We Bought a New Car!

So... the hubby and I bought another car this weekend! We were so torn on leasing vs. buying used vs. buying new and by the time we did all our research and everything, we decided to go with a new car.

There was a used car that the hubby liked, but the sticker price at Carmax was $16,998. For those of you who don't know, Carmax doesn't negotiate the price of their cars, so that was what we'd have to pay. It was a 2012 with over 30,000 miles on it. I did a little looking around online and found that we could get a 2013, for less than that price. The models may have been slightly different, but we didn't notice.

We went with a Ford for the first time because we've read great reviews lately and the mileage is terrific. Because it was President's Day Weekend and there were tons of sales and rebates, we ended up getting the car for $15,300ish! Not bad given the sticker price was almost $21,000! We felt pretty good about the purchase.

We would have loved to pay cash but weren't in the place to do so, so we have a self-imposed aggressive payment schedule and plan to pay it off in August. I need to update some of the side bars to reflect our new bills and savings goals.

As an added perk, the car has Sirius radio, which I really wanted for some long work trips I'll have in the near future, so I'm excited. It's free for a while, so we'll take full advantage of that. For those of you who don't know, I love Howard Stern and have been going through withdrawals for the last few years, so it was nice to hear his voice on the drive in this morning.

Hope you're all having a good week and if you went car shopping (as it seems many people did!) that you got a great deal too. Enjoy the week!

I got a new job!

2013  is proving to be a good year so far!

I got a new job! I'm super excited about it too. With the exception of a longer commute (part of the week), I think I'm going to love almost everything about this new job. It's closer to home (when I'm working in town), it pays a little more, has a couple more days of vacation, every other Friday off, more 401k match and definitely more challenges and opportunities for growth!

I start my new job in 2 weeks and I can't wait!

Although I'm very excited, I'm also nervous (I suffer from a small, self-diagnosed case of "social anxiety") and there is also a bit of stress associated with us needing another car. Right now we are in the midst of figuring out exactly how we're going to do that.

We've been a "one-car couple" for years now and we've been able to make it work. This new job requires me to drive up to LA a couple of times per week which I'll need another car to do. I debated just getting a rental car for those days but unfortunately I'll also need one when I'm at the office close to home as there are many buildings that I'll need to drive between. Also, since I will have every other Friday off, I need to work longer hours which don't quite match up with my hubby's work schedule.

I'm okay with the car idea and actually negotiated a sign on bonus which will help us a bit with the costs (yay me!), and the hubby is excited because he'll finally have a bit of independence. What freaks us out a bit are all the options. New car, used car, and leasing!?!

We know that buying a new car is kind of a silly thing to do. The costs are so high and we're still paying down the one we bought in 2010. A used car is a good idea but since we don't want to get a lemon, it seems as though we should buy a "certified used" one so that it at least has a warranty. We are both not mechanically inclined, plus we don't have a trusted auto repair person. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though the costs between a certified used car and a new car are that far apart. I've heard that the used car market prices are up right now for some reason. Lastly, all of my life, I've been told how bad leasing a car is. You own nothing at the end of it, so why bother?

On the other hand, I've done my research and a leased car may be our best option. The hubby isn't the type to want to keep a car for 5-10 years. He loves new, bright, shiney things. I've done the math and if I were to bank the whole sign on bonus, I may be able to lease a car for the hubby for 2-3 years and have it completely covered. Minus the cost of gas, but that's okay.

We go back and forth on the topic. We found some pretty good lease deals and think they may even get lower next weekend when they have their President's Day sales. I keep telling myself that this may be the way to go but I'm really not sure. I want to make the decision that is right for us, but since I don't have a ton of experience in this area, I'm definitely open to suggestions!

Question? : Have you leased a car before? What are your thoughts on it? Any advice? Would you do it again?