I've decided I absolutely must get rid of our 15 passenger. However, my daughter needs a car to use. Usually one of the two kids who work will take the "kid" car, which leaves me either driving the second one or one has to take my minivan.
If they both take both cars, then I have to drive the 15. While that's not a bad thing, because I do like it, it's not economical. Ideally, I'd love to trade in the minivan and the big van in exchange for a SUV which would better suit our life. However, that isn't going to happen.
My son plans on buying the "kid car" from me. That leaves my daughter driving my car. It doesn't do well on gas. I'm not sure why. I would really like both kids driving their own cars just in case things go badly between their dad and I. I want them as independent as possible.
After much thought, I've decided to look into trading my 15 passenger in for a car with more economical gas mileage for my daughter to drive. The ultimate goal is for her to buy it from me. We've discussed it over the past couple of weeks. DH's lie today has kind of put it into overdrive.
I've given her a budget to work in. She will pick out a car she likes within that budget. My younger kids are taught Dave Ramsey finances, so she will look past the dents, bells and whistles, and age of the car. She will look at the core of it: good engine, not too many miles, and any cosmetics that she can fix later if she doesn't like it. She will decide what things she must have and what she can live without.
For instance, she wants power locks in case of an emergency, but she can live with manual windows. If a crowd of crazed zombies attack the car, she can lock them out instantly. However, even with power windows, they'll get in if all the windows are open. Power windows don't close quickly when you're trying to get them all shut. It's handy if it starts to rain, but not much other than that.
If I can get a decent amount on trade-in, she will pay for taxes and registration (she just started a job and doesn't have much money yet), and she will pay me a set amount per month. The car will be in both our names until she has paid for it. Technically, she could go find a car on her own and have it financed, but she just started working and has no credit. The charges would be very high. This is more like a lay-a-way.
We looked online at the dealer's website where we bought the "kid car" (Pontiac Sunfire), and he still has the other car we looked at listed. When we were there before, they couldn't find the key, so we couldn't test drive it, but we did look at it. We have a general idea of it's condition. I talked to a salesman and have an appointment with the owner to appraise the 15 tomorrow. The owner is one who will work with you. If he can get within the numbers I've set, then we may be able to deal.
I've already looked up the value of the car we're looking at as well as the trade-in value on my van. If he's willing to come down in price on the car, since it's been there for 6 months I'm hoping he will, and he'll give me a decent amount on the van - I may come home with a "new" car.
I will also talk to him about fixing the Sunfire. I will post about that tomorrow. It's not anything the dealer did. It's what my 16 year old did. He is also paying for repairs on not only the Sunfire but my minivan as well. *sigh*
No comments:
Post a Comment