My 13 year old SUV named Moose feels like it’s on its last legs. There’s a loud whiny noise every time I turn the steering wheel, which likely means the power steering box is cracked. Moose drips engine oil everywhere he goes and now he leaks coolant!

With a Blue Book value of only around $3,000, spending ~$1,000 to fix doesn’t seem prudent. It costs around $100 to fill up his 24 gallon tank and he only gets roughly 16 miles per gallon. Luckily I only drive about 6,500 miles a year.

The other reason why I’m looking to buy a new car is due to the advancement in safety features. Better brakes, better traction control, and more airbags would be nice. I’m not even sure my airbags work after 13 years!

One of my all time favorite things to do is spend time at a car dealer. There’s nothing like inhaling that new car smell and taking the latest models for a spin for free. All told I’ve probably visited a car dealership 30 times in the last 12 months and probably over 100 times in the last five years. Call me thorough, crazy, an enthusiast, or simply a consumer who shows great constraint for not spending any money on one of his favorite things. Whatever you say there’s nothing better than finding something you love to do that’s free.

THE BEST TIME TO GET THE BEST DEALS ON A CAR

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It hit me the other day that I’ve been sitting on a goldmine of wealth and knowledge living here in San Francisco, the startup capital of the world. As a 12 year resident of the city with an entrepreneurial bug, a desire to meet more interesting people, and a personal finance blog with a yearly readership in the millions, what a great opportunity to meet up with some of the promising new companies of our generation and bring their stories to all of you. I plan on profiling at least one new startup a quarter in an assortment of industries. I hope you enjoy the new series!

For most people, your car is usually your first or second most valuable asset, and it’s also one of the fastest depreciating assets. Long time readers know that I don’t recommend anybody spend more than 1/10th of their gross income on a car if they want to build financial wealth.

Not only do you have to pay ongoing operating and maintenance costs, you’ve also got insurance costs that could easily total in the thousands of dollars a year. With the average car sitting idle 92% of the time, most folks are flushing money down the toilet with cars they don’t need.

The multiple financial meltdowns over the past 10 years have created a shift in consumer’s attitudes towards ownership. I think consumers are wisening up to the fact that tying up a lot of capital to own a car when good jobs are hard to come by is foolish. Millions of car owners with uncomfortable car payments that last long after the initial euphoria of ownership wears off are wondering how to mitigate costs.

RelayRides is trying to make these economics more favorable for their car owners by allowing them to turn this idle, depreciating asset into a source of income. For car renters who want to preserve their capital, but still want the flexibility of having a car for 20-40% cheaper than renting from a large agency like Avis or Hertz, RelayRides wants to help you as well.

A SITDOWN WITH ANDRE HADDAD, CEO OF RELAYRIDES

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My grandfather served in World War II and my father served in Vietnam. I on the other hand, served in no wars, making me itch for ways to give back. I feel a little unworthy as so many brave men and women each year serve to protect us back home. Perhaps bringing to light Veteran issues on this platform can help.

It’s a shocker to discover there are over 130,000 homeless veterans in America today (new reports show the figure is down by 48% since 2008 to roughly 62,000). It’s also a big disappointment to read our troops struggling to find work when they return. When a representative on behalf of Jeep contacted me to sponsor this post as we wait for the resolution of the Fiscal Cliff, I happily obliged in order to continue raising awareness. The original Jeep Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the United States Army and Allies during World War II.

In the Spring of 2012, President Obama proposed the Veterans Jobs Corps Act. The price tag for such help came at an additional $1 billion dollars a year for the already $109 billion VA budget for 2013. Does $1 billion or even $110 billion sound like a lot? It depends, given we spent $1 trillion fighting in Iraq and $3-$4 trillion if we include our fights in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Suddenly, spending 1/40th the amount we spent on three wars to help our soldiers doesn’t seem like much at all. What the spending ratio tells me is that there is a way for the US government to do more if they choose. Here is some information from WhiteHouse.gov on what they are doing for Veterans.

THE VETERANS JOBS CORPS

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Since I was a kid, my mother taught me that desire is the cause of suffering. Despite her teachings and the teachings of The Dhamapada, I could not root out the desire for nice things once I graduated from college. I bought multiple motorbikes, cars, expensive watches, vacation properties, and nice clothes in my 20’s. I told myself that I deserved nice things since I worked so hard. There was no denying materialism.

Only unti I turned 30 did I really start slowing down my consumption habits. I was starting to tire from working 60-70 hours a week. I knew my spending habits had to change given I didn’t plan to work forever. Things that once excited my spirit no longer captured my interests. Instead, I started to systematically purge everything I owned that wasn’t a necessity.

What I discovered from donating literally 20 bags worth of stuff to the Salvation Army one year is how liberating it felt to have less! The house is much cleaner now and I no longer have to stuff my drawers tightly due to a lack of space. By driving a $5,000 car instead of an $80,000 car, I no longer worry about anybody denting my doors. By not wearing expensive clothes, I can roll around freely. This 2007 white Macbook I’m using sure has traveled a long way. Things are better now. Just don’t put me in front of all those toys I couldn’t afford when I was a kid! I’ll probably end up buying everything.

The man in the picture reminds me that desire is suffering. He’s sitting down, sobbing as he stupidly tried to do a 180 in the middle of a residential intersection at 65 miles per hour. He lost control of his $500,000 Porsche Carrera GT and fishtailed into two parked cars. He told me his car was classified as “non-operable,” meaning his insurance would not cover his damages. “The only pearl white GT in North America is ruined!” he whimpered.

