I Bought the ‘Right’ Car and Still Regretted It

Summary

Frugal Friends Podcast: "I Bought the ‘Right’ Car and Still Regretted It"

Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Air Date: February 27, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Jen shares a personal story about buying what she thought was the “right” car – a practical and responsible choice for her growing family – and the unexpected regrets that came with it. Together with Jill, they explore the emotional and strategic decision-making around car purchases, the role of identity in vehicle selection, and hard-learned lessons on car buying, negotiation, and long-term ownership costs. Listeners are treated to candid confessions, frugal wisdom, and relatable car “horror stories”—all sprinkled with humor and actionable advice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Emotional & Social Weight of Car Buying

• Identity and Status:
  • Jen: "Cars are not just transportation anymore... the car you drive says something about you." (05:22)
  • Jill: "Brands want us to attach our identity to the type of car that we drive." (05:28)
• Frugality vs. Safety vs. Appearance:
  • Jen wrestled with feeling like a "frugal failure" for needing to buy a new car after only four years but prioritized safety for her family, especially after a series of mechanical failures in her previous vehicle.
  • Memorable Quote:
    • Jen: “I didn’t want another car after four years. I wanted to keep my car for eight years… the frugal part of me felt like a failure.” (06:08)

2. Regrets: Prioritizing Price Over Longevity

• Buying for Budget, Not Best Value:

  • Jen’s self-imposed $25,000 budget limited her options for more reliable brands (Toyota, Honda), leading her to purchase a Chrysler Pacifica, which soon needed a $2,000+ repair (possibly a transmission at just 40,000 miles).
  • Jen: "My biggest regret is prioritizing price over longevity… always regretted not spending the extra couple grand to choose a car I know is going to last a long time.” (09:31)
  • The anxiety of potential future repairs now overshadows the savings.

• Dealer-Related Lessons:

  • A budget should be flexible when a longer-lasting vehicle could save more long-term.
  • Jill: “As a concept, weighing both those things out… is an important factor for all of us.” (15:31)

3. The Importance of Broad Research & Objective Advice

• Seek Advice Outside Dealerships:
  • Consult car-savvy friends, mechanics, or online resources (like CarComplaints.com) for neutral perspectives.
  • Jen: "If I had just talked to more people… I could have made a more confident decision." (15:54)
  • Online content creators and mechanics offer unvarnished takes on vehicle longevity and quality, especially beyond what dealers tell you.

4. Negotiating & Standing Your Ground: A Major Win

• High-Pressure Tactics:

  • Jen shares a dealership story: a $25,000 van ballooned to $29,000 after “extras” were tacked on, and she almost signed out of guilt for the salesperson’s time.
  • Memorable Moment:
    • Jen: "Do I feel $4,000 guilty?... $4,000 is more than I’ve ever spent on any family vacation. I’m about to give this man $4,000 because I feel a little guilty." (22:45)
  • Big Win: She resisted the pressure, walked out, and later saved at least $4,000 by buying a different van and forgoing some features (like adaptive cruise control, which could be added later for less).

• Takeaway Advice:

  • “We’re not conditioned to think creatively... many features can be added on for less after purchase, like adaptive cruise control or backup cameras.” (25:13)

5. Car Buying Strategy Tips

• Hold Your Cards Close:

  • Don’t reveal if you have a trade-in or plan to pay cash until after negotiating the price.
  • Dealers structure deals for maximum profit once they know all your variables.
  • Jen: "I should have just said, 'No cash, no trade-in, all finance. What deal can you get for me?'" (28:33, 31:03)
  • Use add-ins (trade-in, cash down) only after securing the lowest price.

• New Trend in Dealerships:

  • Some now offer transparent, no-haggle pricing. If negotiations stress you, seek these out.

6. The Real Role of a Car in Your Life

• Philosophy:
  • Jill: "Transportation should support your life, not define it." (33:01)
  • Jen: "You should not judge somebody by what they drive, but by how they drive." (33:06)
• Practical Maintenance:
  • Compare the cost of repairs to replacing the whole car—often, long-term maintenance can be a better value (especially with rising new car costs and declining build quality).
  • Jen: "Repair your car more often, and account for those costs in your budget." (34:26)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jen describing the fear of her car stalling with a toddler on board:
  “I was trying to make a left turn across a four-lane road... and it stopped. The car, that’s so terrifying, stopped.” (02:20)
• On negotiation and guilt:
  "I feel guilty for taking up all of this young man’s time... but is it worth $4,000? Do I feel $4,000 guilty?" (22:45)
• On creative problem-solving:
  "We’re not conditioned to think creatively… you can get things hemmed, tucked, altered... it’s going to look better than any brand new shirt… but we just don’t think like that." (25:38)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Regret Story – Why I Needed a New Car: 02:20–05:22
• Identity & Car Buying Psychology: 05:22–08:31
• Price vs. Longevity Dilemma: 09:31–13:44
• Lessons on Research & Seeking Advice: 15:54–17:54
• Major Negotiation Win (Saving $4k): 20:04–25:13
• Best Negotiation Tactics & Dealer Advice: 28:33–33:01
• How to View and Maintain Your Car: 33:01–35:19
• Practical Tips for Repair vs. Replace: 34:26–35:19
• Lightning Round: Car Horror Stories: 39:41–43:34 (fun, relatable tales of car disasters and near-misses)

