Thanks for voting!Looking to cash in your “classic” sedan? Before you give in to that persistent urge for a shiny new set of wheels, you should first work the numbers.
You can probably save more by maintaining the car you have. Even if “The Grey Ghost,” “Ol’ Bessie” (or whatever you named her) is several years old or has over 100,000 miles, routine oil changes and tune ups can make all the difference. Sometimes, the saving’s in the maintaining. AARP shares a lot of great tips to help save money by keeping your older (or should we say more mature) set of wheels in tip-top shape.
On the other hand, there comes a point when it doesn’t make sense to keep your clunker. Like when you can see the road through the floorboard. Or when the door falls off on your way to the market. OK, that probably would never happen but the point is that it can take more to fix her up than a monthly car payment and car insurance would cost you. So it may be time to let the old girl go to that great scrap heap in the sky. Make a decision quick. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Cash for Clunkers program will end on Monday. Are you trading in for cash or squeaking out a few thousand more miles?
Tags: car payment, Cash for Clunkers
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With one title in possession and the other just 3 payments away, no way am I tempted to trade under any sort of promotion.
The cash for clunkers program is ridiculous. The government skews the market place by getting people to buy cars who otherwise may not even be in the market for one. The government is also spending money they don’t have. They really save a lot of their tax revenue, don’t they? Oh, but they don’t care, since they obviously don’t care about printing up money they don’t have either, nor do they care about what this will do to inflation as the next few months and years pass. And to top it off, lets get people buying something they don’t need. A new car when they already have one that works and put them into even more debt! Yeah, great program!
Agree 100%, Michael. Cash-for-clunkers is just another market-distorting government giveaway, a cousin to the easy-credit-for-homebuyers policies of the 90’s and this decade that got us into the current mess. Savers, of all people, should steer clear of this giveaway. I have a paid-off 1993 Ford Explorer with 207,000 miles that runs fine– why would I trade it for a $400-a-month (if not more) monthly debt payment on a new car that will lose half its value the second I drive it off the lot? No, I’ll keep that $400 a month– probably sock it away in my ING Direct emergency fund– and buy a one or two year old used car when Big Red’s time comes.
Free and clear, baby. Free and clear.
These are interesting times. Keep in mind - no matter if it is Cash-for-clunkers, coupons, an on-line savings coupon or a “discount,” check the unit price and do your research on keeping the one you have. If you use a coupon or Cash-for-clunkers to purchase something that you would not ordinarily purchase, you have just participated in MARKETING - not saving.
More tips for you can be had at http://www.middleclassmoney.com.
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Thank you.
I have had my car for 11 years and it runs fine. I keep it in top shape and love not having a car payment!
If you have to buy a car, buy used! Don’t burden yourself with more unnecessary debt on a depreciating automobile.
Cash for clunkers is not for all and it doesn’t do any good than thrashing some good cars which still would have run for years. It is just one type of stimulus program which only targeted to people who have cash and afford to buy extra cars. If you are car which is doing fine, its waste to throw it out and spend more money to get a new one and start paying auto loan. Think again.. Many promises made by cash for clunkers are not really kept.. Check out my blog on the details analysis, http://moneyreallymatters.com/content/cash-clunkers-program-it-really-helping
You will know, what I am talking about.
“Cash for clunkers” was a terrible idea. I wonder how many people bought a car that they couldn’t afford? Also, AARP is just an insurance company that doesn’t have the best interests of seniors in mind. (See the Obama-care that they are endorsing.) A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it away.
Ido not like the fact that they crushed all the old cars. Why recycle before it’s time. There wasn’t anything wrong with a lot of the cars. I know several people that would have loved to buy one of them. Just another program the government jumped on without thinking it through.