Please help me make a decision on a second car

[Holly_Hobby]

My husband's lease is up next week and we'll be returning it then. I have a 2008 Dodge Nitro, two years left on the lease.

We won't be buying another new car due to the economy and either one of us could be losing our job at any moment. He wants to take my car, since I only drive 3,000 miles a year now, since I work from home. I don't need a new car for that.

So my great uncle passes last month and leaves a 1984 Cadillac Coupe DeVille in his estate to be sold. We were offered the car for $5,000 because it's spotless and has only 42,000 original miles. My great uncle adored that car and took very good care of it. He put new tires on it last year, there is no rust and it's never been in an accident. Everything still works.

Our mechanic says parts are still available if we would ever need anything. Our insurance company says a liability-only policy would be $275/year, as apposed to the $600/year I pay now for driving my car 3,000 miles.

We can pay cash for this car. My question is, it's a gas hog. Would I be better off buying a newer used car or low riding in something like this:

[islandmkl]

1. you're only asking to get some support, right??....

hell yeah...grab the caddy...you're only driving a little...and that bad boy will protect you and probably do better with gas than you expect...

and...turn up the tunes...

[HopeHoops]

2. If you don't drive much (miles per week), stick with the low-rider.

That thing should give you another 20+ years if you treat her right. Cool car, too.

On edit:
I had an '84 Colony Park wagon (a little bigger than your car and 5,600 lbs) and she pulled 20 mpg on road trips with the cruise control set. Around town could dip as low as 12, but on average I would say I got about 17 to 18. She had a 5.0 in her that I am responsible for blowing up at 150K by running her with a blown radiator (it was an emergency). She got me home before she died. If you drive gently, they get much better mileage than you expect.

[Sherman A1]

3. It may be a gas hog but,

if you don't drive much, it makes no real difference. I think it is a good solution for your current situation and would go with it. It gives you a car if you need one, the insurance is cheap, it's in good shape and it's sorta like recycling in it's own way.

[Flying Dream Blues]

4. I would say, since it will be low usage and has such low mileage

you wouldn't be able to do better than this car that's been so well-maintained. And while I realize you'd probably rather drive a "greener" car, it seems to me that since this is a jewel of a used car in many respects, someone will drive it, and they would probably be using it more than you will, so you'd be doing the environment a favor. And it's pretty cool, too.

Good luck and I hope your jobs stay safe.
:hug:

Edited: To add "Cool car" comment and fix m'smilie.

[sandnsea]

5. Put it in the garage

and consider it your retirement program.

[Holly_Hobby]

8. LOL, the relative in charge of selling the car has already

had an offer of $15,000, but the Will stipulates it has to go to a relative for $5,000, no more, no less.

You just might have something there, it would be an investment. Thanks!

[ContinentalOp]

14. Jeez, just turn around and sell it for a $10k profit then.

And buy what you really want.

[Ikonoklast]

6. Tough call.

How far is your commute, as fuel costs are rising, and will continue to do so. If it's just a short commute, and fuel costs aren't the over-riding concern, I'd say go for it.

You have a good, clean used car with many years of service left in it. The only other consideration is finding parts for it, if it does need repair.

Five grand is a bit steep for a car that old, but taking into consideration the shape it's in, not having any serious maintenance costs would even some of that out.

[Holly_Hobby]

11. I work from home, only need a car for monthly meeting,

grocery store and errands, all local. Less than 3,000 miles/year.

Our mechanic says he can get parts for it from GM. He says the parts will be available until they're gone, no matter what GM's status is.

There's been an offer by my great uncle's neighbor for $15,000, but the will says it has to go to a relative for exactly $5,000. It's immaculate. My great uncle was Polish. He hand washed it and cleaned it with Q-tips. Most of my Polish relatives are neurotic about keeping things clean.

Oh and BTW, the $5,000 will be going to charity. He's been divorced for over 40 years and didn't have kids.

[Ikonoklast]

16. Then you go for it.

Just honor your uncle and keep up on the maintenance, and you'll drive that car for twenty years.

[dmallind]

7. car wear is not only about miles

After 25 years a lot of parts - especially plastic and rubber things like hoses, belts, gaskets, seals and so on - can degrade and need replacing. Some of these are very expensive. Electronics - and this car was made in the early days of putting electronics on cars which is even more worrisome - can also simply fail with time.

Obviously nobody can give you a specific answer, even with a personal inspection. This car may have 100K trouble free left in it, or it may be ready to drop a $XXXX repair tomorrow.

$5K will buy you a pretty reasonable used car for that kind of mileage and plenty which are newer and more economical. That is a bit steep for a 25 yr old Caddy even in good shape.

