When we found out we were having twins in 2014, upgrading to a minivan seemed inevitable. At the time, I was sitting toddlers in car seats, and it's basically impossible to fit three bulky car seats in one row when two of them are toddlers. So we knew we needed a car with a third row of seats, and a minivan was the way to go.
After doing some research, I decided to finance a 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring. And while this car has served me pretty well over the years, at the moment I'm tired of it.
First, my car looks like a 10 year old car. There are countless scratches and stains. You can pay for detail maintenance services, but it's not worth the financial outlay on a car that old.
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But aesthetics aside, the thing that really bothers me about my minivan is that the sliding door keeps getting caught on me. Imagine picking up your kids after school and rushing through a series of activities. However, I can't get out of the parking lot because the door won't close. This is my usual life.
I plan to drive a minivan for as long as possible, even though I am frequently frustrated with my minivan. Here's why:
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I don't want to rent it now or anytime soon.
These days, it's expensive to take out a loan, whether you want to leverage your home equity or use it to buy a car. And the reason boils down to the numerous interest rate hikes the Federal Reserve introduced in 2022 and 2023 to combat inflation.
The Fed is expected to begin lowering interest rates this year. But even so, it only makes borrowing for a car (or any other purpose) moderately cheaper.
Overall, borrowing costs are expected to rise for quite some time.If my minivan stopped running, I Forced It's okay to take out a loan at a less-than-advantageous interest rate. However, when you have a car that actually works, you don't feel like going into debt.
I paid a lot of money for a car, so I want to get the most out of it.
Kelley Blue Book (KBB) lists the original MSRP for the 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring as $42,760. To be honest, I don't remember exactly how much I paid for my car. However, this number seems to be within a fair range, making my minivan the most expensive car I've ever owned. That's why I want to drive that car for as long as possible.
Some assets you own, such as your home, can increase in value over time. Cars, on the other hand, are known to depreciate quickly as soon as they are removed from the lot.
According to KBB, the average used minivan price right now is $13,677. I'm the only one, and as I mentioned, my car is falling apart, so you probably won't see it much.
In any case, no matter how much money you can afford for your own car, it's probably not going to come close to the amount you need to buy a new car for your family. And it doesn't matter if you sell your minivan now or in a few years. Either way, it won't come close to its original value. Therefore, I think it's better to keep driving your car for as long as possible and postpone buying a new car, which tends to be expensive, as much as possible.
Some people aim to upgrade their cars every few years. And if you can afford to do so, please do so. But while I certainly don't have any love for my minivan, I feel it makes sense for our family finances to hang on to it until it stops working.
Plus, I'm definitely someone who has a hard time putting money into her savings account that I might need to make a down payment on a car. So if you can put it off, you'll feel better mentally.
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