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Lightning Round Highlights – Car Horror Stories

• Jill’s Rusted Brakes:
  • Old used Toyota 4Runner with rusting underbody and multiple brake failures, which Jill emphasizes as a cautionary tale for proper car maintenance—especially in cold, salty environments. (39:55–41:50)
• Jen’s Car Fire:
  • College story: engine caught fire on the interstate due to an oil leak, leading to a memorable (and harrowing) night stuck by a Waffle House. (41:54–43:06)

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Actionable Takeaways

• Research beyond the dealership: Use resources like CarComplaints.com and get opinions from independent mechanics or car community experts.
• Negotiate features smartly: Consider the cost and ease of adding features after the purchase instead of paying dealer mark-ups.
• Control the deal: Don’t reveal all your variables (financing, trade-ins) upfront—leverage them after you’ve gotten your best price.
• Repair, don’t always replace: Weigh the math of repairing what you have vs. buying something new. Sometimes adding “like-new” parts to an older car is a better deal.
• Let transportation support, not define, your life: Detach your personal value and identity from your vehicle.

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Host Wisdom & Closing Thoughts

• “Do your research, hold your cards close, get the best deal you possibly can, and follow the people who are going to help you.” (33:55)
• “Transportation should support your life, not define it.” (33:01)
• “You should not judge somebody by what they drive, but by how they drive.” (33:06)

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Additional Segments

• Bill of the Week (36:02–39:13):
  • Listener Natalie from Canada shares her side hustle sewing name bars onto hockey jerseys, supplementing family finances with minimal overhead and organic growth—an inspiring frugal win.
• Lightning Round (39:41–43:34):
  • Car horror stories and what they’ve taught the hosts about vehicle safety, maintenance, and letting go when it’s time.

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Episode in a Sentence:
Even a "responsible" car choice can have hidden regrets. To make your next car purchase count, blend research, negotiation savvy, emotional awareness, and a willingness to question car-buying norms — so your ride serves your life, not the other way around.

Transcript

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[Jen]

Car and Still Regretted.

[Podcast Host Intro]

Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and live a richer life. Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.

[Jen]

Welcome Frugal Friends. I'm Jen, I'm Jill and I bought the responsible car, the right car and there were still things about that purchase that I regret and so I wanted to share that story with you in hopes that the next time you make a car purchase you can be better prepared and hopefully not have the regrets that I have.

[Jill]

Yeah, car buying happens for many of us every maybe five to 10 years so it's happening fairly regularly or you've got friends or family looking for a car. So this is gonna be a helpful one.

[Jen]

Yeah, so In December of 2023 I was pregnant with my second child and I was Dr. Car that I had been driving for only like four years I think, which was not. I wanted to keep my car much longer but I did not do enough research when I bought that car and it ended up being an absolute lemon. Like I was driving, I was trying to make a left turn across a four lane road and I had my three year old son in the car or two, three. He was two or three at the time and I the car let me push on the gas and get out into the middle of the highway, like, not in the median, but, like, in oncoming traffic. And it stopped. Like, the car that's so terrifying stopped. And I had to, like, literally thank God nobody was coming. I had to turn the car off and start it again to be able to finish turning.

[Jill]

Unreal.

[Jen]

And the car dealership wouldn't do anything about it. And so I had. It was just like. And if there was something else I should have done, put it in the comments, because I'm sure I'm not the only one. Like, there's somebody else driving that car now, which sucks. So, like, let me know if there's something else I should have done to fight that in the comments. But so I was like, I cannot do that with a newborn. I'm gonna get a new car and I'm going to get a minivan. And that is where the term for me, minivan, Millennial, started, in which one of our listeners actually sent me magnets that said minivan Millennial. And I have it in my office. I don't have it on the van because it's a magnet and I don't want it to get stolen.

[Jill]

Yeah, you said that. I'm like, you're so afraid someone's going to come up to your car, be like, I want this, and I know it's magnetic, and I'm going to steal it.

[Jen]

I, too, am a minivan Millennial, wild, even though it was custom made. So if they did steal it, I would know, you know? So I don't. That's not the part I regret. The minivan is not the part I regret. I am a minivan, Millennial, proudly. And I continue to be, hopefully, for a long time. But that gets into my first regret. But I regret some of the aspects that went into this car purchase. And there are some parts that I'm very proud of, which I'll talk about. But if you caught our commentary on normal, TikTok is normalizing being car poor. This is kind of a follow up to that episode, so we will link to that in the description. But part of the regret that comes from this purchase is that cars are not just transportation anymore. And that's a big point we made in that episode.

