[Tracy]

I just sold my 2017 Toyota for 17500 and bought a Chevy Equinox for 6500 that is safetied and in great shape. I took the rest of the money from the Toyota and paid off all visas and some of the line of credit.

I really wanted another Toyota but the used ones were far too expensive and I wouldn’t have been able to pay off the high interest debt visas. Has anyone downgraded their car to pay off debt?

[Dustin-Audrie]

We are a mobile mechanic service and see a lot of vehicles, please don’t take it as raining on your parade, we just try to share this knowledge any time we come across an Equinox owner. Equinoxes burn a significant amount of oil between changes, like up to two quarts.

We have gone out to diagnose many that weren’t even paid off, to find they had no compression after being run low on oil, and needed motor swapped.

Don’t push oil changes to the extreme on miles, if anything change your oil more frequently than recommended on that one, and do whatever maintenance when it needs it.

Make it a habit to check oil level regularly even if you don’t think it has any leaks. Out of the last 10 Equinoxes we looked at, only 2 have actually had oil on the dipstick when we checked.

[Chris]

We once sold the extra car and went down to a one car household in order to pay for box gutter repairs. It was a home we were rehabbing and house hacking by living with other folks.

The gutters not leaking into the house were more important than having that second car. I think you’re making a good move here to lower the overhead until you’re better able in life to sustain a more expensive car.

[Linda]

That is amazing and so smart.

You will have another Toyota some day, it’s just a car. I would way rather see you pay off your debts. You have made a big leap forward for your future. Congrats on a job well done!

[Author]

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