I sit here probably five years or so from retirement, and lately I’ve started thinking a little more about what I want life to look like when I get there.
One of those thoughts involved my Jeep.
My Jeep turns 10 years old next year. I still love it, and there’s no reason to think it won’t keep going for years, but I started asking myself a question: Do I want to enter retirement depending on a vehicle that will already be well over a decade old? Or will I eventually find myself using part of my fixed retirement income to buy another reliable vehicle?
The answer I came up with was pretty simple. My Jeep may be perfectly fine, but maybe it was time to start thinking about an insurance policy.
For me, that meant buying something now, financing it for five years — hopefully paying it off even earlier — and eventually rolling into retirement with another reliable vehicle already sitting in the driveway.
So, What Do I Buy?
Like a lot of people, when I started thinking about reliability, Toyota immediately came to mind.
But which Toyota?
The RAV4 seemed like the obvious choice, probably the hybrid. It was practical, efficient and right in the price range I was considering.
There was only one problem: my wife nixed that idea immediately.
She owned a RAV4 once and wasn't a fan. Since it was really the only Toyota I was seriously considering based on price, size and performance, I was back to the drawing board.
For a little while, my thinking went in a completely different direction.
Maybe I should get a sports car.
I've owned numerous BMW 3 Series over the years, along with my all-time favorite, a BMW 135i convertible. The idea of having something fun like that again definitely had some appeal.
But the more I thought about what I actually wanted to do in the next chapter of my life, the more I found myself drifting back toward an SUV.
What I Actually Needed
What I really wanted was a vehicle that could fill in for my Jeep if the Jeep ever broke down.
Actually, I wanted it to do a few things better.
I wanted something more comfortable on long road trips, with plenty of room to haul gear. I wanted it to be safe, reasonably fuel efficient and, most importantly, reliable.
I also wanted something with fewer than 40,000 miles, and I wanted to stay under $35,000.
As I kept searching, one vehicle started showing up over and over again:
The Subaru Outback Wilderness.
If all I wanted was a comfortable, capable and practical second vehicle, the Wilderness already checked the boxes.
But then I started looking at everything else it could do.
There's enough room in the back for an overnight camping setup. I can add a hitch-mounted bike rack. I can carry a kayak on the roof. It has enough capability to get me down forest roads and to places where a normal car might not be ideal, without giving up the comfort and road manners I wanted for longer trips.
Suddenly, it wasn't just the practical choice. It actually fit the things I wanted to do.
Finding the Right One
At that point, I knew what I was looking for: a low-mileage 2024 Outback Wilderness.
Ideally, I wanted a Certified Pre-Owned one.
Then, almost as soon as I started seriously looking, my local Subaru dealer had exactly that sitting on the lot.
A 2024 Wilderness.
Less than 30,000 miles.
CPO.
After a little haggling, the price landed right where I wanted it.
If I had one hesitation, it was the blue color. It wasn't necessarily what I pictured when I started looking. But once I saw it in person, I was pleasantly surprised.
My wife loved the color!
That certainly didn't hurt.
The Next Chapter
So, to make a long story short, I'm now the proud owner of what I've started thinking of as my “next chapter” vehicle.
And yes, my beloved Jeep is still sitting in the driveway.
The difference is that it doesn't have to be everything anymore.
It doesn't have to be the vehicle I depend on for every long road trip. It doesn't have to rack up miles just because it's the only vehicle capable of hauling my gear or getting me where I want to go.
After nearly a decade of doing everything I asked of it, the Jeep can focus a little more on the fun now.
And the Outback Wilderness can take care of the rest.
One of those thoughts involved my Jeep.
My Jeep turns 10 years old next year. I still love it, and there’s no reason to think it won’t keep going for years, but I started asking myself a question: Do I want to enter retirement depending on a vehicle that will already be well over a decade old? Or will I eventually find myself using part of my fixed retirement income to buy another reliable vehicle?
The answer I came up with was pretty simple. My Jeep may be perfectly fine, but maybe it was time to start thinking about an insurance policy.
For me, that meant buying something now, financing it for five years — hopefully paying it off even earlier — and eventually rolling into retirement with another reliable vehicle already sitting in the driveway.
So, What Do I Buy?
Like a lot of people, when I started thinking about reliability, Toyota immediately came to mind.
But which Toyota?
The RAV4 seemed like the obvious choice, probably the hybrid. It was practical, efficient and right in the price range I was considering.
There was only one problem: my wife nixed that idea immediately.
She owned a RAV4 once and wasn't a fan. Since it was really the only Toyota I was seriously considering based on price, size and performance, I was back to the drawing board.
For a little while, my thinking went in a completely different direction.
Maybe I should get a sports car.
I've owned numerous BMW 3 Series over the years, along with my all-time favorite, a BMW 135i convertible. The idea of having something fun like that again definitely had some appeal.
But the more I thought about what I actually wanted to do in the next chapter of my life, the more I found myself drifting back toward an SUV.
What I Actually Needed
What I really wanted was a vehicle that could fill in for my Jeep if the Jeep ever broke down.
Actually, I wanted it to do a few things better.
I wanted something more comfortable on long road trips, with plenty of room to haul gear. I wanted it to be safe, reasonably fuel efficient and, most importantly, reliable.
I also wanted something with fewer than 40,000 miles, and I wanted to stay under $35,000.
As I kept searching, one vehicle started showing up over and over again:
The Subaru Outback Wilderness.
If all I wanted was a comfortable, capable and practical second vehicle, the Wilderness already checked the boxes.
But then I started looking at everything else it could do.
There's enough room in the back for an overnight camping setup. I can add a hitch-mounted bike rack. I can carry a kayak on the roof. It has enough capability to get me down forest roads and to places where a normal car might not be ideal, without giving up the comfort and road manners I wanted for longer trips.
Suddenly, it wasn't just the practical choice. It actually fit the things I wanted to do.
Finding the Right One
At that point, I knew what I was looking for: a low-mileage 2024 Outback Wilderness.
Ideally, I wanted a Certified Pre-Owned one.
Then, almost as soon as I started seriously looking, my local Subaru dealer had exactly that sitting on the lot.
A 2024 Wilderness.
Less than 30,000 miles.
CPO.
After a little haggling, the price landed right where I wanted it.
If I had one hesitation, it was the blue color. It wasn't necessarily what I pictured when I started looking. But once I saw it in person, I was pleasantly surprised.
My wife loved the color!
That certainly didn't hurt.
The Next Chapter
So, to make a long story short, I'm now the proud owner of what I've started thinking of as my “next chapter” vehicle.
And yes, my beloved Jeep is still sitting in the driveway.
The difference is that it doesn't have to be everything anymore.
It doesn't have to be the vehicle I depend on for every long road trip. It doesn't have to rack up miles just because it's the only vehicle capable of hauling my gear or getting me where I want to go.
After nearly a decade of doing everything I asked of it, the Jeep can focus a little more on the fun now.
And the Outback Wilderness can take care of the rest.
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