If you can avoid it, now is not the time to buy a new car. Hold on to yours, be sure to perform regular maintenance and take care of it. The car market is crazy right now. Here’s what we recently found out.
Why We Are Considering a Car
My husband and I have been discussing getting a new car, especially since the arrival of our little one. Currently, we own a 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI. It has less than 86,000 miles on it and, though we haven’t been the kindest to it, it runs well. That being said, with the car seat in the back, stroller in the hatch, and us in the front two seats, there is very little room for anything else. Not to mention, we have to bring a diaper bag and anything else the little one may need while we are out. While it may help us save money in some cases, it doesn’t make family trips to the grocery store very easy unless we want to go every two days.
That made us consider looking at a bigger vehicle, either a station wagon or an SUV. One look at the car market made us change our minds though. Most of the vehicles on the market right now are double their regular price, that is if you can find what you are looking for on sale. Cars are hard to find right now, which is why their prices are through the roof. This helps the resale value of our car currently but, because we don’t have a second vehicle, simply selling the car wouldn’t be feasible for us.
We would be trading our car in, receive a higher-than-usual trade-in credit but also be paying higher-than-usual prices for any car we find. As you know, we aren’t trying to add a ton of debt to our family’s tally. In fact, we are trying to do the opposite.
Our Decision
After taking the time to review the market and even chatting with a car salesmen at VW, we decided to keep our cramped car and make it work. We are going to invest some money into getting a few things fixed on the car. Then we are going to get it fitted with a roof rack and pod for the top. This will help us be able to take longer trips and go shopping with the whole family.
On top of that, keeping our car and continuing to work on paying it off will help us reduce our debt. Once we pay it off, we can save and pay cash for the next car. With the car market looking the way it does right now, we are happy to keep our little VW.
Readers, have any of you bought a car recently? What was your experience like in the current market?
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Amanda is an editor and writer. She has a passion for sharing information that helps people and communities to better themselves in some way. In addition to writing online, she also freelances for local newspapers in her hometown of Charlotte, NC.