Is purchasing a newer van a good investment?

[twokniveskatie]

I have never regretted taking out the loan for my astro. I bought mine a few days post-op from cancer surgery. Got an excellent vehicle with low soccer mom miles and a priceless amount of hope for the future. Figured I'd die before I had to pay it off

I am delighted to have lived to make the last payment on the thing. Alot of you might say I did it wrong and could have done it alot better, and maybe you are right. But I don't care. There are no absolutes in my reality. When I desperately needed a dream to come true, I had no other option but my credit union. Best choice I ever made! I did a lot of healing in that van, and would do it again if I had to.

I am not saying what is "right" in this situation, but just a reminder that there is no one right way to live, and a dozen reality checks might not look the same

 

[OneManWolfpack]

Wemble,<br><br><div>It's not a difficult concept to comprehend. Some of us work our asses off&nbsp; (Just in case you think you're the only one) and for us to lose our job due to a van breaking down is not an option. I have entertained the fact of buying an&nbsp;older van and am still entertaining it. But if I test drive an older van and my mechanic says no.......then guess what.......&nbsp;I'm not buying it...which has been the case with most older vans I've looked at and the ONE he said yes to (the black&nbsp;van) I'm looking into buying.&nbsp;I have already missed the maximum amount of time from my job due to a TORNADO/FLOOD WATERS DESTROYING Everything&nbsp;and if I miss one more day or am late, then I lose it. I am sorry if you don't get paid well or if you are living off of unemployment/welfare.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Maybe some day flood waters will carry away one of your family members and they&nbsp;are found&nbsp;dead, a tornado destroys your families house where you were storing items, and you lose everything and then you will realize that some situations require you to go into debt to&nbsp;get back&nbsp;up on your feet.&nbsp;Maybe it is you that requires a reality check.<br><br>Either way I majored in finance, work with resolving hjgh dollar hospital accounts, and I am extremely well at budgeting. I appreciate everyone's useful responses (The ones that gave them). I'm done with this topic. I will do what needs to be done. Thanks for the responses everyone.</div>

 

[Staying Put]

There certainly is no one right way to do things or one right way to live.&nbsp; But for those of us who are reaching the end of our working days and looking forward to surviving on what may be a small Social Security check and who have worked hard in recent years to get completely out of debt considering the lessons that should have been learned from this Great Recession--then going into debt in order to purchase a new or newer vehicle is out of the question.<br><br>The financial consideration of whether to spend the money and go into debt to purchase a vehicle is clearly tied to where you are in your working life, how close to retirement you may be, how well your current job pays and how safe it may be, or how much cash you have on hand.&nbsp;&nbsp; I don't regret taking out a loan and buying my new car 6 years ago because I had a good job then and the car would last me many years into retirement (if only I had thought of vandwelling then--slap my head emoticon), but with a few years left I would never do that because it would force me to work longer than I want to work.<br><br>I think a lot of us here are looking toward the frugal aspects of vandwelling and how it will save us money and not make us slaves to making payments on a house or apartment or going into debt.&nbsp; I would love to just be able to go buy a new or newer vehicle, but that's just not reality for me and I would guess for many of us here as well.

 

[Staying Put]

Take a chill-pill OneManWolfPack.&nbsp; I never said I'm the only one (check that reading comprehension), neither am I living off of unemployment or welfare (not that there's anything wrong with that or for those who consider Social Security to be "welfare").&nbsp; Certainly situations do require somebody to go into debt, but that is not what this this thread is about, is it?<br><br>"Is purchasing a new van a good investment?" is the title of this thread.&nbsp; It's about the concern of breakdowns of older vans and not having the ability to fix one yourself and hence the peace of mind of buying a new or newer van with a warranty.&nbsp; It has nothing to do with having to buy something or go into debt because of tornadoes, flood waters, or any other disaster.&nbsp; <br><br>So why not stick with the point of the thread.&nbsp; Oh, and I'm so glad that you are concerned about me or my family members being found dead.&nbsp; (Unfortunately there is no emoticon that fits what I am thinking here, but use your imagination).