"Certified Pre-owned". What does that mean? I'm guessing very little.
"I 'only' owe 12k on it". I can't imagine owing $12,000 on a 8 year old car. (Or any car, for that matter. SAVE money!)
My wife and I bought an '07 Accord in '09. 17,000 miles. We paid $12,225. It now has 105,000 miles and I'd drive it anywhere. Other than a couple glitches in the power windows (fixed myself with a factory service manual), nothing but regular maintenance. We've been saving $220 per month since then if it gives us any serious trouble. (We paid cash for it because we were saving to buy a car back then, too.
I'm not beating you up. I'm trying to show you that there are ways to avoid your situation. Oh, btw, I love my old cars. But I wouldn't if I had to depend on them every day. An old vehicle may appear to be your answer. But I really hope you don't believe that.
