WWMMD Car dilema

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

A while ago I mentioned that my parents were gifting us their 2003 chrystler town and country to be our "we have two big dogs and a baby" car. I was a little nervous to take on a older car, but my parents thought that we'd have no problem getting the car to pass inspection, but we might need to have one of the rear tail-lights repaired a little bit. The plan has been to sell our 2007 Mazda 6 (KBB=~$6000) to keep some of that cash for a future DP on a newer car when the van really bites the dust, and to use some of the cash for baby needs and/or paying down some debt. The van has 120K miles on it, and all the bells and whilstles that came on it in 2003, all the electronics work.

So we picked-up the van this weekend, and got it registered yesterday ($200) we have until 9/24 to get it to pass state inspection. turns out including the tail light, it needs about $2000 of work on it to pass inspection, KBB value on the van in fair condition is $2900. I'm trying to come up with what our options are and decide on how we need to move forward.

1. give the van back to my parents (be out $200 from the registration) and buy a roof-box for the Subaru outback so that becomes our traveling car...and try to come-up with a plan for getting 2 dogs+ baby in the back seat when we do travel together.

2. get the van fixed (don't really have $2000 to spend without dipping into the e-fund) and replenish e-fund once the mazda sells.

3. trade-in the van and sell the mazda (hoping to get more from a private sale) and find some other vehicle with a 3rd row of seats

4. some other option I've not yet thought of.

Xstatic3333 · September 2015

Ugh, what a bummer. Would your parents be hurt if you traded in the van or is it a free and clear gift?

vlagrl29 · September 2015

get a 2nd opinion on the inspection - you never know I was told I needed $200 in repairs for my last inspection but they were just trying to get money from me. Otherwise I would give the car back to you parents do option 1

brij2006 · September 2015

Well dang.

I would also get a 2nd opinion on cost to repair it, then go from there.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

vlagrl29 said:

get a 2nd opinion on the inspection - you never know I was told I needed $200 in repairs for my last inspection but they were just trying to get money from me. Otherwise I would give the car back to you parents do option 1

H took it to 5 different places.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

Ugh, what a bummer. Would your parents be hurt if you traded in the van or is it a free and clear gift?

Honestly, when they discussed giving it to us they basically said, we just want it off our insurance and we don't want to pay taxes on it anymore. My dad said they'd take it back and sell it for parts, I'm not sure they'd care if we traded it.

cbee817 · September 2015

Do you travel a lot? DH had an outback and we got a back cage to separate the back seat from the trunk/hatch part of the car. When DD#1 was little, we had an american bull dog/pit mix so she stayed in that part and DD#1 was in the backseat. His car manual recommended that the car seat was off to the side, so we had space next to her for luggage, baby stuff, etc. It worked out well- our dog was about 85 lbs (unfortunately, she passed away in 2012)... when we did travel, it was just day trips. I would go the cheapest option for now just because the baby is coming soon- maybe figure out a better long term plan after she's born and things are more settled.

dragonstarjk · September 2015

In this case I vote for option 3. Trade in the van, maybe you can get something used but needs less work for around the same as what you think you will get from the Mazda. Then you can pay it off w/ the proceeds from the Mazda sale. Of course, I wouldn't do this unless you can still afford the payments even without getting the Mazda sold, just in case it takes a while to sell or you get less than what you are hoping for. I just don't see it being worth it to put $2K into a vehicle worth basically that much.

brij2006 · September 2015

Could you buy something in cash with the proceeds from selling both the van and the mazda?

Erikan73 · September 2015

Depending on what needs to be repaired on it, you will lose much of the KBB value. I know when I took my car in earlier this year, they looked the tires, took them off & looked at the brakes & put the car on the lift to look and the underside of the car & also did a visual inspection of the car along with taking it for a drive. So if the items that need to be repaired can be found during a visual inspection and a test drive, they will hold those against you.

If the mazda is still running good for now and you can get away with just buying a travel box for on the roof, I would try to go that route. You can always sell the box down the road on craigslist or a similar type of website.

Now if the mazda is getting to the point that it's also becoming a money pit and not reliable, then I would consider trading both vehicles in for something that is newer and more reliable. But in addition to checking for car payments, don't forget to check insurance rates on different cars.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

@cbee817, we do travel to my parent's house often. the two dogs, right now, get harnessed into the back seat of the subaru outback (our other vehicle), this prevents them from 1. wandering around the car. 2. from getting out of the car or becoming projectiles in the event of a crash. I'm not entierly comfortable with sticking them in the trunk (we'd have to buy one of those trunk cages...and a roof box because we loose the ablilty to pack anything in the trunk).

@dragonstarjk, we've got a little (very little) room in the budget for a small car payment (less than $100). it's an option. we had been looking forward to paying off a few things with the sale of the mazda.

@brij2006, that's one of the options I'm exploring, I'm not seeing a lot either at dealerships or via private sales in the less than $8K range (assuming we can get close to KBB on both cars), that would have the space...most are 2001-2004s with more than 150,000 miles on them, granted that's the list price on them, none of them have gotten me excited enough to look up KBB value.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

@Erikan73 yes, I'd figure most the needed repairs would be pretty obvious...one of the rear taillights is falling off (it still works, but it's being held into the car by tape) we knew this would need fixing, H said this makes up about $150-200 of the estimated costs he gathered. the other problem is that the undercarriage is severely rusted, that accounts for basically all of the $2000 in repair costs.

