Car Savings Fund Went To Repairs This Year
August 17, 2009 – 4:25 amWell, I’m sad to report that most of our car replacement fund went to repairs this year. We had budgeted $600 for repairs this year, but after one trip into the Honda dealer we spent $1000 to repair various items on my car. I drive a 1990 Honda accord with 150,000 miles and a cracked windshield. I like my car, and it’s great for getting me to work and back. My wife drives a Ford Focus that’s a few years old and has 65,000 miles.
Our car replacement fund is intended to pay for 100% of our next car. The timing of our need though will be a major factor in the type and age of car we can afford. We may also have to deal with the dilemma of having an unknown number of children. We have 2 on the way, and we may have a third and or fourth at some point. We’ll have a better idea on #3 after we’ve dealt with the twins for a year or two, so we’re praying in faith believing that my car will last that long at least. Neither of our cars can fit three car seats, so if/when kiddo #3 does arrive we’d need to upgrade to a minivan or SUV (probably a minivan for us).
We are grateful to God that both of these cars are safe and are running well. It is unfortunate that we had to dump a large portion of our replacement car fund into my Honda this year, but I still think it was well worth it. The question becomes where to draw the limit on investing in my older car though, and if we decide to stop fixing things should be start shopping for a new car or a used car? I used to think my limit was $1,000 a year, but I know that a newer used car will probably cost $6,000-$10,000 or more, as it will need to be a minivan to accommodate 2 + potentially more children in the future.
Do you have a car replacement fund, and if so how many years do you expect it to take to save up for your next car? Are you trying to just save the down payment of 100% of your next cars’ price?
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One Response to “Car Savings Fund Went To Repairs This Year”
I sort of fell into one workable solution to this problem of car replacement being a moving target. I borrowed money from our credit union in 1983 to buy a car and made the payments via payroll deductions. When the car was paid off, I continued the deductions, putting the money into a savings account. I’d planned to use that money to pay cash for the next replacement. But after a thief stole and wrecked the first car, I used those savings and the insurance settlement to make in effect a 60 percent down payment instead. That dropped the payments on the replacement car below my original deduction, so I had some extra money to help rebuild the account too.
By Gene at www.kitchentablenomics.com on Aug 17, 2009