choosing a van
- Thread starter jillybean
- Start date
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A lot depends on you and your situation. Spending all your money on a vehicle with none left for emergencies is not a good idea. There are alternatives but what they will be will depend on your needs and resources. The best cheap van will be one that the current owner wants to get rid of due to reasons that have nothing to do with the mechanical condition of the van which has been maintained and taken care of or one that has broken and can be fixed but the current owner can not afford to fix. Many times when people inherit vehicles they they do not want or need. Businesses many times go out of business and sell vehicles to pay debts. There are a types of situations but almost all will involve required repairs to be done after purchase. How well able you are to do these repairs both physically and financially will have a lot to do with how good a buy a cheap vehicle is. There are a lot of "best" vans out there but they may not be the "best" for you. You need to tell us much more about you and your situation before we can give you good suggestions. Maybe taking a seasonal job with housing till you can build up an emergency fund might be an alternative if you are able. The van builds have centered on mini vans as they can be had for $3,000 and repaired for usually $2,000 so less than $5,000. The full size vans were much more and out of HOWA's budget even with the whole community looking for "best" buys.
Gypsy108
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- May 18, 2019
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Thank you Bullfrog for the good input/advice <3
I know i should try to prepare & save up money first. I am presently working, but my health is declining because of too much work & stress. I do not want to work anymore, if and when i decide to be a nomad. My current situation : I recently moved out of an apartment, so i could use the money i make to pay off bills and get my credit up to snuff. I don't have to pay rent now as i am living with someone that owns a house & doesn't expect me to pay rent. However.... I've been trying to leave this person forever....it is a very toxic relationship...and i've been living in a state of fight or flight for the 30 years i've been with him....all i do is look at vans on the internet & dream of one day escaping....about 6 months ago i bought a Nissan NV (high top), i LOVED it !!!! I bought it from a dealership for around $24,000 (2016/very low miles (40,000?) > Then i freaked out because i forgot winter is coming and i would have to get up every morning and scrape the snow & ice off of it....and thought that would be too much to handle....now i regret i did that.....so i traded the Van at the dealership for a Rouge (2019), they told me i had to buy a new vehicle before they would do the trade....so i am stuck with this car now, that i'm paying almost $700 per month for....
So i know the smart thing to do is to save money for emergency's....and buy a vehicle that i won't have to do much fixing (i am not a mechanic & know nothing about fixing & repairing myself).
My only income when i stop working will be $600 (social security)
I am sick of working and do not want to work when i quit.
I want to quit working in about a year.
I'm just afraid i might not make it one more year & will have to flee in a state of fight or flight.
So maybe i should just trade the car back for a good reliable van at the dealership again....make those monthly payments towards the van instead of the new car....suck it up if i have to scrape snow & ice off (if i get a high top)
If i make $2,000/per month payments instead of $300/per month i can get it paid off in about a year or so.....then i won't have to make payments on the road....and i will only have car insurance to worry about....and phone/internet/gas/food/etc.
i know it is really a bad idea to buy a cheap vehicle that will only be a headache for me.
i'd rather have a full size van than a mini van.
Maybe i answered my own question.
I trust & respect the advice of you good people, that have so much experience <3
I know i should try to prepare & save up money first. I am presently working, but my health is declining because of too much work & stress. I do not want to work anymore, if and when i decide to be a nomad. My current situation : I recently moved out of an apartment, so i could use the money i make to pay off bills and get my credit up to snuff. I don't have to pay rent now as i am living with someone that owns a house & doesn't expect me to pay rent. However.... I've been trying to leave this person forever....it is a very toxic relationship...and i've been living in a state of fight or flight for the 30 years i've been with him....all i do is look at vans on the internet & dream of one day escaping....about 6 months ago i bought a Nissan NV (high top), i LOVED it !!!! I bought it from a dealership for around $24,000 (2016/very low miles (40,000?) > Then i freaked out because i forgot winter is coming and i would have to get up every morning and scrape the snow & ice off of it....and thought that would be too much to handle....now i regret i did that.....so i traded the Van at the dealership for a Rouge (2019), they told me i had to buy a new vehicle before they would do the trade....so i am stuck with this car now, that i'm paying almost $700 per month for....
So i know the smart thing to do is to save money for emergency's....and buy a vehicle that i won't have to do much fixing (i am not a mechanic & know nothing about fixing & repairing myself).
My only income when i stop working will be $600 (social security)
I am sick of working and do not want to work when i quit.
I want to quit working in about a year.
I'm just afraid i might not make it one more year & will have to flee in a state of fight or flight.
So maybe i should just trade the car back for a good reliable van at the dealership again....make those monthly payments towards the van instead of the new car....suck it up if i have to scrape snow & ice off (if i get a high top)
If i make $2,000/per month payments instead of $300/per month i can get it paid off in about a year or so.....then i won't have to make payments on the road....and i will only have car insurance to worry about....and phone/internet/gas/food/etc.
i know it is really a bad idea to buy a cheap vehicle that will only be a headache for me.
i'd rather have a full size van than a mini van.
Maybe i answered my own question.
I trust & respect the advice of you good people, that have so much experience <3
