Buy an Adventure Mobile: Check!

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Meet Loretta! Our new (previously owned) 2005 Outback! She's got a good chunk of miles on her, but she runs like a youngin' and we're so psyched to have a car to call our own.

We knew it was time to spend money on a car when Mike's 1999 Audi's wheel fell off in the middle of the road (exaggeration? not totally..) and my 1999 VW Passat wagon had every light on the dash illuminated and blinking. We've been car-pooling to work together for a few months, which is really great financially when you're budgeting, so we realized we only need one car for now. As June crept closer and closer, meaning our inspection sticker also grew closer and closer to expiring, we knew we had to do something.

After 1 scam, 2 "we just sold it"'s, and 3 weeks of looking on Craig's list for a Subaru within our $4,000 budget and in descent condition, we found Loretta. Her smooth ride, moon roof, tight steering, and CarFax dating back to 90 miles sold us. $3,800 later (plus $500 for insurance, registration, and a pain in the ass- Mike's new slogan for the DMV is "Good Luck") we have an adventure mobile to take us far and wide!

 

(( *Things people fail to mention when giving advice on buying your first car:* ))

  • If you plan on registering your adventure mobile under your own name, you need your own insurance. Nope, being on your parents insurance doesn't work. Joke's on us!
    • Unless you want your parents to own the car and to forever be indebted to them, buy your own car and drivers insurance. Check out some online quotes, but get an insurance agent. We met with Barb at AAA and she was great at helping us settle on American Commerce insurance ($120/month for both of us, $60 each monthly). Plus Barb and the ladies at AAA thought we were adorable for being clueless- so you might make some new friends!
  • When you register the car, make sure your license is clear. If you have any boo-boos on your license there may be additional fees to settle at the DMV ("Good Luck"). 
  • If the owner of the car won't be present at the DMV when registering it (i.e. Loretta is under Emily's name and couldn't take time off from work to go to the DMV, so Mike had to go alone) make sure your paperwork is notarized. We got ours notarized at TDBank, but you can go to the town hall, or call your bank to check if they have a notary on staff. 

Dream Road Trip:

Buying Loretta made dreaming about where we want to live next (Bend, OR) feel so much closer and more attainable. We wanted to make sure that after spending this chunk of change on a car, and potentially traveling before moving that we would have enough money to get out West. Using RoadTrippers we mapped out our Providence, Rhode Island to Bend, Oregon path and expenses. It estimates that we'll spend roughly $700 on gas, and then I'm estimating an extra $300 for accommodation and food?

Let us know if you've ever planned a road trip! How far? How much? What tips?

Cheers!
Em and Mike