[Jill]

Yeah, we can attach our identity to the type of car that we drive, and brands want us to do that.

[Jen]

Right.

[Jill]

They're selling us a version of who we are, who we could be if we were to drive this truck, this suv, this sedan, you name it.

[Policygenius Representative]

Safety.

[Jill]

It says a lot about how much we value or are willing to invest in our safety, success, adulthood. All of these things are statements that, to be clear, I don't think are statements actually that can be said to be true about you, depending on your car. But it's collectively, societally, kind of what we've come to agree upon is you can tell a lot about a person by the car that they drive.

[Jen]

Yeah. And I felt all of those things in this decision to get another car. Like, me being a frugal person, I didn't want another car after four years. I wanted to keep my car for eight years. That was the goal. And so the frugal part of me felt like a failure. But then I also felt this, like, safety responsibility. That was like, really number one. And I didn't fight as hard maybe as I should have for that other vehicle. Partly cause I was pregnant. But also, like, I feel like my car shows when I show up somewhere. Like, it dictates, am I successful? Is this podcast that people know that I have, Is it successful? Am I driving a beater or something? You know, like, is. It doesn't. I mean, I was a little apprehensive about getting a minivan, but ultimately I was like, oh, minivans are uncool. Sign me up. But that was like, more of a defiance choice. Like, because all the moms are getting SUVs, because SUV is the cool mom vehicle. And so I am the type of person that hears that and is like, oh, cool, I'm not gonna get an suv. Thank you very much.

[Jill]

I'm okay with being uncool.

[Jen]

Right. I had gotten the suv, the crossover suv I was driving, like, before I had a child. So, yeah. Like, the minivan wasn't the thing that, like, I, you know, regretted. But, like, it is, like, insane that cars used to just be. Can this get me where I need to go? Yeah. Right? It used to be having a car in general, that was the symbol of success, right?

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Just having one.

[Jill]

Yes.

[Jen]

And now it's kind of like everybody has one. So it really is type of car. Right. The type of car really does say that about you. And so now it says, like, what kind of person am I? How successful I am? Am I keeping my family safe? Because sometimes it can be. Even if the old car is safe, like, if it looks old, it can be. Like, there can be some judgment about, like, what are the other. Not necessarily the car's safety, but, like, outside of that, like, is there safety? So it is just this weird. All of these things are running through my mind. Yeah.

[Jill]

And we all want special things and we want the experience of luxury however we can get it. And I think cars for many people are that I might not be able to have the fancy house or the nice vacations or whatever, but I might be able to get a car that both is a status symbol on the outside and feels luxurious to me too. And so there can be that kind of internal and then just the justifications for it. Well, I had to because this is what's safest. I had to because otherwise people aren't going to hire me in my business if I don't show up looking halfway decent. All the things and then just all of the hundreds of micro decisions that go into the purchase of a vehicle. Now there's so many options for sizing and the type of engine and what's the warranty and all the financing options. And it can just when you're ready to buy a car, it can feel like a very overwhelming decision to make. It's not just one decision.

[Jen]

It is exhausting. And that is how so many people end up with cars they regret with making decisions they later regret. And so here is my my biggest regret will go top to bottom. So my biggest regret is prioritizing price over longevity. And I don't know why I didn't my lesson from the first one, but I went with a brand that seemed pretty safe, like seemed pretty reliable but ultimately was not. And so this one I did the Chrysler Pacifica. I had to remember like what is what car do, what do I drive? Which was in my budget, my arbitrary budget that I had sent. I did finance the vehicle and that I don't regret. I was mid renovation for a house that we totally top to bottom renovated and it was less expensive for me to finance a car interest wise than it was to finance those renovations. Like I didn't have money for both. So we used the cash we had to cash flow renovations and then we financed the car because that was a lower interest rate. So I had a budget in my head and I knew like my last car I had a budget based on how much cash I had because I paid for that one in cash and honestly wish I would have financed it and just paid it off all like later. And the guy told me it would have cost me maybe like a hundred extra bucks to do that. So this time I did finance. So I didn't really have like the budget wasn't hard and fast. And so to my like usually people have the opposite problem is they have the budget and they have no problem going over it and I have the problem where I have the budget and it's arbitrary and I'm just only gonna stick to that. And that was $25,000. And so I was looking and that put me, when I'm looking at three year old cars that put me at Chrysler Pacifica territory and that made like Toyotas and Hondas which are typically longer lasting minivans out of my price range. And so I don't know what it was. I don't like the Pacifica was good enough rated where I felt like okay, I could take a chance but I just have always regretted not seeing spending the extra couple grand to choose a car that I know is going to last a long time. We have already had to, I think we replaced the transmission. It was something that cost like $2,000 and we cash flowed. That, that was, you know, it was. But I will say we went to a local mechanic that does mostly, it's called mostly Mopars. It does mostly like US cars. Sorry. That was. Sorry. I don't know why that tickled me. So it was much cheaper than going to the dealer. I think that that was, I don't even know how I think it was going to cost at least 4,000 to get that done at the dealer. And we paid less, just under 2,020. So that was fine. But yeah, I'm still relatively low mileage. I think I'm at like 40,000 something miles. And I just, I have anxiety about the future of the car. There's always this underlying anxiety of like what's gonna happen. I've had the car now for two years and I just don't know in two years what we're gonna be dealing with. So that I think was my biggest regret. Two years, December of 2023. Yeah, we got it just a few months before Atlas was born.

