The Car Dilemma
April 17, 2006 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Cars, Random
I’ve been driving a ‘95 Nissan Altima for about the past 2 and a half years now. The first year was great. I had no problems with it. But in the past 9 months, the alternator, the starter, the power windows, the A/C and now the radiator have had to be replaced in this car. I still haven’t fixed the A/C or the power windows. The radiator cracking was like the last straw for me as I had to call my mother-in-law to pick us up off the side of the road while trying to make it back to our house after Easter.ÂÂ
My dilemma is that I do not know what to do about getting another car. I feel that I am just pouring money into a money pit. This car is worth about $1,500 and i’ve spent about $700 on it in the past few months. My wife is going to physician’s assistant school starting in July, so we will be down to one income in a few months. We already have a student loan payment and some credit card that we are trying to pay off. I just feel like going and getting a car loan would not be the right financial move, but at the same time I am seriously SICK of driving around “beaters”.ÂÂ
None of you want to hear me complain and whine throughout this post, but I assure you, I have had HORRIBLE luck with old cars in the past 6 or so years. The only reliable car that I had got totaled in an accident where a girl ran through a stop sign! I would like to buy a nicer used car, but if we did get a payment, it would have to be low. My wife can get a decent sized student loan on top of tuition payment which we could use for a nicer used car. That option seems somewhat good because student loan interest is usually pretty cheap.  Anyway, if anyone out there has been in a similar predicament, I would love to hear how you handled it or what decisions you made.ÂÂ
The thought of owing more money on a car than it is worth makes me sick to my stomach, but maybe I could try to pay it off more aggressively. I’m rambling…I’d like to hear your thoughts and advice! But when you respond to this, remember that I HATE DEBT!!
