Friday, December 10, 2010

This Ol' Car

I'm selling my car.

Well, I will as soon as spring comes and people look at it as a viable option again.

I'm really kicking myself for not looking at the depreciation on the vehicle before buying it. Mine is a 2008 Smart Car with just over $10,000 left owing on it, with little under 30,000km on it. It has a couple parking lot dings that were covered with paint from the dealership. Looking on kijiji, I may not even be able to get what I owe on it, and I've been paying it off for 2.5 years already. The closest I've found is one in Calgary, with no dings and 8000km on it, going for what I owe on mine. Granted mine has a few extras (heated seats, air conditioning, winter tires), but I still think it would be a stretch get anything over $10,000 for it. Talk about gut wrenching. I like my car, but it's not always practical, and I know I can do without it. That, and I know the $7000 a year it would save me (payment, insurance, registration, maintenance, fuel) would go a long way. It would pay off my credit card and put a dent in my line of credit within a year, not counting any other money I put toward it.

It's just a little disappointing, because I had planned to drive it until it's wheels fell off. That, and it has caused me a little bit of grief in the past. Being made by Mercedes Benz, I expected a certain level of quality in the vehicle. Turns out the year I bought it the manufacturing of the vehicle was turned over to another company, and now Mercedes just sells and services them for the North American market. Mercedes Benz price, Mercedes Benz labour costs, not Mercedes Benz quality. Little pissed about that.

I'm going to miss my little Wall-E :(

2 comments:

Finally Frugal said...

It's worth it, Cassie! Though you'll miss your little car, you'll get out of debt that much quicker, and when you're at a comfortable place financially, you can always save up and buy a new car with cash. It's a tough road, but you'll get there.

Cassie said...

Thanks for the comment Finally Frugal! I appreciate the support, it's a long road ahead.