The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
With our cars combined...(More car talk)
rfalias
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, now that the baby is home, and we decided my wife is better not working. We both have our own cars, 2009 Honda Civic Coupe, and 2009 Mazda 3, both under 30k miles or so. In great condition. Mine was bought new, hers used.
We would like to get an SUV type vehicle for the more space with the baby seat, and at the same time consolidate both Insurance and car payments into one. I'd anticipate the car payment to be more than either of our individual payments, but less than the combined. With trading in two relatively nice, newer cars, we should be able to get a fair bit down.
When trading in, how much will still owing on the vehicles hurt us?
We both really like the look of the Nissan Maurano. Edmunds gives pretty great reviews, as well as user reviews. Now this is like double the cost of my car alone, but with two trade in's I can't see how it would be hard to manage a lower payment than our combined payments now. Especially with my credit.
Is this just a terrible idea or a great economic idea?
Strictly discussing financial and cars here, not "oh well she will have to drive you to work" kind of things.
We would like to get an SUV type vehicle for the more space with the baby seat, and at the same time consolidate both Insurance and car payments into one. I'd anticipate the car payment to be more than either of our individual payments, but less than the combined. With trading in two relatively nice, newer cars, we should be able to get a fair bit down.
When trading in, how much will still owing on the vehicles hurt us?
We both really like the look of the Nissan Maurano. Edmunds gives pretty great reviews, as well as user reviews. Now this is like double the cost of my car alone, but with two trade in's I can't see how it would be hard to manage a lower payment than our combined payments now. Especially with my credit.
Is this just a terrible idea or a great economic idea?
Strictly discussing financial and cars here, not "oh well she will have to drive you to work" kind of things.
rfalias on
0
Posts
Most of my friends that have children have swapped out their small SUVs for either wagons or *eek* minivans. From what I've been told they had a lot more problems getting the car seats in and out in the SUVs as well as there actually being less usable space.
Edit:
The space in her car is tight, the passenger seat wont go back very far, and I have a coupe, so yeah not gonna happen.
My suggestion is keep the two cars you have and drive them untill their wheels fall off. That's the only smart way to go when it comes to cars.
I dunno, seemed logical, 2 for 1... From my research we owe less than they are worth so that would mean a positive gain with trade ins.
Am I delusional in thinking this way?
As for the Murano, I've always liked the looks. The rear seat is a little cramped for a midsize crossover but I'm certain it's better than the rear of either of your current cars. The only thing that bugs me about them is the CVT transmission. For one it feels, just, weird when you first drive one, second Nissan's early CVTs had the "rubber-band effect"
Rubber band effect: when the accelerator pedal was pressed, conventional CVT immediately brings the rpm up to a high level. The engine put out its maximum performance with the corresponding level of noise but the car slowly catches up in acceleration. This gives one the feeling of a slipping clutch.
edit to trade-in values: The dealer will try to haggle the crap out of you on this one. They'll do everything they can to bring it to a negative-equity situation. Just go in informed of your average trade-in values, call whomever finances both cars and get 10-day payoff info before you go in and clean the cars up nice
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
I wouldn't recommend going down to one car. Is your wife just going to stay home whenever you're at work? What if she has errands to run or there's some kind of emergency?
What you might want to do is trade in whichever car you'll take the smaller hit on for hatchback/station wagon.
I'm pretty sure it's illegal most places to sell a car you still owe money on - so you'll probably have to pay off the cars before trading them in.
Wrong. If the dealer takes the trade, they pay off your loan and apply the difference to the new financing.
I realize it's in theory, like everything is a haggle.
I guess it just comes down to going there and seeing how it actually plays out.
All signs point to both cars coming out with a gain in a trade in (in theory), then being able to use that value towards a new single vehicle, and coming out with a single payment.
I just can't see how they would end up with negative equity being fairly new, gently driven and low mileage.
Honestly, I'd sell the smaller car, keep the larger one, and then just deal for a while.
No, that's not the case. Additionally, they could sell both cars as a private seller and pay off the loans. The titles wouldn't be clear on until they get a note from the loan holder that the car loan is completed. That would actually be my suggestion, you'll get more for the cars (by far) than you would by trading them in.
Many loans will have a early termination penalty, but many don't, so it's best to look through them and find out.
Anyway, go here: http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/SUVs/
Usually, but it won't in her car. Yet another reason we are looking seriously at this.
Kiddo is going to do two things to your car: make a mess, and leave something behind that will later make a mess. Please don't let he/she do this to a nice new car that you'll be paying on until they run off for freshman year.
tl;dr: Take the equity (if any) and run a classy-but-cheap used car into the pavement.
Seriously it's hard to stain and cleans up much easier than cloth seats
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Where in the world did you hear this? That's so very wrong. You may be confused with titling a car with a lien against it, which *can* be illegal if you're being shady about it.
Also, are you planning on another baby? I know its tough to think, being you're not sleeping (Congrats, btw saw your other thread!).
If so, think minivan. If not, you can prob get away with a larger sedan (Accord maybe?, or even bigger!).
Buy used, having kids is going to destroy your car(s). Don't blow your money on something brand new that'll drop 15% of its value on day 1.
