Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Car decisions

We've been debating what our next car move is going to be.

In 2001 we bought a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 for me. I'm still driving it. Since then it's had a new head gasket (which was actually broken when we bought it and fixed by the dealer), a brand spanking new engine 3 years ago, as well as all the typical brakes, muffler, exhaust, tires, tie rods (whatever the heck those are), etc. The car has had no A/C for about 4 years. Summers are BRUTAL in that car.

Chris had been driving a 99 wrangler until last spring when he traded it in for a 2008 Liberty which was more suitable for his job and all the driving he was doing.

Turns out he's not driving as much anymore and he is heartbroken without his wrangler. He seriously weeps when we see one. It's so sad.

The plan was for him to get another "new" car and me to take the liberty. Turns out neither of us are crazy about the liberty.

So our options are to:

1. Keep the 11 year old 151K (engine only has 20K on it though) mile cherokee for me but put a good amount of money fixing it up (currently it needs A/C, some body work, a complete interior detail, it's making some crazy rattling sound when I accelerate, and I'm sure the mechanic can come up with a fantastic amount of other things.) I really like the car, it drives very well and the V8 engine is like butter.
Chris would trade in the liberty for a less expensive wrangler.

2. trade in the cherokee for a wrangler and I take the liberty

3. trade in the cherokee for a wrangler and trade in the liberty for something else for me (thinking VW or an 07 audi...need awd or 4wd)

Financially speaking #1 would save us a lot of money in the long run but we are ok with the finances of 2 & 3 since it wouldn't be anything different from what we're doing now.

We both can't decide so what do you think?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

personally, if you could afford a newer car, do that. You have 2 young kids that will be with you most of the time and you need to have a newer reliable car. If things are starting to go on the other car, it will continue to do that since it's getting old.

Amanda said...

certified pre-owned subaru outback. will last you forever. consistenly the top cars in safety and reliability from consumer reports and cartalk. check edmonds and car and driver for reviews. screw jeeps- notoriously unreliable cars. my two cents.

Anonymous said...

Well Audi and VW both have terrible repair records and cost. But I do love them as cars. If you want to lean away from jeep vw and audi than go more towards japanese cars like honda and toyota. they are a charm to fix and have GREAT repair records!
Reliable and comfort is VERY important with kids. And may I suggest LEATHER. so so so so so much easier to clean. If you wanted a nicer end honda or toyota they have great models!

Its tough when you get comfortable with a car type... but with all the bad luck maybe a switch will do you some good :)

Love,
Jenn Rauseo

Kerry Lynn said...

Let me clarify one thing, we're not unhappy with our jeeps at all. They have been VERY good to us. Any repairs we've had to make in the last 10 years would have also been done to a honda. I guess my main question is do we fix up my old GC or let it go?

Courtney said...

I would say that you need a reliable car for the next few years and since your GC is 10 years old and starting to need some repairs I think it's time to get rid of it. I don't know how you've gone without AC with the kids for the past few summers- I would MELT!

Erwin Calverley said...

Some trading in tips: Get offers on at least 3 dealerships to get the true wholesale value of your car. But do not choose just any dealership. Make sure to go with a dealership that is selling the same nameplate as your car. This is important because they'll generally offer you a better price than an unrelated dealer because people tend to shop by nameplate. No matter what price they quote, tell them their offer seems low compared to what you've been quoted elsewhere. They will either say that's the final offer or will ask what price you've been offered elsewhere. Whatever price they first quote, come back with a price about 15% higher.

Erwin Calverley