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How do you determine how much a dependable car costs?

Photo by Artistic Operations/Pixabay.com

My husband’s car is on its last ... tire?
It had been a good, reliable vehicle for years, but it is officially at the point now when it costs more to repair it than it is worth. So, rather than pump a bunch of money into it, we’ve spent just enough to keep it on the road. Our hope is that we can make it last until we paid down enough debt that we can buy another vehicle.

But now, we’ve reached the point where we might not have a choice much longer. And as we job hunt, we feel a sense of urgency to have a second reliable vehicle. What if my husband and I get jobs in different cities? Carpooling to work won’t likely be feasible.

So on my to-do list: Try to assess what the least amount a dependable vehicle would cost, and figure out a way to get us to that magic number as quickly as possible.

I’m not sure how to go about the first part, though: figuring out the minimum we’d need to spend for a dependable vehicle ... the keyword being “dependable.”

Any thoughts?

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