You finally have a job that allows you to get a new car. You’re thrilled. Mobility, freedom, choice. You can go where you want when you want and don’t have to rely on others to make it happen.
The first kick comes when you go to the car lot. You see your dream car, whatever it may be, and you realize you can’t afford it. So you settle for something practical: a Honda Civic or a Toyota Camry.
I, myself, drive a Subaru Impreza (for now) because it’s a quality auto and a frickin work horse.
Then you are invited into an office with one of the salespeople who was able to hook your nose with his/her fingers first. You are told that your credit isn’t fantastic and so the percentage for the loan is going to be 2 points higher than you anticipated.
“No biggie” you think as you sign your life away with taxes, tags, and fees galore. What you don’t realize is that 2 percentage points actually is a bit of a big deal and it can result in you paying hundreds or thousands of dollars more each year depending on the car you buy.
So now you’re the proud owner of an over-sized, over-priced, over-sold hunk of plastic and metal.
As soon as you drive it off the lot, it depreciates. Edmund’s True Cost To Own feature shows us that in my case, my Subaru depreciated approximately $4,000 when I drove it off the lot and took it home.
So now, not only are you over-paying, but you’re also losing a large chunk of value almost immediately.
Edmund’s goes on to show that with each passing year up to year 5 (aside from year 1 which was larger to include the initial depreciation), you are losing anywhere from $5,500 to $7,000 per year to include depreciation, taxes and fees, fuel, maintenance, repairs, tax credit (where applicable), financing fees, and insurance.
So now that $20,000 car you thought you were getting a great deal on is costing you around $34,500 or about 60% more than the original cost.
And truthfully Edmund’s is being stingy with their costs for maintenance and repairs. One year they estimate $300 for maintenance and another they estimate $116 for repairs. Those are total lowball estimates and can vary greatly depending where you go to have work done on the car.
The site also doesn’t take into account:
the emissions that your car creates or
The time and energy it takes to:
fill up the tank every few days
schedule appointments to get your car looked at for scheduled maintenance
take the car in for emergency service that was unforseseen
take time off of work to have the car serviced
Honestly, the list is never ending.
When there is mass transportation in many of the major cities in the country and companies like ZipCar are on the rise, do we still need to anchor ourselves to such a large and inconvenient purchase as an automobile?
The point of this post is to show you the time, energy, and money we throw into something that is perceived as “standard.” And just think, most households actually have TWO of these huge time, energy, and money-suckers.
What would you do with $35,000 extra at your disposal?
Would you start up a small business to supplement your income and maybe make it your top priority?
Would you take your family on a luxury vacation to decompress from the everyday and not so everyday stresses that come with modern life in America?
Would you donate some or all of that money to a charity that you believed in?
Think about your purchases before you buy them. Really think about the ramifications to you, your family, and your environment.
For information on going car free, you can visit Rowdy Kittens and Far Beyond The Stars. They have been eye-opening in the most beautiful way possible.
