The One with The End of My Biggest Mistake


Thursday, July 1, 2010

I think one of, if not the, biggest mistakes I've made in my life was buying a Landrover as my first car. It's ruddy expensive to maintain. I should have listened to my dad. (How many times have I thought that in my 25 years?) Here I am (with Jadis on my shoulder - this was back when his wings were clipped so he couldn't fly), showing off my shiny new toy on the day of purchase back in October 2006:
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I thought we were just going to have a looksy at the dealership and somehow I walked away with thousands of dollars of debt... When I bought the car I was a single (almost engaged to Chris) naive 21 year old girl with absolutely no previous car purchasing knowledge who got swindled into a 5 year loan at a ridiculous near 10% interest rate. Just three months after purchasing the car the transmission died. There were only 40k miles on the car. Thank goodness I got talked into buying the most expensive insurance to cover the new transmission or else I would have been out over $5000. Then again, I've probably paid that much in interest over the last four plus years... somewhere along the line I realized my interest rate was ridiculously high and re-financed which eased my burden a bit.
Overall, except for a few minor hiccups, it's been a great car. We've driven it to and from Colorado and Washington a bunch of times and never had any issues. It's a good size, fits all of our groceries, and the main reason I bought it in the first place was for the all-wheel drive to keep me safe while driving through the snow in Utah, which it did. I have never been in an accident in this car (knock on wood!). There ain't much snow here in sunny So Cal though...:)
The point of this post: today is a big day. I FINALLY FINISHED PAYING OFF THE CAR! I'm just waiting for the title to get mailed to me then it'll really feel legit. So here's to the end of an era aka My Biggest Mistake.
Now we're thinking about getting a second car but I'm so hesitant because they're such a big purchase and I don't want to get swindled again... Any thoughts/suggestions for this still knows-nothing-about-cars gal?

20 comments

  1. I just paid off my truck this year too! And I absolutely love your Land Rover, be happy your have it now :) My dream SUV is a much older version of your Land Rover. Someday, someday :)

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  2. One thing that Dave Ramsey always says (and I listen to him more than my own parents sometimes), is that you should never ever buy a brand new car. You drive it off the lot and it's not worth the price you just paid for it. Always buy a newer used car. I would do a lot of research before you shop anywhere, know terms and such that the dealer (or whoever you go with) uses. Those are my 2 cents! Good luck. Oh and never buy a saturn. Ours is slowly dying... We do however like honda's. Hope that helps!

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  3. all I know is nissan, toyota and honda seem to last forever. I HATE Ford, but my husbands truck is a 96 and we have NEVER had to repair anything except the obvious like tires, fan belts... etc. But nothing major. And my crazy parents have a ford truck as well and they didnt change the oil the entire 2 years my brother was on his mission (he is the a major car guru and does all our repairs and oil changes) and their truck is in great condition. BTW, I dont reccomend never changing the oil. :)

    And congrats!!! I remember the day I paid off my Alero, it was the best day of my life, but that car was crap and I spent just the same fixing it ALL the time. And it kills me to have a newer car again and have to make payments yet again. :( NO fun!

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  4. Not a lot of people like to hear this but i work with a guy that managed a ford dealership for YEARS. I asked him about buying cars and i didnt expect his answer. He said that all that he has ever done was lease a car. Yup coming from an ex-car dealership manager. Its half the price you pay for a car... by the time your 3-4 year lease ends you'll need a new car anyway. This wasy he said.. ill never have to worry about repairs etc etc.

    Good advice i thought. So i followed it. I like it!

    naomi chokr. www.naomis-space.com

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  5. Buy a newer used car or find a car you can buy with a 0% interest loan. Most car dealers are offering that now due to the economy. Also before you buy, go to edmunds.com to see the "real" price so you don't get ripped off. :) Good luck and congrats on paying it off!

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  6. Woohoo on paying it off! I know that's an AMAZING feeling! :-D I do have car-buying advice, but it's much too much for a blog comment, so perhaps I'll send you an email! LOL.