[Natalie]

Whoa.

[Jen]

So yeah. Oh, sorry. 2022, we've had it for three years. Cause Atlas turns three in March. So we've had it for three years. Sorry.

[Jill]

Yeah, yeah. I don't remember what I was gonna say about that.

[Jen]

Sorry.

[Jill]

So you're saying. Well that's not to say that another vehicle, like if you would have spent an extra five to six thousand dollars on a vehicle that that one too wouldn't have had transmission issues or needed a big repair.

[Jen]

There's no promise. And so I always Recommend the site Carcomplaints.com and I always recommend going with a 3 to 4 year used car because then it's had enough time for people to submit complaints and car Complaints compiles those complaints from all over and will show you kind of the cars that have the most complaints and where the complaints are. And so I feel like I did. And so maybe this is just internal, but I feel like I did the research. But after doing that episode with Hayden, I'm like, well, I'm probably gonna have this car. I should have it longer than I anticipated, you know, because they're just making new cars worse and worse every year. They're lasting shorter and shorter lifespans. So I should have this van as long as possible. And so did I make the right decision in choosing this balance of price and longevity, or should high have just gone with the higher price and more certainly guaranteed longevity?

[Jill]

Yeah, it's a hard one to know whether or not you're going to be accurate in your research on, if I spend $5,000 more, does it get me two extra years out of the car or an extra year? Like, that's. It's kind of hard to decipher. But I think, yeah, as a concept, weighing both those things out is an important factor for all of us consider.

[Jen]

And I think the biggest cost for me is the underlying anxiety. I think maybe if I had consulted more people outside of dealers, like, if I had been able to talk to Hayden, like, known him then, or other people familiar with cars, I think if I had just talked to more people, that I could have made a more confident decision. And I think that might be the overall, like, lesson is to talk to more people, like, outside of your typical small circle. More people that know things about cars. Even, like, I don't know, emailing people, like, car YouTubers. I don't know how, like, responsive these people would be, but, yeah, like, or

[Jill]

even mechanics, like, mechanics are gonna know. Yeah, I hate working on that vehicle. Or this is a common problem with that one.

[Jen]

Well, I mean, Hayden and this guy Zach, they both have a lot of social media commentary videos about new cars, used cars, like, cars that mechanics work on the most. You know, stuff like that. So I think I would have, like, looked at that more, too. I don't know if I would have gotten the answers because I don't know, like, that minivans are super popular on social media. Not as many people want to talk about their minivan as they do their cool SUV or truck. We'll talk about that in a little bit. But, yeah, so I think my. My biggest regret maybe isn't prioritizing the price over longevity, but maybe is not being 100% confident in the choice that I made because I inherently don't trust the dealer 100%. So having more outside neutral advice?

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[Jen]

So let me round that out with what I think is my biggest win. And if you've read our book Buy what yout Love without going, I have talked about this story in there so you can Skip this story. But if you haven't read the book, My biggest win. And this is where I saved ultimately $4,000. But, I mean, regardless of how end would have saved 2,000 at least. But I didn't let a dealer pressure me into a deal that I didn't want. And this came specifically. So I was between two vans, and I had test driven them both. But there was one that I wanted more than the other one. And ultimately it had more miles, but it also had adaptive cruise control, which I really wanted. But they were the same price because the one with the nice features in the leather seats just had more miles. So I'm at the dealership with this van that I truly want, and this van that was advertised for $25,000 online has somehow gotten like, four, like, to 29,000.

[Jill]

Wow.

[Jen]

And I'm just like, I don't understand what's going on here, because the other one was 25. Like, they walked me through the whole deal after I test drove, and it was $25,000.

[Jill]

And that's sidebar worth stating. There are some dealerships that have far more transparent pricing than others. So also, asking around and making sure that you're going to a more reputable dealership can be a huge deal.

