What To Do When Your Car Dies...

I was talking to a friend the other day who sheepishly confessed to me that he purchased a new car.  He knew that I would disapprove so he continued his story with all of the reasons that he "had" to buy a new car.

I can certainly appreciate that cars get old and need repair.  I can also understand that when your car is totaled (as in this case), that something needs to be done to remedy the lack of transportation.  However, buying a new car is not the answer.  Especially if your "new" car comes with new car payments.

I can't remember the exact make and model of the old car but I can tell you that it was your basic hoopty.  The insurance company gave him $5,800 for his totaled hoopty and he used it as a down payment on a new truck that now comes with leather interior, lower gas mileage and a $360 payment each month.

I did some research and I found the following cars on Auto Trader for $6,500 which means that if you waived $5,800 in front of the seller, you could probably get a deal on at least one of the dozens of cars I found.  Oh, by the way, I only checked a 10 mile radius of Chino Hills so you know that if you widen your target area, the deals would be even better.

a 97' Camaro, a 97' BMW M3, a 00' Expedition, an 04' Explorer, a 00 BMW 528i, and a 00' Miata.  Some of these cars did have leather interior but none of them had payments of $360.

The next time you find yourself tempted to buy a new car.....DON'T!