This is something to consider, however. Is the plan for her to drive you to work? If so, then great. If you plan on having the car during the day, I would say this is a bad idea. Your situation may be different, but my wife works from home and there's no way we could have gotten by with her not having a vehicle for baby related things during the day, unless you're able to leave early when you need to. I mean, you probably can, but it was a huge convenience many times. If nothing else, she will most likely go crazy if she's cooped up all day every day with a newborn.
This is an Acura. It has a ton of miles, so I'd just drive it until it dies.
Toyota Land Cruiser.
Honda Element.
BMW X5.
Even with that paper, you are still responsible for the debt. If the dealer decides they aren't going to pay off the loan until they sell the car off their lot (which apparently happens pretty often), you may be getting collections calls from your finance company. This could end up hurting your credit and will be difficult to fight.
Best of luck with everything else though, and if you decide to go used you might find an older Volvo station wagon. I had a friend whose mom drove hers well past the 300,000 mile mark with little to no maintenance issues, and those things are tanks when it comes to collisions.
First of all, you don't need an SUV. Almost no one needs an SUV. And if you did need an SUV (like you were pulling a boat or worked as a roadie for a band or actually had 5 children or something), a crappy crossover glorified hatchback wouldn't cut it. The fact that you're asking about a Murano and not an Expedition or Traverse means you don't really need an SUV.
That being said, what you DO need is a second car. Trust me, I don't care if your wife doesn't work, she's going to need a second car. This will become obvious within a month after not having 2 cars.
Odds are what's going to happen is you're going to trade in both of your cars, buy a murano, and within 6 months you'll be buying another new car, and taking a bath on the entire thing.
If you really need more space, I'd recommend trading in one of the cars for a used hatchback or wagon.
That is not uncommon especially in the current market. New cars take a big hit just getting on the road and the first time they lose value quickly then later on a well kept car may be worth more than what is owned.
In regards to "you need a second car" etc... There is a reason that I posted "cars and finance only" because living with a single car is a lifestyle choice that we aren't looking for opinions on.
You are just getting a family started, surely that money has use elsewhere
put it into something solid, like your mortgage or something
You are just evaporating your money buying new cars
Muranos have been around for a couple of years now haven't they? get a second hand one, save yourself a mint. Or better yet, buy an early-mid 2000's CRV, and drive a damn good car and save some serious cash
Second, to the SUV comment above: The Traverse is really not much bigger than a Murano, all things considered. Not everyone needs a Suburban or Expedition, but some could use the extra cargo capacity and like the higher riding position of a crossover. Not everyone needs to tow a boat or haul 20 sheets of MDF all the time, but hey maybe they need room for a stroller, baby supplies and their dog
Yes I may as well hand in my Jalop card for not suggesting a wagon too, but that's not what he's asking about here. I don't know where you live but you can expect this as a general baseline when looking at used Muranos (I would suggest this highly). A lot of them are going to have a good number of miles on them, but the VQ35DE is a beastly motor with a proven track record for longevity and reliability
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Obviously used makes more sense now, but what about long term? Repairs, no/little warranty, etc.
Also, the ultimate goal of this is to have a single payment that's lower than our combined car payments and the lower insurance bill to go along with it. 10 years from now when we are ready for something new or different will having a beater used be much different than if we got new instead?
My suggestion? a 2008 model of whatever kind of vehicle you decide on. Think of it this way, if it's a few years old then it means that it's old enough to assume it's generally free of manufacturer's defects (lemon cars, assembled incorrectly, etc) but still young enough to not have to worry about the inevitable failures that all cars are prone to. Well, assuming it's got average wear/tear. . . If it's got excessive mileage then you may want to question its reliability. . . Don't quote me on this but I think you can expect an average of 20,000km per year of the car's age on the odometer.
Also check to see what certified used crossovers are in your area. Nearly every make offers a certified program, and they're held to a much higher standard than normal used cars
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Now for car types: We kept seeing Mazda CX-9 and CX-7 on the road and oogling them, along with the Nissan Maurano. Obviously there is more out there, but for price and aesthetics those two are the ones we like to look at the most. Will obviously change with test driving.
I mean if we could swing an Acura or BMW we would but you know, that will not happen any time soon
This is also riding in there not being negative equity on our vehicles, and getting a decent deal with a monthly payment less than what we are at now, combined.
I like the certified idea, warranties are mans best friend!
Those are both really nice. Might I also recommend the Mazda5 and the Mazda 6 wagon? Or any of the Subaru variants?
Take a look at the Hyundai Tucson -- but only 2010 or 2011 because it had a major redesign in 2010 and has a much better quality now than it's price would suggest. I really like the Mazda's as well as my sister's Murano, but looking at reviews on the Tucson it's a good option and starts about $10,000 less than the Murano or CX-9, and a few thousand less than the CX-7. Sizewise I believe it's more on par with the CX-7, while the Murano or CX-9 should give you a bit more space.
Just remember one thing about used Hyundai's, regardless of what your salesman may say, the 10/100,000 mile powertrain warranty does not transfer to a second owner. You'll often hear salespeople at non-Hyundai dealerships use the warranty as a selling point. You get 5 year 60,000 miles powertrain as the second owner, if I'm remembering right.
No arguments. The Luxury Sports spec level has leather seats for easy saliva/mucous/vomit/baby shit clean up.