We decided ages ago - long before we got pregnant with baby #3 - that we would need to buy a van before we had our 3rd child. One of my New Year's resolutions was to save money for this very reason. Little did we know that I would get pregnant that very month.
This little alteration to our timing means less time to save for it. Thankfully, we got a decent sized tax return - more than we were expecting - which will primarily go toward our new wheels.
Our plan was to buy a used van with our tax return money and get a loan for the rest. We wanted to become a 2 car family.
But after researching grad school and how much it will cost...we've made some alterations to our plan. We really don't want to go into more debt than education alone will make us. Grad school will be expensive enough. We don't need a car payment on top of that.
We will continue to be a 1 car family. We're going to trade in our 2006 Corolla and use the trade in value + most of our tax return to buy a decent used van. We already looked up the blue book value and have a good idea of what we have to work with.
Of course, there's no guarantee we'll get the actual trade in value. We were going to go in to the dealership yesterday to see what they'd give us for it, but then we all got sick over the weekend. Maybe next week.
We've also looked online at some of the used vans they have for sale. We wanted to check out one in particular - a 2007 Chrysler Town & Country. I've done lots of research and I get mixed reviews. If you have experience with these cars, I'd love to hear it. Or if you have other suggestions, I'm open.
As long as it's not Ford...I will never own a Ford. I had one catch on fire on me right after I graduated high school...had I not gotten out when I did, I wouldn't be here. So, no Fords. Ever.
We want a newer-ish van. Something safe, reliable, and preferably 2005 or newer. I'm willing to go as old as 2003 if it's the right van, but no older. Ideally I'd like something newer than the 2006 Corolla we currently own. It seems silly to me to buy a vehicle that's older than what I drive now. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
Don't miss today's earlier 2 posts! I've got another, about our oh-so-lovely sick weekend, coming up soon.
Liam's Special Day
10 years ago
Trade in value is probably the lowest you'll get for your car- if you can stand the drama, you'd be better off selling the car, then taking the cash to purchase a car.
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