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  7. congrats on paying it off! like a few others that have mentioned the same advice, i beg of you - please don't buy a brand new car. you can find so many that are still the 'new' model year and get such a good deal - we saved about $10k doing it that way, and were able to get so many more features, too. good luck with your decision!

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  8. We're all about the paid-off cars! We only buy a car if we can pay cash, which means our cars are usually about 10 years old... but it works for us!

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  9. Congrats on paying it off!! That HAS to feel amazing :-) We've only ever had Nissan, Honda & Toyota's and we've LOVED them. They seem to keep their value better than others too.

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  10. Hey Paige, I love my Toyota Highlander and my husband used to have the Honda equivelant, forget it's name. I like that they are up off the ground, easier to get babies in and out of car seats. We are easily able to fit 2 huge Britax car seats in tha back of ours. We also have the 3rd row of seats that pop up when needed which is perfect when grandparents are in town. It's not easy to get in and out of the 3rd row, gotta use the back. we have had a lot of success with car max, both buying and selling.

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  11. congrats on paying off you vehicle! Doesn't it feel great?! My Wrangler has been paid for for several years now (it's a 2000 model) and I'll drive it until it can no longer be revived - I love it that much! Hate making the monthly payment on dh's Liberty but we're halfway to homeplate on it now too. I'd love to trade in his Liberty but the thought of "starting over" on payments makes me shudder. Drive with a smile on your face, girl!

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  12. Worst mistake ever? That's a little dramatic. Other than the transmission, the car has been great and it was beast in the snow storms of Utah. But, the dealer did screw us. Oh well.

    To all Utahans, don't buy from Ken Garff. Ever.

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  13. I'm 27 and I've run the gauntlet of car buying mishaps in a very short time (7 years). My best advice: do your research before you get to the dealership and, ALWAYS, ALWAYS be ready to walk away. Don't give them your keys or social security # either until you're ready to sign. I had one dealership, literally, run my SS# through every bank EVER CREATED. Totally awesome for my credit score.

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  14. :) Yay thats an amazing feeling!

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  15. You should look into 1997 Honda Accords. They're quite the hot commodity around south pasadena!

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  16. I just made the last payment on my car too! (Just yesterday actually!)
    It's the BEST feeling! Well....it will feel better when I have the title in my hands! ;-)
    I have a Jeep Liberty and I LOVE it! My husband also has a Jeep but it's a Grand Cherokee. They are both really great and have worked amazingly well in the snow.
    We bought both brand new, but I do agree with what someone else already said...don't buy brand new. The only reason I ever did was because it was what my dad told me NOT to do! Haha! Plus, I always had really old cars....but I know you did too....every time I see a goldish Trooper, I think of you and your family! Haha!
    My sister has had 2 different Ford Escapes now (she wrecked the first one), and hasn't really had problems with either...she really likes them! She bought them both used, but they were both rental cars before so they were newer. Just make sure to have a used car checked out by a good mechanic first....if you buy here at home, you know my dad would look at it for you! ;-)
    Good luck with deciding on a new car! And congrats on paying your car off! :-)

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  17. you POOR things! I hate the "Payment thing-e"

    We also are about to go to 2 cars and I'm feeling a little worried lol

    Good luck and congrats on being FREE ;)

    WOOT TO FREEDOM! haha!

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  18. Congrats on paying off your car--that is such a good feeling.

    I've heard great things about the new Honday Pilots. But we don't have one. We're driving our mini-van until it dies. DH has a Honda that is 16 years old and it still runs great.

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  19. Congrats! That is the best feeling. The car is your now fo reals! Advice? Don't get bullied into anything! Those dealers can be so pushy. Push back.

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  20. YAY for no car payment!! That is exciting! My advice for car buying is act like you're not ready to buy or dont want it even if you do, my parents went to test drive a truck a couple of days ago and weren't ready to buy and kept walking away and the dealer offered them $14,000 dollars below the starting price... crazy!!

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