The Mazda is still running well, actually before we began discussing the van with my parents we had brand new brakes and tires put on it, it just passed inspection. it is 8 years old so occasional repairs are to be expected at this point, but it runs well.

The dog-guard for the subaru is $335 (I don't like that this doesn't prevent the dogs from escaping out of the car (either when the trunk is opened or if one of the windows were to break in a crash) and it doesn't prevent them from getting bounced around in a crash. the cargo carrier is $460...I'm not sure if this would hold a stroller.

brij2006 · September 2015

If you're okay with a minivan, you could look for one of those used and in that price range. That would give you more bang for your buck over an SUV.

I personally would not take on a car payment right before having a baby. So many things are up in the air right now. Get yourself settled and into your new norm, then revisit it.

brij2006 · September 2015

Or just keep the Mazda and sell the van to put that money toward a cargo carrier for the Subaru.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

I guess the other thing to think about is, how impractical would it be to put both dogs and the car seat in the back seat of the subaru?

how much are dogs really going to lick baby's face once she's old news?

cbee817 · September 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

@cbee817, we do travel to my parent's house often. the two dogs, right now, get harnessed into the back seat of the subaru outback (our other vehicle), this prevents them from 1. wandering around the car. 2. from getting out of the car or becoming projectiles in the event of a crash. I'm not entierly comfortable with sticking them in the trunk (we'd have to buy one of those trunk cages...and a roof box because we loose the ablilty to pack anything in the trunk).

@dragonstarjk, we've got a little (very little) room in the budget for a small car payment (less than $100). it's an option. we had been looking forward to paying off a few things with the sale of the mazda.

@brij2006, that's one of the options I'm exploring, I'm not seeing a lot either at dealerships or via private sales in the less than $8K range (assuming we can get close to KBB on both cars), that would have the space...most are 2001-2004s with more than 150,000 miles on them, granted that's the list price on them, none of them have gotten me excited enough to look up KBB value.

I'm used to an old dog- she would just lie down the entire time and sleep- plus we were only driving about 60 miles away when we did go to visit family. It's definitely tough with smaller cars, 2 dogs, and a baby. I would still wait until the spring to make a decision. Give the van back, keep the cars, get through the winter and the newborn stage.. I didn't want to go anywhere with DD#1 and DD#2 when they were little and I was on maternity leave. Just wanted to soak up every minute with them before I had to back to work. GL with what you decide!

brij2006 · September 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

I guess the other thing to think about is, how impractical would it be to put both dogs and the car seat in the back seat of the subaru?

how much are dogs really going to lick baby's face once she's old news?

Depends. When our dog and DD ride in the back seat together, she ignores DD. But if DD is laying on the floor and has a toy, she's the best thing to play with.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

brij2006 said:

If you're okay with a minivan, you could look for one of those used and in that price range. That would give you more bang for your buck over an SUV.

I personally would not take on a car payment right before having a baby. So many things are up in the air right now. Get yourself settled and into your new norm, then revisit it.

Yea, I'd like to avoid a car payment at all costs. if we go the sell/trade-in route it would be for whatever the best value we can find is...so far I'm seeing lots of ford explorers and chevy tahoes on the market, not much in the way of mini-vans.

brij2006 · September 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

brij2006 said:

If you're okay with a minivan, you could look for one of those used and in that price range. That would give you more bang for your buck over an SUV.

I personally would not take on a car payment right before having a baby. So many things are up in the air right now. Get yourself settled and into your new norm, then revisit it.

Yea, I'd like to avoid a car payment at all costs. if we go the sell/trade-in route it would be for whatever the best value we can find is...so far I'm seeing lots of ford explorers and chevy tahoes on the market, not much in the way of mini-vans.

Both of those are very good options. I personally love the Ford Explorers because they get better gas mileage than the Tahoe, and they look a bit sportier.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

I've also been chatting with my dad. He said he and my mom could help with cash-flow if we decide to fix the van...so in that case e-fund dipping wouldn't be necessary. He said the last thing they want is for the van to become a money pit for us.

brij2006 · September 2015

What about selling the mazda to fix the van and pocket the difference?

Xstatic3333 · September 2015

cbee817 said:

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

@cbee817, we do travel to my parent's house often. the two dogs, right now, get harnessed into the back seat of the subaru outback (our other vehicle), this prevents them from 1. wandering around the car. 2. from getting out of the car or becoming projectiles in the event of a crash. I'm not entierly comfortable with sticking them in the trunk (we'd have to buy one of those trunk cages...and a roof box because we loose the ablilty to pack anything in the trunk).

@dragonstarjk, we've got a little (very little) room in the budget for a small car payment (less than $100). it's an option. we had been looking forward to paying off a few things with the sale of the mazda.

