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I just bought a 93 Nissan pickup. It has 169,000 miles on it. I buy old vehicles that are known to last 300,000 miles or more, with minimal maintenance. I don't care if they're ugly. If they're ugly, they're cheaper. I need cheap. Cheap and reliable, and that will last 5 - 6 years, or more before the body starts to fall apart around the engine. I got lucky with this one, as it's actually not too ugly, either, with just a little faded paint on the hood, and the tailgate was missing, but I was going to remove it eventually to put a camper on the truck anyway, so I didn't care. It's also dirty, but that's easily remedied.
Are you selling or keeping your car?
I had a 91 Nissan Pickup... probably should have kept it... bought it right, extended cab with 4wd... a co-worker bought it new and it needed a head gasket and decided to buy a new car instead of fixing it.
Pulled the head and had a valve job while I was at it... still see the truck around... sold it 7 years ago.
I had a new Jeep, but... after listening to Dave Ramsey I thought it would be a good idea to get rid of my new car and drive a "beater" to cut down on debt. So I did.. I got my dealer to buy my Jeep back for what I owed. 11K dollars. So with that off my plate I took out a 4K loan with my credit union to buy me a cash car.
So I found a 2003 Explorer with 168K miles on it for $2100. I took a risk... only to be lied too by the people who sold it to me. here in Texas you have to get an inspection when registering it... So it passed inspection but the mechanic told me it needed a new timing chain. which it does. because there is a clicking noise underneath the hood.
I didn't hear it when I bought it... but when I drove down the road the clicking noise got worse. so now... I have a guy doing it for me for $1250. Im $3,350 into this nightmare.
I didn't wanna risk buying another cash car with the rest of the money out of the 4K. so I just decided to fix it. anyone have a similar story? this just sucks.
I'm confused? How is this a CASH CAR if you have a LOAN on it? It's not cash buying just because cash exchanged hands. No matter how it's spun you have an old clunker with a $2,100 loan payment due on it.
Agreed - it wasn't a CASH car, it's a car that has payments being made on it. A CASH car is one you purchase with YOUR cash (that you saved up for, won in a lottery, etc.) - NOT one that has payments made on it.
The world is so negative. "You did this wrong" " You made this mistake" blah blah blah you negative Debbie downers... but thank you to those who had positive things to say.
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You called the seller a liar. The world isn't negative. The world is negative on people not taking personal responsibility and doing their due diligence.
What about making your best deal new and then keeping it for 10 or 15 years?
Mom is doing this... bought a 2001 Corolla new... it was actually special ordered for her and we saw it being made.
Anyway... in 14 years of ownership... there have been no repairs... only maintenance such as tires, brake pads/shoes and fluid changes... correction... I was with her when a headlight went out... saw an autoparts store and had her pull in... bought the bulb for $5 and installed it right outside the store.
The OEM battery lasted 12 years... which surprised me.
I think that this is a perfectly fine approach if the person buying the car doesn't need to drive 15-20k miles per year. I know some people like to fantasize that certain vehicle makes will last forever, but the reality is that most cars will need a major, unplanned repair ($1,000 or more) at some point prior to 150k miles. The odds of this only increase as a vehicle ages. Of course, the common denominator is that the car was new and that your mother didn't buy some other person's neglect. She bought a new car and took care of it. If you decide to buy and keep a car, that's the way to do it. For my current life situation, it makes more sense for me to turn them over.
Yes, the maximum life of a car battery is usually 6-7 years. After 4 years, you should really keep an eye on it. My guess is that your mother doesn't drive too much (less than 10k per year) and that, when she does, she usually drives enough time/distance to fully charge the battery. The major killers of a battery are heat, vibration and driving habits which contribute to sulfation of the battery.
Yeah, but can even an expert detect a head gasket leak? My car had one, but did not smoke and did not leave an oil pool. The oil just mysteriously disappeared. And how would the expert fix it?
Without question. Oil does not mysteriously disappear. A head gasket will either leak internally or externally. The more difficult leaks to spot are internal. However, a cylinder compression test will reveal it.
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I also question whether your expert would have discovered a brittle seal in the transmission joint. I mean come on, most people aren't professional repairmen with hydraulic lifts and diagnostic computers.
If you mean a CV joint, again, they're relatively simple to spot. However, it's not an extremely costly repair either way.
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Not to be persnickety here, but regarding the notion of buying a new car every 4 years, why not every 8 years or 10 years? Most modern vehicles will run reliably for a lot longer than 4 years unless you're putting 40K a year on it. I don't see the economic sense in trading it so often.
Why not 8 years? It all depends on your personal situation. 4-5 years works for me. On a cost average basis, it costs me about $250/month to own my new vehicles (typically Chevy trucks). On my last truck (a 2011 model), I sold it before it needed any maintenance other than oil changes. I paid an $11,000 difference for the new one over 54 months (about 62k miles). It is much smarter for me personally to not be hindered by questionable vehicles at this point as my career can't tolerate it. Once my career winds down in 20 years or so, I will probably keep them longer.
With that said, my approach is not all that different from a company that uses fleet vehicles. You get the best, guaranteed years out of the vehicle and sell it off while it still has solid market value.
I think that this is a perfectly fine approach if the person buying the car doesn't need to drive 15-20k miles per year. I know some people like to fantasize that certain vehicle makes will last forever, but the reality is that most cars will need a major, unplanned repair ($1,000 or more) at some point prior to 150k miles. The odds of this only increase as a vehicle ages. Of course, the common denominator is that the car was new and that your mother didn't buy some other person's neglect. She bought a new car and took care of it. If you decide to buy and keep a car, that's the way to do it. For my current life situation, it makes more sense for me to turn them over.
