Tag cars

The Car We Bought At An Auction

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I am wary of purchasing a vehicle at an auction, primarily because of the experience I had back in early 2002, when I was married. My husband approached me, insisting on attending a car auction. His contention was that it would be good to have a third car which we could use if either of our primary rides ever ran into mechanical issues. I didn’t have a problem with the logic, but I feared that we would get stuck with a car which would only add to our expenses and also collect dust.

We attended a car auction on a very hot Saturday, set our budget, and settled in for the experience. A BMW was the first auto up, and I was stunned when my husband Pete placed a bid on it. I tapped him on the arm and told him that the BMW wasn’t even in our budget, but he told me that he didn’t think he’d win the auction anyway, which actually turned out to be the case. A succession of halfway decent cars followed the BMW in the auction lineup, but we sat back and just observed the activity.

Then a green Ford Fiesta was driven to the auction block. Pete leaned towards me and said, “Babe, I wanna bid on this car, it’s definitely in our price range”, and seemed not to notice how old and dingy it was, with dulled paint and mismatched tires. My gut was telling me that bidding on the Fiesta was a bad idea, so I told him that. He brushed me off, and said he was bidding anyway. Long story short, he won the auction, and we had this crappy, ugly Ford Fiesta in our possession.

Since we had taken Pete’s car over to the auction, he suggested that I drive the Fiesta back to our residence. I will never forget how miserable the experience was, of driving that car home, because the engine had very little power, and the interior was filthy. Once we arrived home, I told Pete that I would never willingly drive the Fiesta, upon which he went ballistic and started yelling at me about how I had to use the car. In order to keep the peace, I drove the car to work twice, then never did it again.

Pete and I separated in May of 2002, and he found another place to live. What he failed to do was to take the Fiesta, so the car sat in a parking spot at our apartment complex. He told me that it was my responsibility to move the car every few days so as not to upset the apartment manager, but I refused to do so. I kept pleading with him to take the car to his place, but he stubbornly ignored my requests.

A couple of months later, I received a call from the Upland Police Department, asking me if my husband was available to verify ownership of a Ford Fiesta. When I replied that my husband was not available at the residence, the police officer informed me that the vehicle had been stolen, then recovered in a parking lot at a local park. I hadn’t even noticed that the car was missing! The officer stated that I needed to come to the park to pick up the vehicle, so I complied.

When I saw the car in the parking lot, I noticed that there were a bunch of deep gouges along the front hood and roof. I asked the officer what the gouges were from, and he told me that they were from skateboard wheels. Evidently, some skateboarders thought it would be cool to launch off the hood, causing considerable cosmetic damage to a vehicle I hated. I drove the heap back to the apartment complex, called Pete, and said, “Get your car. I’m not babysitting this thing any longer.”

Pete picked up the Fiesta and ended up giving it to his parents as an extra car. I felt so bad for my in-laws!

Why Car Leasing Is A Bad Idea

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Are you currently leasing a vehicle, or are thinking about leasing one? If so, please think through the option thoroughly before committing to it. Generally speaking, leasing a vehicle is a terrible financial decision, with the main exception being that the lease serves as a tax write off for your business. Otherwise, why saddle yourself with a car note, only to be forced to return the car at the end of the lease term? Chances are that you will need to lease another vehicle to replace the previous one, which means you will be locked into another loan, for yet another set of wheels you never build equity on and will never own (not unless you purchase that car at lease end, which I ended up doing in 2017…more on this later).

I fully realize that there are some tempting aspects of car leasing, the first of which is the fact that you get to drive a new car every 2 or 3 years once the current vehicle lease comes to an end. The down payment and monthly payments are also lower than if you were to purchase the vehicle. However, there are numerous other negative aspects of leasing, one of which is the fact that you will be limited to a certain number of driven miles during the lease term. You also cannot make modifications to a leased set of wheels that are permanent, since you are borrowing the car.

I don’t plan on ever renting a car again, because then I’d be paying for the first portion of the vehicle’s depreciation, which is not a sound financial decision. The first mistake I made was when I was lured into a 2- year prepaid lease back in 2009. I had actually allowed a car salesman convince me that keeping the brand-new wheels I had bought outright in 2007 was not the best idea, and that I could easily roll into a prepaid lease. By lease end in 2011, I didn’t have enough saved up to purchase a car, so I rolled into not one, but two consecutive, 2-year leases.

When I realized how much I had been fleeced by the first 3 car leases, (a term which Dave Ramsey loves to use when referring to car leases), I made a promise to myself to save up enough money to purchase the 2015 new leased vehicle outright, and I kept that promise. Once that was accomplished, I set out to save up enough money to eventually purchase my next vehicle without taking out a car loan. I now have a chunk of change set aside (over $50K) for my next vehicle, and I have the peace of mind of knowing that I won’t be kept on the financial hook ever again for a car.

Hold Onto Your Car!