@brij2006, that's one of the options I'm exploring, I'm not seeing a lot either at dealerships or via private sales in the less than $8K range (assuming we can get close to KBB on both cars), that would have the space...most are 2001-2004s with more than 150,000 miles on them, granted that's the list price on them, none of them have gotten me excited enough to look up KBB value.

I'm used to an old dog- she would just lie down the entire time and sleep- plus we were only driving about 60 miles away when we did go to visit family. It's definitely tough with smaller cars, 2 dogs, and a baby. I would still wait until the spring to make a decision. Give the van back, keep the cars, get through the winter and the newborn stage.. I didn't want to go anywhere with DD#1 and DD#2 when they were little and I was on maternity leave. Just wanted to soak up every minute with them before I had to back to work. GL with what you decide!

I agree with waiting until the spring here. So much could happen to make your decision for you. That would also give you a chance to see baby and the dogs together and see if they can all fit in the backseat on shorter rides. Personally I think that it could be tight, but it really depends on how your dogs like to sit in the car. Mine is a sprawler who takes up most of the backseat at only 34 lbs :-)

I would not do the repairs or take on a car payment right now. I would, however, be keeping an eye out for something in the $6,000 range that could better meet your needs.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

brij2006 said:

What about selling the mazda to fix the van and pocket the difference?

That's option #2...this issue being we have 10 days from the date of registration (yesterday) to have the van inspected. so my dad's offer to help with cash flow makes this option more viable. in reality, if we pay for repairs on a CC we have until early november to sell the mazda before we'd need help with cash.

ETA...now I guess my general worry is how much more work might the van need in the next year or two...but I guess that's a question to ask the body-shop/the shop that does the state inspection.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

So I've gotten more info from H, I'm still in a place where I'm just feeling really confused and I have no idea what the right decision to make is here.

turns out the ~$2000 of repairs are "this will get it to pass inspection and may get you by for a year maybe 2" repairs, to truely repair it would be closer to $5000. so that doesn't make me feel good about repairing it. Our neighbor is a mechanic, he says for $45 his shop can get the car up in the air and give us a realistic idea of what we can expect from the car. really we're only planning to drive it for 2-3 years. what I'm confused about is that the rest of the car is in such good shape and it's only got 120K miles on it (compared to many of the similar used vehicles that i'm seeing in the $6000-8000 range that have 150k+).

things I'm planning to look into today are, 1. if there is any way we can get our $$ from the registration back (doubtful). 2. if my parents would consider just letting us "junk" the car, to get our registration money back and potentially be able to buy the roof-box for the subaru.

ugh, this was suppose to be so easy, now it's just turned into a giant headache.

Sisugal · September 2015

Buy the roof box for the Subaru.
We had 2 kids and a dog in our Subaru wagon.
The Subaru sounds like the most reliable vehicle out of the 3.

als1982 · September 2015

Yikes!

Another option might be to donate it and take the charitable deduction on your 2015 taxes.

I drive a beater, but I'd say no to $2,000 repairs that may or may not get you a year or two. It's not worth the gamble, IMO.

Also, this post makes me glad I live in a state that doesn't require inspections!!

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

@sisugal, yes the subaru is the most reliable, it's a 2011 with 40K miles on it.

@als1982, that's another option as well. my parent's state only requires emissions testing every few years, so they really had no idea that yearly inspections might turn-up this kind of problem. annual inspections are a PITA.

brij2006 · September 2015

Ouch. I would give the van back to your parents and eat the registration cost.

Then wait to buy a roof rack or anything and see how often you really do travel that much and whether or not you need it, after baby is here.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

the only place we really travel is to my parent's house...the things I'm nervous about is that generally we have to bring a crate for one of the dogs, and a gate to block off parts of their house from the dogs. we usually bring the bed they can share as well...it might be cheaper than the roof-box to buy my parents another crate, a gate, and a dog bed that can live at their house, my mom is already planning on getting a pack-n-play, so that would just leave the stroller as the only big equipment item we'd have to pack.

I suppose giving the van back at this point would mean saving us the $45 to have the shop evaluate it, plus the $100 we were going to spend detailing the mazda to hopefully sell it faster (H drives it and the interior was a mess the last time I was in it).

We were planning to cancel our curbside trash pick-up and use the van for dump-trips as well so that's a lost opportunity...but it would take several years of avoiding curbside pick-up to make-up for the $2K repair costs.

Xstatic3333 · September 2015

I think getting spare dog supplies to leave at your parents' is a good way to go. Do you guys have Job Lot in NH? They have CHEAP dog crates there. You could also check craigslist.

Also, I know you guys are getting your basement refinished. Any chance your parents will just come to you for the first few months?

Sorry it didn't turn out better. :-(

maple2 · September 2015

We bought something like this (http://www.rei.com/product/677675/sherpak-go-15-roof-bag) to be able to travel with 2 kids on camping trips. I was really impressed with the volume of stuff it can hold, and it is much cheaper than a lot of other hard roof rack systems. We followed the packing instructions and had no trouble with it on a 4+ hour road trip, much of which was on highways. Just to give you a point of comparison when thinking about the cost of buying duplicate items to keep a family members' houses.

WWMMD Car dilema

Re: WWMMD Car dilema

Choose Another Board

Search Boards