Now here’s a phrase I never thought I would be typing:
Volvo Stationwagon
That’s right folks, I got me some old new wheels yesterday. This was purely a financial decision.
To make a long story short, we decided to sell the car I have been driving my entire married life– a Mazda Tribute. Great little car, by the way… it served us well. However we made the huge mistake of financing the car just before our wedding in 2004, when it was brand new.
I am not a financial expert by any means, but let me tell you, we paid dearly for that mistake. To the tune of thousands of dollars in interest charges and instant depreciation. Never again will we finance a brand new car.
We had been researching used mini-vans recently (also something I never thought I would type) and decided that they were beyond our price range at this time.
Hubby suggested a station wagon. Hey, why not? We can still throw the dogs in back for a ride and it even has a rare third row seat.
A day later, we were driving home in our 1999 Volvo V70 with 84,000 miles on it. Fully loaded! Dave Ramsey would be proud.
I wish I could say that we paid cash for it. We actually sold the Mazda private party for what we owed on it and paid it right off. We then acquired a very respectable loan from my credit union.
Let me just say, working with a credit union for a car loan is just a pleasure. Walking into a dealer with a pre-approved loan gives you instant bargaining power. We ended up paying $1000 less than the asking price.
So, the results? We have $2000 less debt overall, and our monthly car payment has been cut in half.
I am now a Stationwagon rockin’ momma. Who knew it would feel so good?
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
oooh fancy! Congratulations!
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Congratulation! I also against buy a new car. We bought barely used car and save $3000.
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Congrats! How exciting! Happy WW!
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That is too funny! I never thought I would be driving a “mom” car either. But here I am doing so… and a frugal car at that.I used to be embarrassed, because there are so many range rovers and whatever in our neighborhood, but they have to live with that debt, not us. If it is new to you, and you like it, then you go girl! Congrats!
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I love it! Great job reducing debt and getting a good car for your family.
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Awesome deal! Congratulations!!
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I too was one who said I would never drive a mini-van . . . . . I’ve learned to never say never! I actually love my mini-van now!!
I think the Wal-mart deal sounds great – congratulations.
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After reading ALL of Dave Ramsey’s books, we’re definitely against buying new. Good job on the great deal! Looks like fun!
We went from having a Ford Focus to a minivan. It’s definitely different, but I don’t think I could give it up now that we have it. lol I think you’ll love being a station wagon mom.
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In your shoes, I’d be afraid of big repair bills on a car with so many miles. Was that a worry for you? How’d you negotiate it?
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@Tara Great question. Actually, we really did our homework. 84,000 miles on a Volvo is actually fairly low. They are known to run forever. We consulted a European Auto Mechanic and got their approval.
We also bought the car directly from a reputable dealer where the car had been serviced it’s whole life. The car only had one previous owner and was very well maintained. So, no worries at this point.
Hubby did the negotiating. He told them how much we were willing to pay, and they agreed! They are more willing to budge on the price of an older car, in our experience.
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I love, love, LOVE station wagons. My first car was a 1987 Camry wagon and it almost made it to 300,000 miles!! It was SO CLOSE! Now we have a 1992 Camry wagon that my hubby drives. I would love one like yours! I drive a sedan which I love also but one day I hope to have a Mom Wagon again! Wagons rock!!
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I love, love, LOVE station wagons. My first car was a 1987 Camry wagon and it almost made it to 300,000 miles!! It was SO CLOSE! Now we have a 1992 Camry wagon that my hubby drives. I would love one like yours! I drive a sedan which I love also but one day I hope to have a Mom Wagon again! Wagons rock!!
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I love, love, LOVE station wagons. My first car was a 1987 Camry wagon and it almost made it to 300,000 miles!! It was SO CLOSE! Now we have a 1992 Camry wagon that my hubby drives. I would love one like yours! I drive a sedan which I love also but one day I hope to have a Mom Wagon again! Wagons rock!!
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I love, love, LOVE station wagons. My first car was a 1987 Camry wagon and it almost made it to 300,000 miles!! It was SO CLOSE! Now we have a 1992 Camry wagon that my hubby drives. I would love one like yours! I drive a sedan which I love also but one day I hope to have a Mom Wagon again! Wagons rock!!
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You are absolutely right about Credit Unions, I am a huge supporter of them and have found that they often have the best deals when it comes to financing cars or anything else for that matter…
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Congratulations on your new-used car.
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Very cool! Congratulations on the old/new wheels and the awesome car payment.
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Nice wheels! We are actually looking to trade/sell hubby’s big 4×4 truck and downsize to a wagon. Volvo and Suburu are tops on our list. We’d love to just purchase outright and get rid of one car payment…we’ll see how that turns out.
I never thought I would be a minivan mom, but we made the switch in 2005 right before baby #3, and haven’t looked back since. I do miss the Suburu Outback wagon I drove before though, that was really a great car.
Enjoy the new-to-you are!
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Welcome to the club! I am driving a Ford station wagon that my 91 year old grandfather used to drive. Congrats to you! Betsy
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Alyssa,
I love it! My first car was a ‘vintage’ Volvo (older than I was, I think), and I found out then that they run for a really long time if they’re well cared for.
Hope you enjoy it!
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Great job! I also never thought I’d be driving what I’m in right now…but I wouldn’t trade my Odyssey for anything! And I (not my hubby!) did the negotating with the salesman and got our minivan for under blue book price! It was so empowering!
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Looks great! We just “Daved” ourselves (aka – cash and “we’ll walk out if we don’t get it for $x”) into a 2000 Volvo V70 wagon… more miles on it than yours, but we’re excited and ready to rack up some more miles. (We also have an 89 Volvo wagon w/ 212K miles!)
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