A California native transplanted in southern Illinois.It was my hope to never take another loan in my life with the possible exception of a mortgage at some point. Before the CR-V began giving me trouble, I had begun setting aside $250 each payday earmarked for my next vehicle, and had amassed 2k. That became my down payment.
The price of the vehicle I purchased was $26,988. I opted to buy an extended warranty. With tax and registration the total purchase price was $30,674.40. That's sure a lot of money for a car.
After driving it for a week, I have to say I really do like the car. The keyless entry and start is really nice and convenient. The backup camera and lane change assist are wonderful. I believe it was Monkey Mama who mentioned that going from a 2008 model to a 2018 model would be a substantial upgrade in safety features and I have definitely found that to be true.
So now comes the small matter of actually paying for the vehicle. I opted for a 72 month loan with an interest rate of 4.95%, making the monthly payments $462.02. CarMax Auto Finance is the lender. The first payment is due 11/28/22. I get paid every other Friday, with my next pay date being 10/28/22. I read on CarMax's website that they allow split payments so long as the minimum amount due is received in full by the due date. So my plan is to pay at least $231.01 every payday, beginning this coming Friday. I am going to break my personal rule of no "pull" transactions from my checking account and submit the payments on CarMax's website (rather than from my bank's website). I want the payments to process immediately, not days later. I want to shave off every penny of interest expense possible.
I have a lot of extra expenses to pay off right now. The vet bill last Saturday was $1,163, I have made hotel room reservations for December, I am planning a party, I am paying car insurance for two vehicles right now. These expenses go on my Citi MC so now I need to get them paid in full before interest accrues. I have tapped my sinking funds to help pay and should be able to pay in full before the due date without tapping them further. We'll see.
For this coming Friday, I have scheduled a payment of $275.00 to CarMax. It's a start.
This has been a busy week and I have been grieving for my sweet girl and I am just worn out. Today is a take it easy day. I'm watching TV (old episodes of Sister Wives on Discovery Plus), puttering around online, and cross-stitching. SB is at work today, but will be home around 8pm.
I got the biopsy results on my uterine polyps and they were benign. All is well there.
October 23rd, 2022 at 05:29 pm 1666546165
I know the car seems expensive, but there are more out there that are more than what we paid for our first house. It is crazy. I think you did well. Good thing you had been saving money for the down payment. It is amazing how many safety features there are on new cars -- hopefully with them your insurance won't go up much.
October 23rd, 2022 at 08:23 pm 1666556589
And, given today's market, that's actually a very reasonable price for a car. And nice to have the safety upgrades. I bought my car in 2012 and it seems very dated compared to the features that are available today. If I drove more than I do, I would be very tempted to upgrade even though my car is in good working order, to get the new safety features. But fortunately I live just a mile from work, so as long as that is true, I'll just drive the current vehicle until the cost of repairing it doesn't seem worth it.
October 23rd, 2022 at 10:46 pm 1666565177
Gosh inflation makes the price of everything so expensive. It's incredible how expensive everything is.