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Daily Archives: March 4, 2009

When we buy a new car

by Mary Anne

Hubby is interested in buying a new vehicle.  He has been spending hours researching the different vehicles that he might like to buy.

We have been discussing the different “hidden costs” of a vehicle, such as the maintenance costs (tires, repairs, insurance, etc.) as an important thing to consider for each vehicle that he is considering.

So, he has decided that he needs to do some Internet research on the cost of insurance for the different types of vehicles we have been considering.

Up to this point in time, we have always just called the insurance company that we use for our homeowner’s policy and asked them for a quote on bundling all of our family cars into a combined multi-car discount and homeowner’s insurance policy.  The reason we have done this is that I have “heard” that is the best way to get the best premiums.  For our convenience, we have had them simply deduct our premiums monthly from our checking account.

My hubby has decided that perhaps we have been misled, and is going to be checking out the other options.  My ideal vehicle (which I don’t even know if it exists yet!) would be a hybrid minivan that gets great mileage.  Or better yet, a hybrid conversion van!  I love conversion vans!  I have never owned a either a conversion van, or a minivan, but always wanted to have one.  


Despite the price of gasoline, consumers still buying gas guzzling big cars

by Mary Anne

My hubby and I have been talking about buying a new car in the next several months.  He has started some Internet research about the prices of cars he might be interested in buying.

I have been telling him that I want to look into buying the most fuel-efficient vehicle that we can afford.  The price of gasoline is soaring, with no reprieve in sight, and it is getting more difficult to find the money to pay for that.

Regardless of which type of vehicle we end up getting, we will probably need to get one of the many types of secured loans to help us purchase it. 

Secured loans come in a variety of forms; they all require that you use some type of collateral to ensure payment of the loan.  If the loan is not paid, then the object you used as security is repossessed.  In the case of cars, most people simply take out a car loan, but some people take out mortgages and use their house as the collateral.

My hubby is more interested in paying less money for the vehicle and getting a larger gas-guzzler than a smaller vehicle that will cost more but be more fuel efficient.  So we are having quite the discussion around that issue!

I was surprised to learn that the vast majority of people that are considering buying new cars in the near future feel the same way that he does, they would rather buy the larger 4x4s or larger passenger capacity than spend the extra money up front to buy a more fuel efficient vehicles.


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