New car?

I can't tell you how many articles I've been reading about money management and purchasing of new and used cars. I've never been a fan of my current car, not from day one. And that, was seven years ago. Maybe it's the story of my life...living with things far too long although not being happy, but not doing anything to make a change. It isn't like my choices and commitments have been horrific for clearly that would lead me to change, but not ultimately the most rewarding.

As for my car, selling it early on just wasn't an option. We all know how much a car depreciates after you drive it off the lot. So I either had to take a loss or suck it up and drive on. And drive on I did. There isn't anything wrong with my car and like a lot of things, with time and age it has gotten better. I don't hate my car or resent my car, I just don't love it or even really like it. It's a car. Bottomline, it gets me where I need to go. No love lost.

My car has everything I need or want. It runs. It averages about 30 miles to the gallon, so I really don't have any chief complaints. It has been good to me for my commute for the past 10 months. I've managed to add 800-1000 miles every week, outside of my two vacations, during that time and still I just turned 90,000 miles. My initial thought was that I would drive the car for work, save the mileage reimbursement and then purchase a new car.

Now that my commute is abruptly over, I'm faced with thinking about a car. Do I really want or need a new car? I definitely don't need a new car. I definitely don't want a car payment. With gas prices the way they are, I could actually sell my car for a decent amount, but the real question is...Do I really want or need a new car?

If I didn't have to worry about increasing insurance rates and car payments, having a new car would be nice. Although I would likely go with some sort of SUV instead of a car, which I really don't need and I don't need the decreased gas mileage either. So for now, I'll stick with what I have and let my car and possible future mechanical difficulties dictate when I need a new car.