Advice/Talk Sense Into Me Re: '98 Civic

[movingtrustates]

i would say not to invest any more money into that car.
just keep driving it and keep saving money
but if you want good clean looking car just get something else.

[Ron61]

Originally Posted by njquestions

Briefly, I own a '98 Civic. It's the first and only car I've ever owned. I have enough money to get a newer car, but I'm sentimentally attached to it and it runs well despite having 125K miles on it. Over the years, though, people have dinged it a few times and I just left it at my elderly mother's place for a month and she hit it (, thanks, Mom), leaving a substantial scratch down to metal.


So, what to do?


First of all, before anyone says it, the car is essentially worthless and I am aware of that. If the only advice is "it's worthless," save the typing. Please take into consideration the sentimental value, like if you ever had a car that you loved, even if it was some crappy Gremlin.


Options:


1) Buy new car, trade in Civic.
2) Buy new car, donate Civic.
3) Pay money to have all dings taken out and paint redone, keep Civic and drive into ground.


Since I've never had to do any body/paint work on my car, I have no idea what costs would be, so any "guesstimates" to help me make a decision would be appreciated. However, I'd have to do a bunch of panels. I have dings on my driver-side and left passenger doors and scratches on the front fender/bumper and basically all door panels (I guess the new one also includes the actual car body). If I got the paint done, I'd want it matched back to the original. I'm OK if it would run me like $2K, potentially, but not more. (I'm not that sentimental.)

If the drive train has been taken care of properly,meaning all prescribed service has been done,I would put a couple grand into it and drive it another 125k miles. No brainer. The engine in your Civic is a winner.

[Nlambert]

Originally Posted by njquestions

I think I sort of wanted to see if anyone could relate, like if anyone had done anything equally silly.


This is the only car I've ever owned and so it's really been the only car I've ever driven. Obviously there have been major improvements in cars in 18 years and even in '98 a Civic was hardly a high end ride. Recently, I've had to travel and used loaner cars that, while not being high end either (a Chrysler 200 was the latest), are way better than my Civic. But then I always get home and get into my Civic and am like "ahhhh."


I have the money to get a new car without a problem and if I did, I wouldn't be getting any luxury car (I think I mentioned that I'd get a new Honda Accord, but fully equipped). But even if I got a new car, I think I'd want to keep the Civic around. That's really why I'd get it repainted and the dings out, mainly. Not entirely sure which way I want to go with it yet. If there's a body shop open on Friday, I'll get an estimate.

Here's where people get hung up on the new car thing...... it's very easy to become starstruck by a new car that appears to be in better shape, has more creature comforts, etc... than what you currently drive. However, there is no guarantee that what you are driving will be as dependable or reliable as what you already have. There are a lot of unknowns that come into play. Since you are intimately familiar with the Civic you already own, you are ahead of the game already. Since the Civic is paid off, you are another step ahead. In six months, manufacturers will release their new lines which will be "better" than the last. So it's difficult to compare anything to your current car as manufacturers are always looking to one up the previous year models. They bank on people buying on emotion and having to get the next best thing to keep them in business. Don't buy on emotion... buy on necessity.


Cars depreciate the second they come off the lot. So as a financial decision (which is what this should be) evaluate the cost to keep that car and do a few repairs, and the cost to replace it. Figure out which one is more feasible given your current financial situation and take that path. Don't make an emotional decision that may haunt you down the road.

Originally Posted by Ron61

If the drive train has been taken care of properly,meaning all prescribed service has been done,I would put a couple grand into it and drive it another 125k miles. No brainer. The engine in your Civic is a winner.

This is true and I second this opinion.