One thing that needs to be discussed is what kind of use the OP makes of his present car. I assume the OP is not an over-the-road salesman and the Dodge Stratus serves his present needs for transportation.
Fifty five years ago, the department in which I was teaching was moved to temporary quarters in the service and maintenance building. The garage where the university fleet was maintained was housed in one end of the building. I became acquainted with the supervisor of the garage. He had been the service manager at the Chrysler/Plymouth dealer. The dealership kept changing hands, so he got on at the university for job security. He was not only a top flight mechanic, but was skilled at cutting red tape. One thing I remember was that there was a 1951 big flatbed Ford truck with the flathead V-8 engine. The truck was used to move heavy items around campus. The engine went bad and his superiors thought the truck should be replaced. The garage supervisor was told that it would be almost impossible to find a replacement flathead V-8 engine. His response was 'Who said I need to find another flathead V-8?" He then located a good used 6 cylinder Ford truck engine and had the truck back in service in three days. There was a need for a couple of vans for the maintenance crew to transport equipment around campus. Instead of buying new vans, this garage supervisor got permission to go to an auction sale where a floor covering store was going out of business. He bought the vans, had them in the garage where they were repainted and serviced, and the vans were rolling around campus within a week. He told me that for going around campus and town, these vehicles were perfectly adequate. They would rust out before they would wear out.
Now the over-the-road vehicles were a different story. Those cars were retired before 100,000 miles (remember that this was 1965) to reduce the chances of one being stranded on the highway.
I thought this garage supervisor had the right idea. He saved the institution money. Unfortunately, after he retired, the next person replaced the vehicles with brand new vehicles within two years.
The point is to spend the least amount on a vehicle that serves your purposes. Don’t let your co-workers talk you into going into debt for a new car when your present car does the job. I drove the same car back and forth to work for 33 years. I had colleagues that made fun of me and my old Oldsmobile, but I ignored them. It got me to work every day.
Another vote for NOT taking on debt to buy a car which you probably cannot afford. To be honest, I would NOT recommend taking on debt to buy anything which depreciates as time progresses, such as a motor vehicle, home electronics, household furnishings, etc. It only makes sense to take on debt to purchase real estate, pay for certain home improvements/major repairs, or to further one’s education.
There also can be huge medical expenses that arise beyond what insurance covers which incurs major debt. The inevitability of such occurring to most people is another reason to avoid unnecessary debt and to build up a good money reserve.
Barky you are correct. Since we started our 3 year leasing cycle in August 2016, I haven’t had to buy any tires or batteries or install any brakes. The only expense besides oil changes has been windshield wiper blades ( and the lease payment of course).
I’ll be picking up my second set of wiper blades on Monday. I did replace tires at about 35K though. As we all read these comments, I think it makes sense to realize that everybody thinks what they do makes the most sense. The same as no one ever reports that they made a bad deal on a car. Everybody is a winner. Some even don’t want a car and prefer trains and planes and buses-bring your disinfectant.
So yeah, don’t strain your budget on a car. Buy used if you can’t/don’t want to buy new. Lease if you absolutely need a new car and can’t afford it. Just remember there will be no residual value after the term, similar to keeping a car ten years. No right or wrong, just personal decisions. Except buying a piece of junk from a “You Pay Here” lot at leg breaker rates-that’s wrong. Blue skies.
@bing You make a good point, sir. There are differences in circumstances, priorities, needs, obligations, opportunities, employment, income, preferences, etc. such that no two people will have quite the same situation and decision factors about car buying and other money handling.
And @Marnet , as always, you leave me envious of your superb writing skills.
@old_mopar_guy Thank you, sir, for your kind compliment.
Plus 2 but I’d be a little more careful if I thought people were actually reading the junk I write.
My advice to the OP is to keep your present ride as long as it works and invest in yourself. In your present job, look around to see what is needed. Then figure out if you have skills you can develop through some kind of training or education. When I completed my bachelor’s degree in mathematics, jobs were plentiful. I could have taken a job in industry, bought a new car, lived in a luxury apartment or condo, etc. Instead, I went on to school for a master’s degree. I had an assistantship that paid $200 a month and provided tuition. In return, I taught two classes each term. I lived in a room that cost $8 a week and a meal ticket at the student center was $14 for a week’s worth of meals. I drove an old car. I found I liked teaching. After graduating, I took a year to year contract position at a university. The pay was $6000 s year. This was in 1965. I decided to improve my skills. I paid the tuition and took a year long statistics sequence and followed it up next year with a year long probability sequence. I then went on to another university for a doctorate. The courses I had taken cut a year off my coursework for the doctorate. By that time, I was married. We were able to live in a married student housing apartment for $90 a month which included all utilities. I still drove an old car. I had fellow students that lived in luxury, off campus apartments. They came a year before I began my program and were still there when I finished.
