more of a waste than a used car, as you will never get your initial money back when its time to sell. It will always be a loss in returns. Same to be said about a used car but the hit will be smaller.

Nathan C

It's your car, it's your money, you make the decision on what to drive. Don't let her pressure you to sell a car that you love. If she's serious about you, she won't make you choose.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

In other words, "Buy her a new iPhone and maybe she'll forget about this car thing."

NC01TA

1) Keep the car (if that's what you want).
2) Do NOT get an old Audi (the repairs will kill you). Been there, done that with a BMW and Porsche. German cars are wonderful machines IMO but only if under warranty or you are a real good mechanic. I'm not.
3) If you get any further heat from your GF, move on. If she doesn't support your wants and hobbies, end it. Do not feel guilty! That's female BS! I've been married 38 years to a woman who supports my car hobby that started when I was a teenager. Good women do that. On the other hand, I've seen ultimatums from wives of friends with quotes like this: "It's either your car or me!" The smart ones left the marriage and decided to live their own lives. The others are miserable with no car. You still have time to know and learn who your girl is. Be smart and look for the warning signs.
Good luck with everything.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

that might work, or she just might want him to buy her a new car and is trying to get him to buy the new car then she drives it and sticks him with her old car.


Second point, ANY woman who wants you to sell a later model 4th gen bird is not wifey material.

Some people are just horrible with money, my mom for example recently sold her 2012 Sonic for a few grand LESS then what she still owed on it (due to having like 100k miles on the car) and she keeps pushing me to drop my asking price (of 2500) on my v6 bird (when she comes up to visit) so I can free up that money to go towards my land/home ownership goals (which is my only reason for selling to start with), I'd rather wait for someone that KNOWS what the body and suspension/exhaust/interior mods are WORTH to make a proper offer, I refuse to sell it for less then what I could easily get if I parted it out, but she just can't comprehend getting what something is worth, she just wants things gone. Personally I'd rather keep it around as a second car for when I need to work on the Trailblazer and it takes more then a day to finish up then to lose that much money.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Sometimes "getting things gone" is the right answer - with an older/high mileage car you always have the worry of unexpected problems and that can really derail your plans if you had intended to sell it soon anyway, so then you're either stuck fixing it or taking even less for it. This might not apply so much to extra/hobby cars, but in terms of a daily driver it sometimes makes sense to dump it for the first reasonably decent offer rather than the gamble of holding out for top dollar. Of course, none of this applies to the OP's situation though.

impala_ws6

What do you guys think about 2001-2005 ford escapes, jeep liberties, blazers? Or would getting a chevy/ford truck in those years be better?

Kevin Lee 487

iTrader: (1)

A 4WD Blazer/S10 will work great. Thats what I'd go with between those 3. I'd wager its the most reliable too.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

my boss has an Escape from those years, if you go that route GET THE V6 model, MPG isn't to bad, he's had to replace the transfer case (they use a different name for it) and the transmission and the alternator, but it's got over 300k miles on the original engine, personally I find the ride to be overly stiff and you sit to high up in the cabin.

my mom has had 2 (98 and 2000) S-10 based Blazers, it's been a while so I don't remember the ride quality or MPG, but it's kinda a tight fit in the driver seat for someone 6 foot tall.

Can't speak to the Liberties, I've never been inside one.

I and several others on here have TrailBlazers which are about half way between the Blazer and Tahoe in size but feels like a full size truck in the drivers seat and the ride is awesome, one of the smoothest SUVs I've ever been in and I get around 15 MPG in my daily drive, which is about where you would be with the full size.

impala_ws6

I've been looking at trailblazers and found some for good prices in my area but I looked up reviews and kept reading bad comments about them. I've read more good comments on the liberties and Escapes. I really like the trailblazers are there any years that are better? Ant maintenance issues? Thanks!

ragtopz28

iTrader: (57)

I personally like the LS 5.3 engines. They are bullet proof, run forever, and the mileage is not that terrible.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

the biggest complaints I read on the TrailBlazers where if you live up North you need to watch out for frame rusting. after that the other common issues are cheap and easy fixes, like the tail light circuit board and the gauge cluster stepper motors. mine has 210k miles on it and outside of fluid changes and something the PO had serviced in the transmission I don't know of any other issues it's had before that.

most of the common things are small and CHEAP fixes, like if it's throwing a MAP code (like mine was when buying it) odds are you just need to disconnect the battery and clean the throttle body.

I replaced the control arms upfront as part of my suspension upgrade, but being honest the upper bushings had a fare bit of play in them.

also SHOULD you ever need to do an oil pan gasket on a 4wd model it's a pain in the *** because the front drive goes thru the pan.

what where you hearing about them?