Yes, the maximum life of a car battery is usually 6-7 years. After 4 years, you should really keep an eye on it. My guess is that your mother doesn't drive too much (less than 10k per year) and that, when she does, she usually drives enough time/distance to fully charge the battery. The major killers of a battery are heat, vibration and driving habits which contribute to sulfation of the battery.
Plus her part of California has very mild weather... no snow/ice and few temp extremes or humidity... the old saw about a California car.
Bought my first car just as I turned 13... still have it... guess I will always have it.
Then again... I don't have long commutes... the only long hauls are between SF and Seattle.
And there's the obvious flaw that people whose cars can't pass inspection just won't pay the registration fees as well, so the state ends up losing money.
Or if you're here in El Paso, people just register their car in Juarez. I doubt they even bother to get insurance on their cars. Some of them are the worst cars with cracked windshields, awful smelling exhaust, etc. What are the police going to do here? Ticket someone with a Juarez plate/driver license?
I had a new Jeep, but... after listening to Dave Ramsey I thought it would be a good idea to get rid of my new car and drive a "beater" to cut down on debt. So I did.. I got my dealer to buy my Jeep back for what I owed. 11K dollars. So with that off my plate I took out a 4K loan with my credit union to buy me a cash car.
So I found a 2003 Explorer with 168K miles on it for $2100. I took a risk... only to be lied too by the people who sold it to me. here in Texas you have to get an inspection when registering it... So it passed inspection but the mechanic told me it needed a new timing chain. which it does. because there is a clicking noise underneath the hood.
I didn't hear it when I bought it... but when I drove down the road the clicking noise got worse. so now... I have a guy doing it for me for $1250. Im $3,350 into this nightmare.
I didn't wanna risk buying another cash car with the rest of the money out of the 4K. so I just decided to fix it. anyone have a similar story? this just sucks.
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Originally Posted by CMan59
cutting my debt from 11K to 4K is a good idea. I don't care what anyone says. now I have a vehicle with high miles but am fixing it.
David is very correct about avoiding new cars and car loans in an effort to divert funds to achieve your long term goals. However, spending $2,100 on a piece of junk with 168,000 miles on it will not advance your goals.
What you should have done is saved up $10,000 or so and paid cash for something with 80K miles on it, preferably something very reliable like a Toyota.
You reduced your debt, which is good, but the savings will be eaten up by a car this old. Plus it's a Ford - which is junk in any case since they are known to be unreliable.
So the repairs will be constant, you are always at risk of being up chit's creek begging AAA to tow you somewhere, and you can't take a long trip anywhere because the clunker will always be an imminent threat to clunk.
I think you have invited unnecessary stress into your life by making this mistake. The idea is good, your execution was awful. You should be paying cash for an 80,000 mile used car, not financing an old, junky cheap piece of trash.
Start saving and correct this mistake within the next year or so.
I had a 91 Nissan Pickup... probably should have kept it... bought it right, extended cab with 4wd... a co-worker bought it new and it needed a head gasket and decided to buy a new car instead of fixing it.
Pulled the head and had a valve job while I was at it... still see the truck around... sold it 7 years ago.
Pickups hold their value...
The Corolla I have now, hopefully, will be purchased from me by the State of CA, through their retirement program for old cars. I've sent in my application. If they don't approve it, then I'll just keep the Corolla. It's already paid for and the additional insurance for liability-only for the Corolla and the Nissan is only about $42/month.
If I try to sell my old beater Corolla, honestly, I'd be lucky to get $500. It starts up every time, is completely reliable, but the body is falling apart. Some windows aren't reliable so I keep them up, door handles are broken, trunk doesn't latch anymore, power panel in the driver door is falling into the door, LOL, stuff like that. It's ugly as sin, but starts up every time and runs like a champ. Even still, I'd be lucky to get $500 for it from a private buyer.
You're so right about pickups retaining their value. I have been amazed at how expensive really old pickups are. Hopefully, this old Nissan pickup will be as reliable as my old Toyotas. My plan for the Nissan is to put a small camper on it, and do a little traveling.
But, I understand people who have no tolerance for the hassle involved in buying used vehicles. My daughter comes to mind. She is a young professional, who needs to know that she can go out and start up her vehicle and get to work on time, every time. Since I'm retired, I can afford to gamble a bit more on an older car.
Some people have the tolerance for the unknown and are willing to take the risk for the long-term price savings, others are not, like the OP. I get that. Everyone has to decide what risks they can afford, whether that's money or even just in time off work, or possibly being late for work, etc.
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Originally Posted by Ultrarunner
Plus her part of California has very mild weather... no snow/ice and few temp extremes or humidity... the old saw about a California car.
Bought my first car just as I turned 13... still have it... guess I will always have it.
Then again... I don't have long commutes... the only long hauls are between SF and Seattle.
This is a good point. Rust. It's an entirely different story on the west coast (outside of areas with snow), as far as vehicles living so much longer because they don't have to deal with rust, caused by salting roads in snowy climates.
The 93 Nissan truck I just bought has absolutely no rust at all. But, this is definitely something you'd want to check out, if you think the vehicle might have been driven in snowy climates, and exposed to road salt, which might cause major problems regarding rust, etc.
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