Through a series of purchases and hand-me-downs in Dallas’ family, we were passed down a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We just had to pay to ship it from Arizona to Chicago. Before Chicago I lived in New York and Dallas lived in Boston. Neither of us had cars in any of those cities, so it’s probably been about 8 years or so since either of us have owned a vehicle.
I find Logan Square, the neighborhood we’re in now, to be less convenient than the other Chicago neighborhoods I’ve lived in, even though we are only a block from the train. There’s no supermarket, for one thing. Peapod, the produce stand, and the bodega only go so far. I also think we’re just at a point where we’d like to have a car available if we want to run to Target or Home Depot or to see a friend. I’m getting too old to lug heavy things along multiple transfers in bad weather, for example. I know we won’t be driving on a daily basis, but it will definitely be convenient to have around.
Dallas and I considered buying a new car for a while because you can get some really great deals right now. We did a lot of research and figured out what we wanted. In the end, with the economy being what it is, it’s probably better not to stretch ourselves financially since we just bought our condo six months ago. A free car is a free car, even if an 11-year-old gas guzzling V8 with 130k miles would not have been our first choice. It will still drive us around town and we are liking it so far.
plus if there is any renovations you want to do to your new place, you have the ability to get lumber or supplies for that reno. I just had a really bad car accident 2 months ago – car was totaled and I haven’t missed my car yet (haven’t bought a new one) but then again… this is a tiny city in Canada compared to Chicago – so the bus system sucks compared to the trains/bus system you must have access to.
Good point. We probably won’t be doing any renovations, but it will be handy for any future furnishing purchases. .. or flowers/landscaping.
We are finally replacing our 1998 Plymouth van with a used Sienna (2007.) The kids are just getting too big. I really hate to give it up. There’s just something very relaxing about driving a vehicle that’s older. You don’t have to worry about all those little dings, nicks, and fender benders. Just yesterday, I was nearly rear-ended at a red light. Thinking about how much it would have cost to fix our NEW van darn near gave me hives.
Enjoy your new-to-you freedom!
Trish
That is a good point. We were teasing Dallas that he has to be more careful now driving the Jeep bc he’s used to driving rental cars and treating them poorly. .. but then we realized that we have less to care about in an 11 year old car than most people on the road!