[Jen]

Yeah. And it was weird because both of these dealerships have been around and have had great reputations. Like, I grew up here. They've been here my entire life. And so it was weird. It was not like they were shady dealers. So I keep trying to negotiate down and negotiate. I'm trying, I'm trying. I sat there for hours. I was late to pick up Kai. It was just. It was a mess. And I almost signed on the dotted line for that car. Because, you know, when you're buying a car, there's pressure. You're talking to five different people. Somehow there are five different sales managers, and you're just waiting, doing a lot of waiting. And it's all. It's all tactics to get you to push you through to the deal. And at the end, I was like, why am I here? I'm here because of the adaptive cruise control. How far am I driving? I don't like to drive more than 15 minutes for anything. Right. Like, I am doing a drive to Orlando twice a year. What am I doing here? And we go. Will go up to Spring Hill every other month, which is about an hour. So what am I truly doing here? And then I was like, I feel guilty for taking up all of this young man's time who's trying to sell me this car. And I'm like, but is it worth $4,000? Do I feel $4,000 guilty? And when you're thinking about it in the scope of a car purchase, $4,000 is not a lot because you're financing it, right? But then I'm like, $4,000 is more than I've ever spent on any family vacation. I have never spent $4,000 to take a vacation. And I'm about to sit here and give this man $4,000 because I feel a little guilty.

[Jill]

That's not even including how much more that money you'd pay on that $4,000 because of interest.

[Jen]

So I, like, really abruptly I got up and walked out. I was like, can't do it. And it was just.

[Jill]

They've never seen you before that one coming.

[Jen]

I love to say no. I just, like, it's my mo. It's the first response I have to everything is just no. And so I just, like, it took me a while, but I was like, no. And I used the excuse that I was late to pick up my son and if I changed my mind, I'd come back. Right. But ultimately it was just like, no, I'm going to pick up my kid and we're going to the other dealership to get the other car. And I truly did mean it. Like, if they ended up, like, you know, putting the wool over, trying to pull the wool over my eyes at the other one, I was gonna come back for that car. But they had already walked me through the deal, like, all the numbers. And so we went and we got the other one that had less mileage, but it has, like, cloth seats and no adaptive cruise control. And I googled it later how much it costs to install adaptive cruise control in a van. And it was $2,000. And so even if I had wanted to install it, I still could have installed, gotten it installed and saved $2,000 by putting it in the other van.

[Jill]

Yeah, yeah, that's something to be aware of. If there are features that the vehicle doesn't have, many can be added on, like, even an automatic start. I know that that is something that a lot of people want. Or like, you're saying adaptive cruise control. So backup cameras can be added on after the fact for most likely a far lesser price than you might if it already has it as a part of the futures.

[Jen]

We're not conditioned to think creatively like that. We just want the One Stop shop package. Like, it's like clothing. We'll pass on thrifted clothing because it doesn't look good, but you can get things hemmed, tucked, altered for like 10 to 20 bucks. Right. And then it fits perfectly, it's tailored to your body. It's going to look better than any brand new shirt or pants that you could have bought off the rack. But we just don't think like that.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

And we, I don't know why we don't think like that. If, you know, let me know in the comments.

[Jill]

But so yeah, I engineered consent.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[Jill]

Engineered desire. I don't know is it both the things? But yeah, I mean, because things just don't last for as long sometimes. It's not, it's not worth it. If you only bought a shirt for $10 and the cost to repair it is $10, then it makes more sense to throw it away than to buy and buy new, than to keep it and repair it.

[Jen]

But what if you repaired it and then that shirt looked better than the other $10 brand new shirt that you were gonna buy?

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Right.

[Jill]

Sure. I'm just saying, like part of it is the cheap production of things.

[Jen]

Yeah. But yeah, so we went and we bought that, the van that I do have and I never ended up getting adaptive cruise control because I went to bed and woke up and was not exhausted anymore. But they truly did everything they could to wear me down into a deal. And I was like, no, I stood my ground and I wasn't rude. But it could have been perceived. I mean, sure, they didn't perceive it as rude, but internally I perceived it as a little rude. But now that I haven't been beat down by so many micro decisions, I see that it wasn't. And they couldn't have thought that that was it because they knew what they were doing to me and it didn't work.

[Jill]

Yeah, I think too, one of my takeaways from your story is to be prepared for it to be an exhausting process. If you're going to negotiate, if you're going to think critically about the decision that you're making, if you're going to do the research, which we do think you should do, this is one of the biggest purchases that we make aside from our home buying decisions. And so I think really kind of building some of that muscle, the patience to be able to navigate this and not just expect that I'm going to be able to go do this in an afternoon. But kind of having some of that fortitude to not be swayed, to keep our wits about us, to understand what some of the different phrases are, is important. Curious if there's anything else that you would have done differently in this car buying process?

