Get the car you always wanted

Most financial advisors will say that at retirement you should cut down to one car.  This will save money on gasoline, insurance, and repairs while at the same time reducing unnecessary travel.  They, or your friends and family, will probably add that you need a practical, medium sized, “comfortable”, used vehicle to reduce the price, and pay cash.  I say they are wrong.  One car means you are going to stay home, an “age appropriate” car advertises impending senility, and paying cash implies you believe you will probably die before the loan is paid.  Wrong attitude. 

My Wife Nancy and I had two cars, a 15 year old Saturn and a 5 year old Jeep Liberty.  The Saturn had 250,000 miles, burned oil, was showing wear and needed repairs.  We began to look at Fords, Chryslers, Pontiacs, and other low priced “comfortable” cars as a replacement.  Each time we took a test ride we always said the same thing, remember the 59’ Thunder Bird when I was younger, it was a great car.  After several trips to many lots it dawned on us that there was no reason to stop enjoying ourselves.  We both had always wanted a stick-shift sports car.  All those years of trying to be practical, watching our money, and buying transportation had resulted in memories of only the cars from our youth.  Thousands and thousands of dollars for cars that just got us from one place to another, and the only things we could remember were getting passed by better cars and breaking down at the wrong time.  Now we were going to get a “comfortable” car?  Why?  In April we traded the Saturn in on a 1998 BMW Z3, convertible with a 5 speed manual transmission.

The Z3 only cost us about $10,000 which is a lot less than we thought we would pay and it gets about 30 miles to the gallon.  On weekends when we should be weeding the garden and watering the plants we are driving around the countryside, with the top down, going to vineyards, outside restaurants, the beach, and events we normally would have passed up.  Within a month we both felt 5 years younger and were having a fantastic time.

What I am saying is, don’t settle.  If you want a big Buick, get one, but don’t get it because it matches your age.  You didn’t get the sports car when you were younger because you had to cart your kids around or carry stuff for work.  Want to take the Grandchildren out, use their parent’s car.  The parents will be more than happy to drive yours.

In closing just remember the words of John Mortimer “There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward.”