What would you do?

[uRabbit]

Hi all. It has been one of my dreams to own a VW camper.

My wife (22) and I (24), and our daughter (1) moved to Washington less than a month ago, for a great opportunity. Now we are living where I work (apartment maintenance) and no longer drive our current vehicle much. As it is, we have yet to put gas in, or even to put 200 miles on. It appears as though we will not be putting many miles on it.

Our vehicle is a 2007 Ford Focus S 5-speed manual with 44,000 miles.

Here's the catch. Our insurance has gone up by $50/mo since we moved here, and it is not worth it - to me - to pay that much for a vehicle we are hardly using. But it is reliable and easy to maintain. Still, though, we are paying over $300/mo for it (insurance is more than payments). We only owe $3,400 on it, and could probably sell it for $6,000-8,000. This would leave us a net of $2,600-4,600.

This net would be what we would work with to purchase another vehicle outright. I am not a big fan of selling and getting an older vehicle. But if I did, the only thing that I can think of getting is a VW camper.

I am unsure if I would have time for a project, as I do not know anyone with mechanical experience, and do not have much time to work on it. Plus, it would reside in a parking garage - can't perform much maintenance there!

My knowledge of maintenance is pretty limited. All preventative, pretty much. I have changed oil, filters, tires, wheels, brake pads, installed intakes, etc. Not great at diagnosing or anything. Own a Haynes for the Focus, and that is how I [barely] get by. I am more inclined to have it fixed by a professional than to do it myself. However, in the past, that has been because I needed the car to commute to work. Now, we walk to most places, except where we get groceries. But we could hitch a ride with our friend whom also lives/works here, if we needed. So, maybe I do have time?

Anyways... Think our price range would afford us a reliable bus?
And, more importantly, would I be an absolute idiot for getting rid of our super reliable and low-mileage Focus?

[ned]

For what its worth. Keep the ford. Pay it off and you will have transpo for a long time. The money you save in fuel alone you might be able to stash some away and then put it toward your bus dream. But I am 55 and it prolly sounds like something your folks would say. This I do know, when I was younger I was always in a fuggin rush.

[ALLWAGONS]

1.Pay it off ( your premium will lower)
2.Lower your limits (your premium will lower)
3. Since you drive it less. have the ins carrier verify odometer( your premium will lower)
4.You have a Baby, you need a reliable car in case of an emergency( God forbid, your future '72 Westy doesn't want to start)

Maybe I sound like your parents, but I do have a 21 and a 23 yr old

allwagons
_________________
I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

Everything sounds good on paper!

[uRabbit]

Savings in gas sure helps (especially since I hypermile and get 126% of what it is rated at).

Still, though, the rise in cost has made things pretty tight.

We have the state minimum. I have told our insurance agent about the change in annual mileage and that we live in a controlled access facility and have a parking garage.

And since the cost went up, there goes our plans for paying it down quicker.

[90volts]

[MinamiKotaro]

Keep the Focus, for all the reasons listed above.
_________________
1967 VW Beetle
2276cc
MegaSquirt-extra v3.57
Check out my ongoing story.

[VintageVulture]

[gt1953]

OK my son...keep the realiable and safe for you baby Ford Focus. N othing wrong with having hopes and dreams of have and aircooled. Maybe attempt to get a second job pay off the car. Trust me it is nice not having car payments. I would like a new truck but the one I have is a 2001 paid off cheap insureance and tags...only 77,000 miles. Just broke in.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[Zelten]

Seattle is not the place you want to have to work on a bus without a garage. I agree with everyone here. Keep the Ford and save for a pre 72 bus. Cheaper and easier to maintain than a bus with the Type 4 engine.
_________________
1978 Delux Campmobile
03 Jetta TDI
15 Q7 TDI

[uRabbit]

You all suck. Haha.

Thank you for the responsible replies.

I wish I had asked a forum if I should get rid of my 2003 Mini Cooper S with only 22,000 miles back in '07, just to get a 4-door Tacoma. Ack! Worst car decision EVER!

Quite possibly avoiding an equally bad decision by not ditching the Focus.

Thanks all. We will see where we can trim some fat from our budget (and btw, I run a personal finance blog ), and see about getting back to making higher payments on it again.

[kamzcab86]

[Dave24]

[banditwolf]

You need reliability for transportation. Unless you know someone's vehicle you could borrow in an emergency you might just keep your Tacoma for now. When you get another vehicle make sure it is reliable and all of the work is done then maybe you coule sell your Tacoma.
_________________
1973 Super Beetle l 1981 Trans Am

[uRabbit]

[DAIZEE]

keep what you have and settle in with residence and job. Then shop around re insurance and make sure you tell them you don't use it for work and very few miles will be put on it. In Canada, auto/house/tenant insurance is all about shopping around (unless in a province with gov't insurance) as almost all insurers raise your rate every year regardless of how long you have been with them. Do shop around, get some quotes from reliable companies and then decide what to do.

Vintage VW's cost $$$, well most vehicles cost these days but because of your limited time and income, now is NOT the time. Sorry about that but you've received very good advice. Good luck
_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[Scooterboyd]

I had an insurance problem when I was 21 with a Porsche. I bought a second car for $50 and got a multi-car discount. Rates went from $1200 every 6 months to $300 per 6 months. We currently have 4 cars and a motorcycle and pay $128 mo. You might run a comparison on one of those ins web companies and add a cheap car as your daily driver. You can part it out and still pay the registration on it if you don't have the space. Also see what the Westy is as a second car.
_________________
President of "Society of Unappreciated Overachievers"
62 - 23 Window Bus
60 - Karmann Ghia Convertible
59 - Convertible Raceable Baja Bug
63 - Dune Buggy
65 - Single Cab

[drscope]

Have you asked to see how raising your deductable would lower your rates?
_________________
Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[GB2S]

When you hit the big 25, your rates will go down.

Geoff
_________________
1963 Ragtop

[juniorvick]

im sure you tired of hearing this.. but keep the ford.. with a little one one in the house you need a car that you can get up and go with no worries..

Try refinancing the car..( working for a bank i never suggest getting into debt, but it might help) you might be able to get lower payments.... or maybe even a personal loan for the amount to pay it off.... then you can switch over to liablility only... Also talk to the insurance and see if you can switch it to a recreational status like weekend only driving.. maybe that will help.

Anyway.. hope it works out for you....