[Jen]

I think so. There's some something. So I'm glad I got the minivan. I know like, trucks and SUVs are like the number one sellers at dealerships. And we've said this before, but like, because everybody wants a big truck or a big suv, dealers do not. Brands do not have incentive to make small, affordable sedans anymore. And so people are paying $700 a month for their car payment because they want to. That's the cars they want. And that's the incentive the, the, you know, dealerships have or the brands have to manufacture those cars. So I am happy that I bucked at that trend and did not get an suv. I got a minivan instead. But something I would have done differently is held my cards a little closer. And we learned this in our episode about being car poor is that what I went in and did was tell them, like, I have a trade in. This is my budget, yada, yada, I'm going to finance. So what I should have done is just said, you know, I want to look at cars. I don't know if I want to do a trade in or like, I don't have anything to trade in that, you know, I don't think I have anything to trade in. I don't want to lie, but pretty much say, like, I don't think I'm going to do a trade in. And I want to just test out zero down all finance because they want to know, oh, I'm going to make a lot of money off of you. They can negotiate financing a lot more if they're fully focused on it. And I learned that in that episode. So what I should have. That's kind of what I should have led with, like, no cash, no trade in all finance. What deal can you get for. For me? And then once you have the good deal, then you can add in things like, okay, if I added a trade in, how could we make this better? Because everything you give them is going to make the deal better. But if they already know what they're working with, they're less inclined to give you a better deal. So I think that's. It was counterintuitive for me because I used to think like, oh, I'll go in and I'll just tell them I'm paying cash and that'll be better for me. You get the worst deal when you go in and say that.

[Jill]

So.

[Jen]

And that's what I did with my car before I went in. I said I had it all Cash. And I should have kept my.

[Jill]

Held my cards closer, do all the negotiations up front. And this, you know, you've got to be a little bit more shrewd about it. Again, not lying, but skirting around some of those questions as if, you know, you're unsure what exactly you're going to be bringing to the table. Just get the number before you let them know what all is going to be in play. One of my wealthier friends did this when they actually had cash. They were planning on paying for the car entirely cash, not financing at all. And did not say that until the final number was on the paper. And then he's like, all right, how are we going to finance this? And he's like, well, I have cash. It sounded like the dealer was so bummed he's still making a car sale. Like, if not as much the car can be sold for, then that should be allowed. It should be transparent like that. And I will say, more and more dealerships are popping up that have this transparent pricing and are saying there is no negotiation. Like, this is the price. We don't work off of commissions. There's another kind of payment structure for their salespeople. So they're more inclined to be a lot more transparent and open. So you could also find that, too, if you're not. If you just don't want to do all of the different negotiations, then find a reputable dealership where that's the case, where it just. This is the price. And we are super transparent about how we came to that price. Yeah. So, yeah. Final thoughts on this. Transportation should support your life, not define it.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Okay.

[Jill]

You drive a car to get from point A to point B. Yeah.

[Jen]

And something that I am coming to live by is that you should not judge somebody on by what they drive, but by how they drive.

[Jill]

And there's a lot of judgment to go around based on how people drive. Oh, we are both in Florida and it is rough out here.

[Jen]

A lot of judgment. Judgment cups runneth over.

[Jill]

I have to really employ my. Maybe they're on their way to the hospital. Maybe there's someone in the car about to give birth. Like, I've got to really assume the best when I'm out here driving. They're on their phone, and that's usually what it is. But it can be really frustrating.

[Jen]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jill]

So be really judicious. Do your research, hold your cards close. Get the best deal you possibly can. You know, follow the people who are going to help you. Again, Carcomplaints.com can be really helpful for knowing the specific make, model, year to know what are the issues that most people encounter with this type of vehicle. Do I have the emergency cash to be able to respond to that? Do I have a savings plan to build up a sinking fund to be

[Commercial Narrator 2]

able to respond to that?

[Jen]

Yeah. And repair your car more often too. Again, just how we're like you can piecemeal like adding cruise control or a backup camera. You should also be accounting to repair a car because just like it might be better to repair a shirt or tailor a shirt that's broken and then it's going to end up more tailored to your body than a brand new shirt at the same price would a car that you can replace the transmission with a brand new transmission instead of getting a brand like another new car that's going to have a used transmission that you're going to like, that's going to, you know, die in a couple more years. Like you just have to kind of do the entire picture of math, not just the immediate math.

[Jill]

Do you know what doesn't need to be repaired? Because from the beginning it was never

[Jen]

broken and it never will be broken. It is a symbol of wealth. The Bill of the week.

[Podcast Host Intro]

That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Duck Bills, Buffalo Bills, Bill Clinton. This is the Bill of the Week.

