Anyone rethinking auto decisions?

We bought a new(er) van back in early summer to replace our aging 04 Odyssey. I don't regret it, but I do question why I chose to buy it at that time, because I don't think we've put even 3k on the van since, and most of those miles were put on in one trip, a vacation to VT. Hoping the very low miles (for its age) benefits us at resale time. No appetite for much travelling with all the kids due to the pandemic, and my Maxima gets all the commuting mileage.

I'm thinking of selling my Grand Prix and graduating to a nicer weekend/project car, but I don't expect to lose any money on that purchase, will probably make a little money on it. The nice thing about older vehicles is as they become more unique/older, their value holds pretty steady or sometimes goes up provided you take reasonably good care of them and don't trash 'em. That's assuming they are least a somewhat desirable model, and a GP might just barely meet that threshold. I bought an '85 F250 in 2013 when I lived in Colorado (so largely rust free) for $1,800, put 50k on it over 5 years of owning it, and sold it for twice what I paid for it after moving to KY. Didn't put a dime in it other than regular maintenance.

For the GP's replacement, I'm dead set on a C4 Corvette.
 
I am keeping the same vehicles and when I upgrade it will be about the same car or truck that I replace only newer. Everyone's situation is different and being empty nesters the vehicles we have work fine for our needs. My wife works at home but I have been back to work in the office the last month. I think once everyone gets their vaccine shot most will be going back to work and more than likely this will happen this summer sometime. I wouldn't mind getting a newer Honda Civic however I still kind of like the old 2012 and it has been trouble free. I mainly use the F-150 for towing my boat therefore the mileage is low and under 50,000. Doing the HOLD on vehicles here for now but next week might be a different story. It sure is fun trading LOL!!!!!
 
Our Camry's have been great for zipping around in, but if we have to go back to "the way thing were" after this is all said and done... there's some temptation to get new and start over. 10 and 22 years old, they're feeling their age, and can't be far from needing backup vehicles.

Had to back up the wife's car into the garage and now I know what she's complaining about--where I park the truck makes it just that much harder to line the car up, to get into the garage. Had to pull out and re-aim, and then it was fine, so it's a true first-world problem. But since the truck is getting all 5 miles per week on it... and we're not going to get that travel trailer after all... you know what's fun? parallel parking while in 4Hi. Can't wait for the latest back of ice to melt away.
 
It's only been a month since I posted this? Man is my mental state trashed...

Close enough to a year. About 2,900 miles on the truck and 4,100 on the car. Mid summer my son got a car and I guess the miles I put on that count too, so that was another 1,500. Well, maybe half of them anyhow.

On the flip side I qualified to get my first shot so I think before long I will start commuting again. I'm losing my mind being stuck at home.
 
I'm back to driving my 25 miles round trip to work. I suppose that with gas prices on the increase, the 22 mpg of the big Buick will get to be annoying. But the car will be paid off this year; I can buy one heck of a lot of $3/gal. gasoline with that money. The vehicle is young -- only 48K miles, and all the major 45K maintenance is done. And it suits me perfectly as a daily driver and cruiser. If I take a road trip this spring to FL or TX, it will be a joy to drive. Why would I even consider changing cars?

The hysteria can't last. Supton, you may need the car for commuting before this year is over.
 
When we start going back to the office regularly, I am going to buy something different. I have only put 2,000 miles on my car in the past year so I am still in no rush to get something different.

Gas here is already $3.00/gallon for 87 octane and I expect to see it hit $3.25-$3.50/gallon by the time July gets here.

Our state is a nightmare with the vaccine distribution. We are 3 months away from having phase 1A complete. Then 1B will start this summer. Then "everyone else" by mid-late fall. I am guessing October/November before things really start going back to normal in earnest. Plenty of time to see what the auto market looks like moving forward.
 
I don't know if I'll go in next week but the week after I do think I'll start going in a couple times a week. Something to change the routine.

With the snow melting I should be able to rearrange vehicles so I can get in and out of my garage.
 
In my state, the vaccination goes pretty well, all people over 60 that wanted to get a vaccine, got one. I am under that age and both I and my wife got the first dose already. Daughter, 18 got the first dose at CVS, because she works in a school - they didn't ask any kind of proof.
Her BF (20) got the vaccine because works for a pharmacy (as delivery person).

Politicians still like to keep us locked in the houses, work remotely. I guess they like that they have that power over us.
I am not in a hurry to go to work and pay for that gas, but this is insane.
 
i suppose that many of us always like to look at different cars. i get a regular itch to move away from my base 2013 passat, but its virtues that attracted me as a cpo purchase in 2014 remain true today at 96k miles: non turbo, no cvt, no nannies, no sunroof, no leather, airy, fine mpg, regular gas, spacious, semi german driving experience, reliable, a real keyed ignition, no stop/start. i have looked and test driven, and i can afford to pay cash for whatever i want, but, between a low trade in value (a known quantity with vw, despite mine being kept in top shape), finding no real faults with my passat (other than no backup camera) and the car dealer sales clown show, i contentedly keep the passat. thinking as i write this post, i cannot overemphasize the last point. while i would never look at a tesla, at least elon seems to have cracked dealership games.
 
I rethought having two extremely high mileage prii. The thought was that I could have one sidelined waiting for parts if necessary and I could drive the other. Or one with snow tires and the other all-seasons.

Then the logistics and "what ifs" on my 60 mile (one way) commute started nagging at me. A previous prius with 275k conked out three miles from work, so I had to pay for a tow off the highway, take 1/2 day off, rent a car one-way to get home, drive my truck with tow dolly to the tow yard before 5pm closing time, and have the guy load the dead car with his forklift (!). I like the cars but the sudden strandings are way less fun than gradual declines you see in other cars that allow you to schedule maintenance/ repairs on the weekends. The failure, BTW, was the electric inverter water pump that shared its fuse with life-critical services.

So, boom, got a brand new Prime with an absurd amount of rebates and tax incentives. VW dieselgate even chipped in $1000 in my state! Now I can commute without worry and I've freed up space in my driveway for some future project. Space is nice! The depreciation curve on this isn't a curve, it's a straight line. So buying used doesn't make sense until one is down in the weeds getting a fixer upper.
 
I've had the C4 Corvette for 7 years as of today, starting to feel like I've had the "Corvette experience" that I wanted. Also recently acquired a mortgage payment so thinking about selling this toy. It's a very nice 6-speed California car, let me know if anyone is interested.
 
I want my next vehicle to be a regular cab, Ram 1500, 4x4 with 5.7 engine. But for now, completely happy with my used Fit.
 
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