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The pandemic has created many shortages and supply chain issues, among them toilet paper, disinfecting supplies, and workout equipment. But did you know that there is also a shortage of used automobiles? Two major factors which have caused so many people to turn towards used cars are decreased new automobile production, and budget concerns which have resulted from decreases in income. If you have an extra used car sitting around that’s not being used, it may be a small gold mine for you if you sell it right now, because the demand is so high. But if your used vehicle is one you actually need in order to get around, and it’s in good mechanical shape, you’re better off holding onto it until the surge in demand simmers down.

Even my car, which is a 6 year old economy car, is now worth about $1,400 more this year than it was at the beginning of 2020. Strange, but it’s true. Prior to the pandemic, I had actually considered selling my car and getting a newer model, but I am definitely pushing my plans back by about 3 years or more. I truly hope that when I am ready to get a different car, the supply chain issues with new automobile production will not be an issue like they are right now.

If you are in the market to buy a used car, you already know how difficult it is to actually locate one. It took one of my dear friends four months before she was able to find a used car to purchase. She looked everywhere, and kept responding to listings which turned out to be sleazy dealers instead of the private parties they claimed to be. The vehicles were not in good mechanical condition, so they never passed mechanical inspection. The only reason why she was finally able to find a decent car to buy was because a friend of hers whose mother was going to buy one from a family member changed her mind, and offered to sell the car to my friend. Had that not occurred, my friend would likely still be on the hunt for a set of wheels.

If you can purchase a new car instead of struggling to find a used one, be prepared to pay about 5% more than before March of 2020.

Who Can Still Read A Map?

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I am willing to bet that a fair portion of the millenial generation finds it difficult to read a plain map. Sure, they can look at a navigation screen which continues to re-center and process information to ensure that they will get to their desired destination, but what would happen if a paper map was unfolded in front of them, and they were put to task to find out how to go from point A to point B only by reading the map?

I remember using Thomas Guides, those large spiral bound collections of maps which yielded detailed geography within large metropolitan areas. I always had a Thomas Guide tucked away in my trunk at all times, so that I would be able to reference it in case I found myself in an unfamiliar part of town. However, without some sense of direction, some sense of where my home, or some recognizable geographic reference, was, a Thomas Guide would have just been a jumble of confusing roads. In stark contrast, with GPS navigation apps, all I have to do is select “HOME” on my trusty navigation system and allow it to guide me, without having any clue to where “home” is.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for the technology which GPS navigation affords, especially when it can factor in traffic flow and estimate time of arrival. But I think it’s tragic that an unavoidable dumbing down of our society has also occurred as a result of GPS technology. What should be an essential survival skill, namely, reading a map, has been largely lost. I still run into people who don’t have the slightest clue of north, south, east, west, and whose lack of spatial knowledge is being coddled by computer programs which do the thinking for them.

I do think that when it comes to short distances within an area, especially if one is walking from point A to point B versus driving, there is some spatial mapping and learning which occurs. However, longer distances with numerous circuitous navigation paths are best handled with forfeiting complete control to the navigation stream without really processing what turns have been made, etc. One prime example I have is a destination about 50 miles away from me which I must drive to each month, which also happens to be quite tricky to get to, because it is nestled deep in the next county, hidden from major highways. I rarely repeat a route to this destination, thanks to the fact that Waze factors in traffic flow, and puts me on the most complicated navigation paths. Waze wasn’t working on one of those days, and I honestly couldn’t think of how to get to my destination! I ended up plugging the address into my vehicle’s GPS, and was able to get to my destination. I had given in to Waze to show me the way, but hadn’t processed enough on my own to map out my route unassisted.

Driving Is A Privilege…Enjoy It While You Can Do It

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Many teenagers cannot wait until they learn to drive, because it is a rite of passage and a means to a certain amount of freedom and movement which they never had before. I remember being excited to drive, but that feeling dissipated very quickly when I found out how tedious it could be to navigate through Los Angeles traffic. I guess it’s a small price to pay for the flexibility I get from having a reliable car and all the necessary faculties to drive it. I have become so dependent on being able to drive wherever I need to that taking the car in for servicing is a major test of patience. It seems ridiculous that I can’t sit still for one hour while my car is serviced, but I simply can’t stand it. I also do not enjoy riding with other people to events which I may want to make an escape from earlier than my friends do. Even when I travel, I prefer to drive to the destination in my own car or rent a car while there.

I have seen elderly loved ones lose the ability to drive over the past few years, and it breaks my heart. My favorite aunt, my mother and now my father have lost the ability to drive as a result of progressive weakness, arthritis, loss of vision and cognitive decline. Both of my parents initially exhibited a stubborn refusal to accept their diminishing ability to drive, and kept talking about how they were going to resume driving soon. Sadly, they are both ambulating with great difficulty and only with the use of assistive devices. It is especially difficult to see this when I used to rely on them to drive me around when I was a child.

Even getting my parents into a vehicle is a major task, because flexing both at the knees and hips is no longer rapid or automatic. It terrifies me to think that I might ever get to that point in my later years. I don’t ever want to lose the freedom to jump in a car and go whenever I need to. I would hate having to rely on others to cart me around all the time. I hope and pray that my body remains nimble and that my distance vision remains sharp (thanks to Lasik). Driving is definitely a privilege and one which I value greatly.

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