Time for a New Ride

Unfortunately, I need to start looking for a new used vehicle.. And I am most certainly NOT looking forward to the process or the payments. I've stretched it out as long as I can safely do so it seems.

Why, you ask?

Simple, my current vehicle is only a few hundred miles away from 100k of the odometer. On top of that, I found out this morning that while I thought I still had warranty coverage for the last miles before the rollover of the odometer I actually don't. Imagine my chagrin this morning after working all night and driving to the dealership only to be told that my warranty was actually up a number of months ago. Right after I had issued a punch list of things I was hoping to have repaired prior to said warranty expiring.

Nice. It absolutely made my morning I can assure you.

I truly do not want to buy another vehicle right now. I mean, I'd rather have a root canal with no pain killer than to assume another car payment. But, it seems like the smart thing to do. I drive around 30 miles each way to work each day, not to mention my drive to school. With the current vehicle not covered under any warranty I'm placing myself at a high risk of getting stuck between a financial "rock and a hard place" should anything major break on it. See, my warranty was one of the best in the business. It was only a 100 dollar deductable and covered rental vehicles, trip interruptions, and a lot of things most others didn't cover. Now that I'm without that protection, especially on a 7 1/2 year old car with 100 grand on it, it puts me at a significant financial risk. One I just am not comfortable with.

But the plot thickens....

Obviously, trading it in at any stealership would just be stupid. They wouldn't give me shit for it and I know its worth around 5000.  Likewise, I truly don't want to go to the expense of getting it detailed, waxed, etc and having to deal with private individuals. I've been to that rodeo before and it is exasperating. People no-show, they want to "take it to their mechanic" which equals, go rag the shit out of the vehicle under the guise of "checking it out". Sorry, not gonna happen here. And I certainly don't want to endure the haggling that goes on.

So, I'm going to call the H&R Block office I've been using for the last 5 years and ask them if it would be advantageous tax wise to just donate the thing to charity and claim it as a deduction in February. Since it isn't worth a whole lot of money I just need to find out what the limit for that type of charitable gift is, and how much of it will be refunded from my taxes paid this year. It will at least benifit a good cause, and hey, I get some dinkum back from Uncle Sugar. ( which I hope to put to good use ) I spoke with my Father about it and he seemed to think that it was a good idea if the amount I would get back in taxes is proportionate to the value of the vehicle.  It certainly would make things a hell of a lot easier than selling it privately.

The next issue is finding a good, low mileage (20k and below), reasonably priced vehicle and securing financing at an also reasonable rate. For the vehicle choice I'm heading back to my roots. It will be a pickup truck for me once again. Oh how I've missed the ability to haul cargo, boxes, and large items with ease.. I've also missed the ability to sit on a tailgate and just chew the fat with a friend. A Texan once, a Texan always... As far as finances go, I'm going to use my old bank back home as I intend to be moving there next year. I hate my current credit union with a passion and refuse to give those bastards one more red cent of my money. They've made enough cash off of me over the years. No more.

I'm pretty bummed out about the whole affair. Just the thought of another car payment makes me want to go hide under my blankets on the bed. It just narrows down that financial window all the more. But, taking the chance of having a major problem with no coverage just seems foolish given the possible consequences. And besides, I'm about to enter the home stretch of grad school and the toughest part of it. I just can't afford to be sidelined or be distracted with vehicle issues. This is just too important.

When it rains, it pours....