My old university hired me back in a permanent position.
Computer courses were beginning to be offered, but it was hard to hire faculty to teach the courses as a person could earn at least twice as much in industry. I sat through a department meeting where department members moaned and groaned about the situation. I spoke up and said that if we couldn’t hire people to teach the computer courses, why couldn’t we grow our own computer science faculty. When my colleagues laughed, I signed up for an evening course at university 55 miles away. I taught my full load of classes and made the trip two days a week. This made me more valuable to my university.
I got the idea from a mechanic I knew in the late 1950s. He took advantage of a program GM was offering to train mechanics in automatic transmission repair. This mechanic worked at a GM dealer, but drove 100 miles each way once a week for the training. He invested his time and some of his money in himself. He ultimately opened up his own shop.
A car is not an investment. It depreciates. Developing your skills and knowledge is an investment. It pays dividends, and your skills and knowledge can’t be repossessed.
+1 @Triedaq
@bing we read it. And it’s hardly junk, but rather Midwestern common sense honed by years of experience.
A more expensive, reliable car is better for reliability. And not wasting time fixing things. A cheap car that breaks down is no bargain.
I’m in the Bing Fan Club. I get a chuckle out of quite a few of your comments. No need to waste time on being careful. Shooting from the hip works for me!
CSA
Can’t say I fully agree with that . . .
while Bing’s comments are sometimes enjoyable to read, they cross the line . . . many lines, for that matter . . . more than occasionally
I’ve always hated such terminology
It seems to imply those from that specific region have common sense, therefore all others are lacking in that department
If you’d said “common sense honed by years of experience” . . . I’d be in complete agreement, though
Thank You, I guess…
Have you looked (and listened) in a mirror, lately? Are you getting enough fiber in your diet? Perhaps you need to come down and soak in some rays and play a little golf, eh? 
CSA
Right back at you
YOU are the one who brought it up, by telling the guy it’s not necessary to be careful with the comments
So it all boils down to this . . .
Look at yourself in the mirror
Listen to yourself
That’s right . . . you only have yourself to blame
I’m perfectly happy where I’m at
My vote is for keeping your present car. How about continuing to drive the present car and stash a few hundred bucks back each month into a savings account. Maybe by the the current car assumes room temperature you will have enough of a stash to make a decent down payment and keep the monthly payments low.
Automotive depreciation is absolutely horrible as many people find out after the fact when they still have 3 years of payments left and the car is only worth half that. Maybe. The one thing you don’t want is a repo and then have a bank go after you for a deficiency judgement.
Am I the only person on this forum…or left on the planet who has never had a car “note”… ever…in their entire lives? I’ve owned every single conveyance I have ever…well…owned. Same goes for motorcycles, dirt bikes, quads, boats, and various other toys I have had in my lifetime…and we are literally talking over 150 vehicles easily. Some specifically to “flip” and others to live with, drive, enjoy…and then flip for more than I purchased it for years prior not normal, I know… fringe benefits of my “hobby” no doubt.
While much of this is because of what I do as a Hobby/Profession an awful lot of it has to do with my general distaste or outright fear of owing money on anything let alone something that can be considered so transient in ones life. Something that in general has the tendency to be damaged and or otherwise rendered worthless or nearly so, during ones tenure.
I fear payments like grim death I guess you could say and the only item I have allowed myself to get immersed into a payment program was the home I live in currently. A home which I will OWN outright this June as a matter of fact ! So after that… I am finally free of those payments. Believe me I nearly had a coronary signing the documents that had a 30 YEAR TERM no less… I almost didn’t make it through that day I tell ya…I can still remember it vividly. I guess just chalk it up to yet another reason I am not oft referred to as “normal”. I suppose I could’ve done a lot worse in trying to stand out or be considered a weirdo… No?
Anyone else never had a car note out there ?
I’ve never made payments on a vehicle