I hadn’t had a car payment since 2020. When I finally made the last payment on my beloved Jeep Liberty — the big, hearty SUV I bought in 2014 — I thought I was done. The plan was simple: drive it for many more years, save money, and eventually upgrade to my dream car, a Wrangler.
But in December 2023, everything changed.
It was a Saturday shift at work, one of those long days that leave you drained. I had just pulled out of the parking lot and stopped at the red light when it happened. Out of nowhere, an older man plowed into me from behind. The impact was hard.
To make matters worse, he admitted he’d had a heart attack just two days before, a stroke a couple of months earlier, and had already rear-ended another vehicle recently. Even his daughter had told him he shouldn’t be driving. Yet he was still behind the wheel — and because of that, my car, my savings plans, and my peace of mind all went off course.
For a few anxious days afterward, I waited to hear if my Liberty could be repaired. I prayed they’d fix it. When the call finally came that it was being declared a total loss, I was devastated. I remember going to the collision lot to clean it out, fighting back tears as I gathered the pieces of my life from inside. It was the first truly nice car I’d ever owned. I had always wanted a Jeep, and I’d finally gotten one. I brought both of my babies home in that car. Losing it felt like losing a chapter of my life.
Insurance gave me about $8,000. With a deadline looming (they were paying for a rental and didn't give me much time), I had no choice but to start shopping immediately. My credit wasn’t in a great place due to an expensive divorce, and I swore I didn’t want another car payment. So I stuck to that budget and paid cash for a "quirky" 2014 Jeep Compass with 110,000+ miles, a broken turn signal, a lot of rust, a clock that could never tell the time, and a sticky door handle.
I regretted it almost instantly.
The very next night, on a snowy evening, I slid off the expressway and into a ditch. I narrowly missed hitting a truck that was already there. It was terrifying — and after that, I never trusted the Compass. It always felt shaky, like the brakes might go or the engine might die and leave me stranded. Add in the fact that it was much smaller than my Liberty, and I resented it from day one.
And that resentment never really left. Every time it needed another repair, every time I panicked about whether it would start or stop, I thought about that man who shouldn’t have been driving. About how one careless moment — one decision to stay on the road when he shouldn’t have — rippled into years of frustration and financial strain for me.
- January 2025: $2,600 for all necessary repairs to pass inspection
- May 2025: $420 for brake pads and rotors after a grinding noise started
- August 2025: the grinding started again... UGH.
I refused to put another cent into it.
I’ve been working so hard this year to pay down my debt, and it crushed me to realize I’d need another car so soon. But here’s the truth: sometimes the cheapest choice ends up being the most expensive one. I couldn’t keep pouring money into a car I hated and didn’t trust. I needed something reliable — even if it meant a car payment again.
So yes, my financial goals will slow down a little. But I won’t stop. My credit has improved tremendously over the past year (it's now over 700!), and I was able to secure a much better APR than I would have a year ago. This isn’t how I pictured things going — I thought I’d get to save for a Wrangler in another year or two — but life rarely lines up perfectly with our plans.
And there’s a silver lining: for the first time ever, I’ll have a car with advanced technology like Apple CarPlay. And it’s orange — my first choice all along. (“Odd” colors can sometimes be more negotiable, and we used that in bargaining, but truth be told I'd specifically searched for an orange SUV.)
🚙 The New Ride
After test driving both a Jeep and a Chevy, I decided on the Chevy — specifically:
- 2022 Chevy Trailblazer (20,285 miles)
- Asking Price: $20,490
- Negotiated Price: $19,800 (we walked away once, then I emailed an offer the next morning)
- Down Payment: $3,000
- Trade-in: $700
- APR: 7.89%
- Monthly Payment: $316
- Loan Term: 72 months
I’m proud of how the deal played out. The salesman originally insisted there was “no wiggle room” after talking to the sales manager. But when my dad pushed back, they dropped $350. We walked away, and the next morning I emailed him an offer of $19,600. He called me back and said $19,800 — and I agreed.
I always swore I’d be a Jeep girl and loyalist from the day I purchased my Liberty in 2014. I even test drove a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee along with the Trailblazer — it was cheaper (around $17,000), but it already had 60,000 miles and felt older. Buying a Jeep comparable to the Trailblazer — same year, same low mileage — would have cost me much more than what I paid for my new vehicle. In the end, I had to make the smarter, more responsible choice: newer, fewer miles, more reliability. I’ll go back for that Wrangler one day — but right now, peace of mind matters more than a badge on the hood.
It’s more than I wanted to take on right now, but it’s also less than the cost of constant repairs and constant anxiety. It will slow down my debt snowball a bit, but stability has its own financial value. And this car represents more than just reliability — it’s my first big purchase since the divorce. It's also the nicest, newest car I've ever owned. Signing those papers felt like choosing forward motion, even if it comes with a monthly payment attached.
Peace of mind, reliability, and independence are worth the trade. It isn’t just a car payment; it’s proof I can keep moving forward, even when the road takes an unexpected turn.
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