Supply Shortages, Car Shopping and Crypto Gains.
Sixteen years ago I bought what for me seemed like a pretty fancy car. It was out of character for me as I am not really a car person, and I'm also pretty frugal. I test drove the car and I bought it. The sales person was a bit concerned that I didn't check with my husband first. lol, that likely wouldn't happen today, but at the time he seemed very concerned. That's a whole different post though.
In any event, it's the best car I've ever had and I still love it to this day even though it is approaching 200,000 miles.
I'm still driving that car, but I know it's well past time to upgrade. I first considered replacing it when it was 5 years old, but I drove all the cars in the same price bracket and couldn't find anything I liked more. So, I just kept it.
Fast forward to this week, the car has started to make some drive train noise, she rattles a bit now and is a bit slow to turn over. It's just wearing out, doesn't drive like it used to and I took it to the shop, seems it need $5,000 worth of work and is likely worth about $3,500.
So, last weekend I went car shopping again, I figured I would just get the newest version of the same car, in the same color, with the same trim level and since mine is 16, I figured it would feel amazing. A huge upgrade.
Don't get me wrong the new version is nice, my car's big brother is a nice car with lot's of tech and computers and nice trim, they come in a 4 cylinder now instead of a V. Compared to mine it feels new and responsive, but also, very plastic, when comparing my old solid beast.
As it turns out the supply chain shortages have hit the car market pretty hard and most of the dealers didn't have much on the lot and were not sure when they would. In addition, the prices of used cars are up about 25% according to one sales person and some articles I read said up to 40% and still no end in site.
The problem is expected to get worse. Consider a car is a major a purchase and I'm going to need a new one before mine strands me somewhere.
Now, while crypto is up might be a good time, but as I think we are headed into a end of year parabolic run, I still hate to do it, when I could put the money into crypto before the run. At the time of this post, I have a car deal in place for my car's big brother, new version, and yet.. I'm still not sure if I am just going to limp my car through the winter. If shortages continue to get worse that could also be a bad decision. lol, I've never been so wishy washy.
I have to decide by Friday, which is when I am supposed to take delivery. Once I do it, I will stop stressing over the decision, I guess I am just out of practice when it comes to buying cars.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