“My life has been going so bad these past few years. I can’t catch a break,” the owner continued to say. When you have enough money to own a car worth half a million dollars, how horrible can life be? Very bad I guess. I felt sorry for him and told him at least he didn’t injure anybody. He thanked me for the encouragement and began to cry some more.

Money doesn’t buy happiness, but you know that already. This picture is just a reminder not to let money take over your life. Now if only we knew where the passenger with his three year old kid on his lap went. They ran away before the cops arrived.

Regards,

Sam

The other day, Moose’s battery light went on. Unlike the three other yellow error lights on the dashboard, the battery light was ominous red. Thinking it was no big deal, I decided to leave the light unattended for a couple days. After all, I just spent $85 on a new Diehard battery 6 months ago!

As I pulled into my garage, Moose suddenly lost power. The entire dashboard went out and pressing the gas pedal revved no engine. Oh no! Moose, don’t die on me old buddy!

Thankfully I was in my garage when the power went out. Otherwise, I would probably be stuck in the middle of the street somewhere. I called USAA roadside assistance for a jump. I cannot tell you how worth it getting any kind of roadside assistance is. For around $5 bucks a month, I get free jumpstarts and tows to anywhere! I’ve had to use them 5-6 times in the past 10 years, and each time was a life saver.

Roadside assistance came about 45 minutes later and Moose was back in business. I read the manual to review what happened, and it wrote, “If battery light goes on, see dealer service immediately!” OK, I guess I shouldn’t have been so nonchalant, but I couldn’t go see my mechanic since they were closed on the weekends. My flight to Hawaii was the next day and I wouldn’t be back for a week.

Another Close Call

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I’m in love with Moose, my 12 year old SUV. There, I said it! When you are in love with something, no matter how old, out of shape, slow, or dumb, you will love it unconditionally until the day it dies. Moose is like my overweight son, who eats too much, but still gets me to point B without any problems.

And lest you think that Moose is a big polluter, not so, as he passed our stringent Smog Test every year without fail. Besides, I bought him used, which means I’m more environmentally friendly than new car buyers who failed to destroy their old cars. I did not add to the car population!

In “Fighting My Car Buying Addiction,” I highlight three things everybody must do to quit splurging on things that lose value and destroy their personal finances. After all, the act of buying too much car has significantly damaged many people’s financial livelihoods. Always remember the 1/10th rule of car buying where you should consider spending no more than 1/10th your annual gross income on a car.

1) Name your car. Anthropomorphism is a powerful, powerful thing. As soon as you name your car, you give it a personality and a soul.  With a personality and a soul, you can no longer just abuse it like a ragged doll.  My truck’s name is Moose.  I love Moose. He’s handsome, reliable, and very loyal. Given he’s part of the family now, I’ve decided to keep him for as long as it makes sense. At some point, I’ll realize I should sell or donate Moose since he is turning 12 years old.  However, at this point, I’m happy to buy him new brakes, rotors, batteries and change his fluids.

2) Go to the dealer and intoxicate yourself. Moose’s private party retail value is about $3,600 from $8,500 five years ago.  When you go to a dealer, you start appreciating what you have.  Just the other day, I stopped by the Mercedes Benz dealer for fun on the way home from golf. I test drove a well-equipped $47,000 out the door 2012 C250 coupe. I loved the new car smell and the drive was exhilarating. This wasn’t even the highest end version as the C350 coupe had 100 more horsepower and cost $5,000 more. When it was time to negotiate, the salesman insulted Moose by giving him a trade in value of only $1,114!  There was no way this C250 coupe was worth 45X more than my beloved Moose! I declined his pitch and left smiling.

If you aren’t convinced how silly it is buying a new car when a used car can do perfectly fine, take a look at this picture carefully. Analyze it and soak all the data in.  Look at the monthly payments after a $4,000 down payment. Observe the Trade Allowance of $1,114 for Moose and the Net Sales Price of $46,497.98 after taxes. Ridiculous and insulting!

3) Visit a garage sale or throw your own. One of the most humbling experiences is de-cluttering and minimizing your things through a garage sale.  That golf club you spent $120 on might only get $10 now. That purse you were dying to have for $350 now is worth only $20 bucks.  The list goes on and on of things you spent way more than you should.  Once you start going to garage sales or to Goodwill, you will find so many bargains that you will seldom ever spend full or sale price ever again!

SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED THAT SEALED THE DEAL

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The 6th grade was when I first laid eyes on her. She was a 1989 BMW 635i Coupe who did donuts in the school’s parking lot after class thanks to an obnoxious, rich kid driver in the 11th grade.  The driver was the son of a royal family who lived in a royal house filled with a fleet of the most luxurious automobiles.

I was immediately smitten and promised myself one day I’d be able to buy such a car as soon as I started working.

The new 6 series BMW came out in 2005 and all the memories came rushing back.  What cost only $35,000 then now cost $75,000 thanks to inflation and the infinite amount of new features.  I don’t know about you, but  $75,000 is a big chunk of change and my absolute upper limit for what I’d ever spend on a car.

Instead of spending $75,000, why not go back in time and actually buy that 1989 635i Coupe instead!  My brilliant idea led me to Craigslist where I found my true dream car listed in “Fantastic condition with only 160,000 miles”!  That’s only 8,000 miles a year I rationed and off I went to see the seller.

The sand dune colored BMW was in great condition and the seller was only asking $3,800.  After a test drive and over 1 hour of negotiating, I got him down to just $2,500.  What a bargain I thought knowing that even if the car blew up the next day, I’d only be down $2,500.  I gleefully drove back home in my dream mobile I had waited for almost 20 years!  Of course, as soon as I got home this is where all the trouble began.

NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN THE HOUSE

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