That said I wouldn't worry about economy much. Even if you only get 15 to the gallon out of this - and a lot depends on the type of driving as these big low-revving engines are often surprisingly reasonable on the highway - and could get 30 out of a used Civic or something, you are looking at the difference between two hundred gallons and one hundred gallons a year - maybe $20 a month.

It probably comes down to whether you like the car or not, and what a competent mechanic says about its condition (if you do want to buy it trust me spend the $65 on an hour's lookover). Personally I'd rather drive this than a used Hyundai Accent a few years old, but I'm a big bugger who isn't too worried about my image. YMMV. Good luck either way.

[Holly_Hobby]

12. Thanks for the good info....

Belts, hoses, etc. are newer, within the last 3 years or so. ALL of the maintenance receipts are available to us. He bought it new.

The $5,000 is going to charity, per the Will. That's why I'm not worried about over-paying.

I'm happy to hear about the mileage, I was worried about getting 8mpg or worse. I think it's a 6.0L V8.

Our mechanic says give him an hour and $68, and he'll give us an opinion.

Thanks again, this is looking more and more like something we should do.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

9. Ironic ... is that a tanker in the background of the photo?

Seriously, with as few miles as you drive, grab it. Garage and maintain it and you'll get another ten years out of it (plus it knows the way to all of the 5:15 p.m. dinner specials in town). If you do end up increasing your annual miles or losing a job, you'll get most or all of that in resale, IMO.

[Holly_Hobby]

13. Ha Ha, I didn't notice the tanker!

Good points LOL

[Sequoia]

10. Take the car since you don't drive much.

I personally don't like Cads because they tend to overheat quite often. At least in my experience.

[Holly_Hobby]

15. Years ago, I had an '84 El Dorado that overheated quite

frequently. I seldom could use the A/C.

[Juche]

17. Pass on the Cadillac

Spending $5,000 for a 25 year old car that is a gas hog is a bad decision IMO, and you should only buy that car if you have sentimental attachments to your uncle and/or if you really, really love cadillacs.

Back in high school (mid 90s) I had a 1977 Buick LeSabre that took $100 a month in gas to fuel, back when gas was $0.99 a gallon. Bad decision.

edit: If you are being offered 15k for it, and the money goes to charity that makes it a totally different equation.

[MADem]

18. A 1989 Caddy Coupe de Ville with 42K miles on it, is worth this much

Condition Value


Excellent
$2,360

Good
$2,060

Fair
$1,735

------------------------------

I got that from Kelly Blue Book. http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/PricingReport.aspx?YearId=1989&Mileage=42000&VehicleClass=UsedCar&ManufacturerId=8&ModelId=51&PriceType=Private+Party&VehicleId=13018&SelectionHistory=13018%7c30677%7c01810%7c0%7c0%7c444865%7ctrue&Condition=Excellent&QuizConditions=

Offer them Two Grand, if you really want the car. If you don't drive much, or drive very far, I'd buy the old tank. It might be fun. I wouldn't spend five grand for it, though. I think you can do better with that kind of money.

[s-cubed]

19. It's a great car. Do the simple math.

Figure out roughly how many miles you would drive it per year, the car's mpg, and gas at $4/gal. (miles/mpg = gal) x 4 to see what it would cost. If you really don't drive it much, it may well make sense. Remember, when both of you are going somewhere together, you can take the more economical car. I would ask your mechanic about the state of the various hoses: they may need replacement.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Take the car. It is a remarkable deal.

First, the car is worth far more than $5K, as you are finding out. Second, it is likely quite dependable. At 3K miles per year, so what if it gets even 10 MPG (it will get far better)?

When was it last driven? Last serviced? Pay a good mechanic to go over the car and get done whatever needs doing. The checkout alone should cost a few hundred bucks. Consider it money well spent.

As to that insurance, please consider carrying collision on it. The car is more valuable than what you'll be paying.

Most of all, enjoy it. That's a really, really cool car!

[mwooldri]

21. The car's a future museum piece...

... as others and yourself have up-post stated it's worth more than the $5k you'd have to pay to get it.

If there is the option of buying the car and then selling it on at a profit, then - yes, take it and definitely do that, because it sounds like this neighbour who offered $15k for it would take great care of it in the same way your great uncle took care of it. Then that leaves you with $10k to buy a really nice almost new vehicle that would definitely give you many years of service (and save gas in the process).

Is public transport feasible in your area? I live in the rural area near Greensboro, NC and our county offers us a 24/7 paratransit "Work Connect" program where we can book rides to/from work, and connections to other shopping destinations during the day. If all I did was go to/from work each day, I wouldn't need my car at all and I'd save lots on gas.

For 3,000 miles a year, the cost difference for a car that does 10mpg vs 30mpg at $3.00/gal is $600. Even if you got a newer car with more miles on it and in not as tip-top condition a liability-only policy would still be around $300.