The Inner Turmoil of Selling a Car  

Kinja'd!!! "NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts" (jsti)
02/17/2015 at 17:34 • Filed to: None

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January 1, 2012

Up until this point I had owned several vehicles. All were purchased with cash and all were $5k or less. They had all served me well but with their price tags came short life-spans which I had expected going into it. However, this day was different, this time I was financing a car that I had been wanting since its debut for 2007. I was purchasing a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport (it was between this or a WRX but I couldn't afford the latter). I was young. Foolish. Failed to do my research and as such the dealer saw me coming a mile away. I walked out of there with my keys in hand financing nearly $6,000 worth of extras at an interest rate 2% higher than I should have had and being none the wiser....we shall return to this fact.

As it sat the day I got it home:

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March 24, 2012

By this point I had already changed the front and rear bumpers and was taking this thing off road to see what my road tires and now slightly lower than stock ride height could do. It actually did surprisingly well.

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May 13, 2012

Progress has been made. I've now owned it for 5 months and now have a 3" lift, 35" tires, winch and rock sliders installed. I'm spending a weekend off-roading with my new found forum friend with jkfreaks.com

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June '12 - May '13

Not a whole lot of note happened during this time. I spent most of this time working hard to extinguish the smoldering embers of what used to be my wallet / bank account after this rapid build. However I still found time to go on a few more adventures and get the jeep dirty a few more times. (the below photo is my then girlfriend, now wife taking a turn at the wheel)

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June 5, 2013

By this time I had quit my old job and now found myself working in new car sales at a Subaru dealership spending my days conflicted. Still loving my Jeep but now drooling over WRXs and STis all day. Granted the mechanics aren't jumping at the thought of working on this behemoth, I took advantage of my employee labor rate to have some new shoes installed.

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June '13 - Jan '15

Not much going on during the next couple years. Now that I was planning to then getting married, I was having to be a little more adult about my spending habits. Granted I still found the time to go off-roading even if it was only about twice a year due to my limited time. In addition to random excursions with the top and doors off just because.

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February 2015

I now find myself at a crossroads. My minivan engine is starting to give me issues and my off-roading has started to take its toll on a vast array of components (yes my "trail rated" vehicle's parts can't stand up to the trails...you're shocked I know). I'm 3 years into ownership of this vehicle and have been trying to pay off my bloated loan at an accelerated rate but find myself staring down at least another 3 years of payments. Just this past month alone I was ambushed by nearly $2k worth of repairs. My wife and I are now trying to save for a house and having these kinds of unexpected repairs on top of my loan payments will put a strain on that. I have decided that using my employee discount, I can lease a new Subaru for 42 months for less than my current loan payments and not have to worry about any repairs beyond normal routine maintenance. I would love a WRX but even a base model (when paired with the increased insurance premium) wouldn't really be saving any money which is the goal here so I've decided to lease and mod an XT Forester so I can still carry my dirtbike around with it.

Breaking up is hard

Here's my problem....which I pose to you all: I had so many plans and dreams for this Jeep, I had talked about driving it till the motor died, dropping in a new one and continuing on. I had viewed this as the last car I would ever own (short of it being destroyed by some other cause). I've been kicking around the idea of getting rid of it for a month now and it has been an emotional roller coaster. One day I'm all for it, the next day the thought of selling it brings me to tears. I've been a mess and probably driving my wife up a wall. If this were paid off, the sudden repairs wouldn't be as big a deal. I could set $ aside as if I was still making payments for my future engine fund. However that's not the case. The adult side of me is saying that I need to be a big kid and part ways with my toy and get a new one. The selfish side of me is saying no. So what do I do? Looks like winning the lottery to save my Jeep is out of the question. Can I move on and learn to enjoy the XT as I did my Jeep?

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DISCUSSION (5)


Kinja'd!!! MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts
02/17/2015 at 19:45

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I feel for you. Sucks having to be responsible sometimes. I'm going to be selling my motorcycle this spring since my wife and i are saving for a house now


Kinja'd!!! N51fanatic > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts
02/17/2015 at 21:34

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refi the jeep? Your willing to go 3.5 years with the Subie lease, go refi the jeep for the final 3 or 4 years? Go get a AAA membership which then allows you to gain access to PenFed which has crazy low auto refi rates.


Kinja'd!!! Theropod > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts
02/17/2015 at 21:56

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I have a 2014 Forester with the Primitive Racing skid plates and have toyed with the idea of a 1" lift kit; about all that the Forester can comfortable handle. It's good for soft roading on the forest service roads in Colorado and returns 30MPG but it will never be anywhere near as capable as your Jeep. If you can live with that tradeoff then the Subie is the right answer. If you are enjoying where the Jeep can take you and the camaraderie of the Jeep forum then I agree with N52fanatic, refi the Jeep and don't look back. Last I looked there are no Subaru off road clubs and I have to endure Jeep-scorn whenever I venture too far off the pavement.


Kinja'd!!! Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts
02/18/2015 at 00:40

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Hellava nice Jeep


Kinja'd!!! Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts
02/18/2015 at 00:45

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If it still runs well enough, keep driving it... just stop offroading it. If it has engine issues, you won't get much money for it.

If it dies, park it, buy a cheap used car to get you by until it's paid off and the money situation is better.