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In my case I have too many conflicting ideas.
When I got the Avalon I thought to myself that a 3 to 5 year old vehicle with 50,000 miles or less would be the best deal I could get.
Before that I was always getting old beaters that needed a lot of work. I did that again with the 2006 Prius for $300. The thing is it has taken me 2 years and I still don't have it road worthy.
But I also have a budget. Ideally I'd like to spend 10% of my monthly income on all our monthly transportation expendetures, and not more than 20% total. With just the Avalon I've been sitting at 17% of my income. But even looking at a 7 year loan, it seems adding a minivan would blow my budget out of the water.
So maybe I should trade the Avalon for a minivan?? But if I did, it would likely have to be a minivan with 100,000 miles or more, the same as my Avalon. The Avalon has been in my care for over half it's life (in miles). I also have a custom tow hitch and a whole set of extra rims with studded snow tires. And all my tires, summer and winter, are all in great condition.
How do I trade all that for the same thing, starting with a minivan that has had 5,000mi/6m or less oil changes with top spec oil, at least since it had 50,000 miles? The Prius burns oil and I'm pretty sure it's because the oil wasn't changed every 6 months or 5,000 miles. That and how do I trade my snow tires and rims for snow tires and rims? And I need a tow hitch... All that in one transaction, Avalon for minivan.
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