[Natalie]

Hi Jen and Jill. My name is Natalie and I am from Canada. A few years ago I got sick and had a friend while I was off and not really able to do much. Ask if I could sew her son's name bar onto her hockey jersey. Hockey's super big here and everyone has sponsor bars or their name bars that they sell on the back. I said yes and she dropped it off and then she had a few friends ask if I wanted to do it. And that year I, in a six week period I made a couple hundred dollars just doing it. I had to stop for personal reasons. So the next year I made a Facebook page and I started doing it. And in an eight week period I ended up making about fifteen hundred dollars. So fast forward now, it's been three years. I'm just about to start my fourth season and I am so busy from September to Christmas that I make enough money to cover all of our holidays. Our new tires when we need them, we pay some bills and we do lots of stuff. It's A great side hustle and it's an awesome way for me to make extra money and my overhead is about $20 a year, so it's awesome. Hope you enjoy my bill of the week.

[Jen]

Thanks.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Bye.

[Jen]

Oh my gosh, Natalie, with your hockey players, I love this. Oh my gosh.

[Jill]

I love when you really can find such a niche. Who would think that you could have a small business sewing name tags onto jerseys?

[Jen]

Name bars.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Alright.

[Jill]

Name bars.

[Jen]

Don't know what the difference is. In Florida, which actually our hockey team won the Stanley cup like multiple times, so there's no excuse. And I used to be an ice skater, so I have no excuse.

[Jill]

Name bars onto jerseys.

[Jen]

Wow. That is fantastic.

[Jill]

Just responding to it. And this is what we say in a lot of our side hustle episodes, is what's already in your hands. What are you already good at, interested in? Other people are asking you for this thing or advice on this thing. There it is. Just see what can be done. And I love how organically this happens. Just like, sure, I'm responding to a friend, but you saw that this could be something more and it doesn't have to become a full fledged take over your regular job kind of a thing, but something where you're able to supplement some income for a couple of months and really boost some of your goals and financial strategies and how amazing. And it sounds like you're really good at it. Hopefully you like it. Hopefully your side hustle is cathartic. That's always the best.

[Jen]

I mean when that's like sewing, like I don't know if it's hand stitching or with a machine, but yeah, I can be like cathartic.

[Jill]

No kidding.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

Amazing. Natalie, thanks for sharing that with us. If you all are listening and have a bill that you want to submit, if it has to do with starting a side hustle and just crushing it or about a bill that you stopped paying, your name is Bill. You just want to say hi to your frugal friends. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Bill, we can't wait to hear it. And now it's time for the lightning round.

[Jen]

All right. It is time for the car horror stories. Oh no, Jill,

[Jill]

I have so many car horror stories.

[Jen]

Same.

[Commercial Narrator]

Mm.

[Jill]

That is what kind of comes with the territory of at the time, private sale. I feel like private sale, the ability to do that well is tanking. But one of the worst, I would say is the vehicle we had before this one. It was a Toyota 4Runner. I mean, loved it. It was a great vehicle. However, it Was, you know, rusting out on the underbelly.

[Jen]

And.

[Jill]

And that has to do with. We bought it used. This is a side tangent, but that has to do with maintenance too. Like, if you live in the north and you're not regularly just washing your car, you are deeply shortening the life of that vehicle because of all the salt that they put on the roads and the moisture and everything that happens. And then particularly if you're going to take that car from the north to the south, where there's salt water in the air, forget about it. Rust central. But yeah, washing your car regularly in the north is not just like a fun to have. It's a must have. Okay, now I'm off my soapbox. Back to. The brakes were rusting out. And on three different occasions, we like, lost. Lost our brakes. Brakes. Brakes not work. Brake don't go there.

[Jen]

Brake go nowhere.

[Jill]

Thankfully, every single time Eric was driving and was able to expertly get us out of danger and slow the vehicle down somehow.

[Jen]

Wow.

[Jill]

I don't know how we got to the point where it ended up happening three times. Like, you'd think after the first you're like, out of here. But we eventually replaced it, so. So safety. Safety is not nothing.

[Jen]

Right.

[Jill]

Like, we do want a relatively safe vehicle. I would say that that is important. Definitely not. Brakes rusting out, not working while driving.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

How about you?

[Jen]

Surprisingly enough, stalling out in the middle of the road several times is not my horror story. No, mine was. I was in college and I was actually living in St. Pete and driving back to Orlando with my boyfriend at the time. And we going mid point. So like an hour or 45 minutes away from St Pete, but still like an hour, 45 minutes ish away from Orlando. Flames come up from the front of the car and I have to Pull over on i4 and the engine had caught on fire because I had an oil leak. So I had no more oil and I didn't know. And so my mom had to like, drive from St. Pete to pick us up. And I think about that. And we were like sitting on the side of the road for so long. And that ride home with my mom. And I think about that whenever.

[Jill]

I was never good.

[Jen]

Yeah. Whenever I passed by the Waffle House.

[Jill]

Oh, man.

[Jen]

That I had to stare at for an hour and a half or something. Yeah. That was of flames.

[Jill]

Yeah. That's a situation where you're just like, what's causing this? I have no way to put it out. Is it good? Because, you know, movies make you think Flames in a car in an instant explosion.

