E-Mail 'How to Pay Cash for a Car' To A Friend

Comments

1. Jennifer S August 23, 2011 at 2:31 pm

   We are working on a Total Money Makeover right now, and are relying on our one car to keep running until we are out of debt. I don’t forsee being able to pay cash for our hoped-for van, but to have only that payment and no other debt is a small victory in itself. Right now we pack our 4 daughters into our ’98 Ford Taurus Wagon (with rear-facing back seat it sits 8!) and head out where we need to go. We love our 220,000-miles-and-counting car, but know it will die soon. Thanks for your sharing your story – it gives me inspiration to know that others are “living like no one else so that one day we can live like no one else” too!
2. Bethany August 23, 2011 at 3:04 pm

   In lieu of having any car payments, my hubby and I both drive our same older (think circa 1999) reliable cars while we pay off our credit cards that we ran up a few years ago when we were a little naive! While I am looking forward to getting a newer (not brand new) car in the future, we have paid off 2/3 of our credit cards and I know paying off this last one will feel so great and be worth driving my old car for.
3. kathy August 23, 2011 at 3:18 pm

   Inspiring post. A few years back we needed a car. The engine blew in our one car and we couldn’t afford to replace it. We had $500. The husband found an old station wagon and the elderly couple who owned it sold it to us for $300. It required $100 for parts and another $150 for tags/inspection. Gotta say, it certainly wasn’t the best looking car by a long shot. It was a boat! But the kids thought it was great. Every time we went to church in that car we thanked God for giving us a vehicle so we could be in the house of worship.
   That old car lasted for 5 yrs. Never put another dime into it other than maintenance. It gave us quite a few miles.
   Now we’re back in the same place with car issues and a bad economy as well as my husband in desperate need of a serious back surgery. He’ll be off 3 months without a paycheck while he recuperates. Our beater car has died and a van has been offered to us for a cheap price. We will do the above scenerio and we will be thankful we have transportation once again :D. God is Good!
4. Cheryl August 23, 2011 at 3:33 pm

   When my husband and I paid off our first car we continued to make the same payments to ourselves in a separate savings account. Within 2 years we were able to upgrade from a 2005 to a 2010 with our savings and the trade in for ZERO cash out of pocket and it feels great! Now we are continuing to do that still and are looking forward to upgrading hubby’s car (2003) in two more years.
5. David August 23, 2011 at 3:46 pm

   Funny. I thought the beater (Volvo) was the nice car. I guess it is just a matter of perspective.

   • Kelly August 23, 2011 at 8:25 pm

     David – Yes, it looked great on the outside! It was the inside and the vibrating like a jackhammer at stop lights that was the problem! 🙂 LOL
6. Leslie August 23, 2011 at 4:22 pm

   Great post!!

   So what van did you end up buying? We paid cash for our top of the line Odyssey and it feels great!
7. Kyle Dreier August 23, 2011 at 5:39 pm

   Kelly, Our paid-for “family car” looks great but when you’re turning left and hit a slight bump in the road the horn honks. The down volume for the radio makes it turn up. And, the windshield whipper delay only works when you’re not expecting it to. My wife is a saint for putting up with this car—and her husband that bought it. 🙂
8. Kristi August 23, 2011 at 7:45 pm

   Paying cash for a car is the best way to go! I paid cash for a gently used car in 1999 and vowed to always pay cash for a car. I drove that car for twelve years, saving up for the inevitable time when I would need to replace the car. Because of the economy and having my hours cut back at work, I was not able to save up as much as I would have liked. So I intended to keep this car for a while longer. Unfortunately, a few weeks ago my car was rear-ended, causing a total-loss to my car. I did not have enough cash on hand to buy a decent car with cash and still keep money in my emergency fund. However, the Lord intervened. The other driver’s insurance company offered me a settlement for more than I would have gotten on a standard trade-in. Between the settlement money and my savings it was enough to allow me to pay cash for another car. It’s my intention to begin saving again for the next car. Plan Ahead!!
9. Jeni August 24, 2011 at 9:23 pm

   We also paid cash for our “new to us” van last fall, but I did a Ramsy no-no and put $2,500 on our credit card, the max. allowed before fees- and as soon as I came home, online bill paid that amount to the credit card. So for a few hours, we had a hefy bill– and extra points to spend at hubby’s favortie store- Cabela’s!
10. liz August 24, 2011 at 10:47 pm

    Thanks for sharing! I have never had a car payment and think its the only way to go. I am selling my 03′ accord to my brother-in-law tomorrow and am paying cash for a 05′ Odyssey!!! Hondas sure do hold there value.

    • Esther June 22, 2012 at 9:17 pm

      Hondas and Toyotas is all we drive in our family 🙂
11. Esther June 22, 2012 at 9:16 pm

    growing up, my dad always bought cars from the “Auction” and fixed them up himself. That’s how he was able to afford to buy cars for all 3 kids + the 2 cars he and mom had. They weren’t fancy or expensive cars, but they ran good and we used them for years and years.
    Now, being married with 2 kids myself, my husband also buys our cars from the auction (paying cash of course). We’ve been debt free for the past 3 years and I couldn’t be happier, even with a beater car :).

    We started baby steps 4 years ago, as Dave Ramsey suggested and it worked miracles for us. Patience and sticking with the plan, pays off. 🙂