Sell car or not?
 

Ok, everyone: this is a bit off topic. I just passed 100K miles on my car. I tend to put 30K miles a year on my cars because of all the travel I do getting my son to his practices, to friends' homes who happen to live 45 minutes away, and to tournaments which are sometimes 500 miles away.

Anyway, my car is a luxury brand SUV and is costly to repair even though I get the work done with my mechanic, not at the dealership. I am thinking of trading it in for a sedan like an Altima or Camry or Accord. I would probably have to come up with about $4000 if I wanted to avoid a payment but it would get me into a car with about 20K miles and a warranty, as well.

My question is: should I do this before I file for divorce? I imagine I won't be able to do much while we're in the process of divorcing, right?

I have to start thinking of life as a single mom on a shoestring budget. A sedan would get better gas mileage as well, and would cost less to repair. Lots of things on my mind these days and this one just popped up this week because my car is in the shop right now getting the alternator fixed. 800 miles past the warranty expiration so I have to pay for it out of pocket. UGH!

I would trade it now, before any divorce proceedings begin, if you can title it in your name only , all the better.

I love my Camry. It is great on gas, especially after filling up a minivan. Sounds like a smart move.
Have the battery changed in the SUV as well, even if it seems fine after a charge test. Especially if you're going to be driving it awhile longer. When the alternator goes bad it almost always takes the battery with it. You don't want to get stranded.

Definitely now/before divorce.

I would do it now. No reason to wait. But, I would really do your homework. You mentioned great car brands but not everyone is really qualified to work on "foreign" cars and their routine maintenance costs are higher than domestic.

You also need to remember with warranties you may be required to get your work done at dealerships and thats where the real difference in cars maintenance costs come in

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'd have to sell AH on the idea, though, and that might be tough.

ladyscribbler, yes the battery died too, so I know that will definitely be replaced!

As for the warranty issues. I'm pretty savvy on reading the fine print and asking the right questions. I had 3 Lexus and 2 Toyotas with extended warranties and I knew exactly what was covered and how much the dealer would or would not pitch in towards the cost. Most of the time, the only stuff that wasn't covered was wear and tear items like brakes, shocks, struts, tires, etc.

I am going to talk to my mechanic today and ask him which cars are the cheapest to fix and which cars would give me the most bang for my buck. I know they drive Hondas and Kias, but it can't hurt to ask. We've been using this mechanic for 15 years now and his wife is in AA and we talk openly about our recoveries.

I got a 2013 Altima with less than 20K for $14k. I had an SUV before, and the difference in gas mileage pays for the car payment.

I have a gas guzzling SUV and I dream about getting a fuel efficient smaller car. If you want domestic, the new Buicks and Lincolns are beautiful and seem to get pretty good mpg. Although anything is good compared to mine.

Who owns the car, if it was bought together it will be half his in relationship property.
We put ours on our mortgage & then when we split relationship property I had to pay him for half of the car as I retained use of the car for the kids. Even though he had a company car that cost him nothing I still had to pay out half.
It was a stationwagon & the petrol price was huge & I have since downgraded to what I call a "nana car" which doesn't cost much to run.
If the car is in your name & you can prove it in court then change it now, otherwise I would wait.

Trade it in now. And look at Kias along with the Toyotas. Very worth the money.

I just got a new Prius - best gas mileage out there PLUS the trunk is large enough to fit things like Ikea furniture....so it's green and practical...and I love it, it's nice inside too. They were having really good deals on financing when I got it last month....best purchase I've made in a while.

It's a little pricier than some of the other suggestions but it holds its value and I've had it 6 weeks and only filled the tank up twice.

I did this exact thing in January! Science Experiments & Self Esteem

I bought an used Prius in cash and traded in my luxury brand SUV. I've put 20,000 miles on it so far and it's been a dream to drive. It's great for long distance travel (it's traveled to Disneyland from the Bay Area several times now) and taking surfboards to the ocean over windy mountain roads. I highly recommend it. I also purchased it entirely on my own, the car is in solely my name and I own it outright. It's really freeing for my vehicle to be an asset instead of a liability. :)

*ETA by "dream to drive" I mean that it has had zero issues and I bought it with a lot of miles on it already. The gas mileage and associated cost at the pump is pretty fabulous. It is like driving a ball of playdoh though. If you want a fun car to drive, the Prius ain't it. But is is very economical and more eco-conscious than entirely gasoline powered cars.

I love, love love the Prius! Buying a used car with low mileage is the way to go if you want to get the best value for your money. Hondas, Toyotas, and Subarus will last forever if you do basic maintenance on them. Good luck!

Well, I have a Lexus now which is basically a Luxury Toyota. I know it will run forever but fixing it is pricey. An alternator on a Honda would have cost me $250, my Lexus' part was $500. I had a Toyota Highlander before I switched to Lexus and it was the best car I ever owned.

I've never bought new, it's against my financial belief system, LOL! I'm not sure what I'm going to do because I do need my AH to be Ok with the expense. My car is now only worth about $14,000 if I did a trade in and most of the cars I'm interested in are looking like they would run me around 18K. So, I'd like to see if AH would agree to me spending the extra 4-5K. I would put it all in my name and take the debt with me if he would be in agreement.