[Jen]

Yeah, it wasn't. But that car was done. So after that, like that was the last time I drove that car.

[Jill]

And it's so expensive. It's such an expensive thing to own that when it like really has those problems. Such a bummer.

[Jen]

Yeah. More than one. Let us know your car horror stories, your car buying horror stories. Those are the stories we really want to hear. Let us know in the comments. And thank you so much, so much for listening, watching wherever you are with us, we love reading your comments and we love reading your kind reviews about our book Buy what yout Love without going Broke. If you haven't read it yet, buy what you love book.com and here's an example of one from matchykoy0414. It happens to be five stars and they say book number five for the year. Very practical way of controlling your spending. Tackled the root cause, not just band aid solutions. Book forces you to look at your inner self and what are your triggers? More of a psychological book rather than financial. Some of the tips can be redundant as other financial books, but it's written lightly with real world examples. I love. Thank you so much. Matchy Coy.

[Jill]

You know what, it's a five star review.

[Jen]

You know what, there's nothing new under the sun. Just new ways of presenting old information. And if somebody does say they have something new and revolutionary and secret, they are scamming you.

[Jill]

Red flag.

[Jen]

Yeah. So these are really great words for this five star review. We appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah, please, please leave us a review.

[Jill]

If you've read the book. Five stars is great. We love to see those. And we'll read our five star reviews on the show. And if you are watching us subscrib, subscribe to the channel. We would love that. Leave us a rating and review on the podcast. All the ways to show some love that are free for you is great for us.

[Jen]

Yeah. And spread this message further and wider to more people so they can, you know, get this redundant information in a new fresh way. See you next time.

[Jill]

Bye.

[Jen]

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

[Jill]

Me.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

I forgot about. Did I tell you this story before?

[Jill]

I probably have when I went when I had a rental car and went to go see a waterfall in Washington state. And I pull into the small side of the road parking lot and there were traffic teeth.

[Policygenius Representative]

Ooh.

[Jill]

Protecting this small side of the road parking lot for a tiny little state park with a waterfall. Because the parking lot had an entrance and an exit that both Looked the same again, very tiny. The the sign that it wasn't an exit exit and on an entrance was blocked by all of the trees and shrubbery. And my punishment for not seeing it was all of the tires getting popped on the rental car. Fast forward to the fact that we did this after work. So it was close to 6pm sun was beginning to set, and we did not have a lot of service, but we were able to call the company to come give us a tow. Typically, the tow driver would also provide you a ride. Tow driver not do that. Tow driver say, no, you stay here, you get your own ride. So that then left me and my friend chatranted. There was nobody else at this park. Sun was setting, middle of nowhere, Washington State. We now have no access to be able to charge our phones because the car gone, it's cold because it's the fall, and we have nothing but whatever we wore. Thinking we were about to go on a little hike. Stranded, low service, low battery. Trying to get an Uber. Nobody's picking us up. It was to the point where I was almost like, I might have to call 911. Like, I think we're getting to the point where this might be 911 territory. We've not seen a single human being. No Lyft or Uber drivers coming to get us. And we're about to no longer have battery life on our cell phones.

[Jen]

Oh, yeah, I'd be calling 91 1.

[Jill]

What ended up happening is one Uber driver decided to come get us. And he told us. He's like, I saw your request continue to come through, but apparently, I don't know if this is still the case or just at the time, he couldn't see where we wanted to go. And maybe that is the case. I've talked to other people. They're like, yeah, you don't see where the ride is going, like, until you accept it, or something like that.

[Jen]

So he's like.

[Jill]

And we were an hour outside of the city. And so he's like, I didn't. He's like, a lot of times people will want Uber rides just five minutes down the road. And he's like, I didn't want to drive an hour away just to drive you five minutes down the road and make two bucks off the ride. But he's like, I saw that the requests kept coming through, kept coming through. So he's like, I just decided to go on a whim. And we're like, you are our literal hero. Brought us back to the city. We never got to see that Waterfall. Washington state is out of their minds for putting traffic teeth to get into a. Probably a parking lot for like six cars. A hidden sign that this is the exit, not the entry. Not that there's a huge safety issue with that. Again, it was a very small side of the road parking lot. How many times have I said that you needed that? And it was big enough.

[Jen]

It was big enough for a car

[Jill]

to be exiting and entering. Right. It wasn't like, oh, this narrow one way you might get into an accident. An accident would have been better than all four tires being popped. You made the wrong turn, done vehicle don't work, can't get home stranded.

[Jen]

You hear that? Washington state? Yeah, you hear that?

[Jill]

I have a bone to pick. This was like seven years ago at

[Jen]

this point, probably you needed this.

[Jill]

Yeah, that one resurfaced recently. The reminder of that.

[Jen]

All right, shut it down. It's time you did it.

[Jill]

No more renting cars in Washington.

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