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Reassure me, fellow frugality fanatics: I just spend nearly $800 on automotive repairs for a ten-year-old subcompact car which I plan to sell or trade in within the next year, the rationale being that I'll need safety on the long-distance drives I'll continue to do in the meantime. Now I'm worried that it wasn't "well spent." Mostly maintenance issues that I had long deferred; none urgent, but some hard to say re: failure risk. It seems most cars get to the point where they're nickel-and-diming you to death, and that's a hard call!
What mileage does it have on it? Sure, cars all get to the point of not being worth the repairs, but it can be a very long time. If this car had 250,000 miles on it maybe not worth it to do everything non-essential (what was it BTW?), but if it had 100,000 on it might be driven for a lot longer. If not by you, by the person who decides to buy it because you can show that it has been maintained.
As already said, depends on what service you did too. If it was just body work, that's one thing. If it was new tires, replace broken operational stuff, belts, transmission, etc. quite another matter. Routine regular maintenance or wear part replacement will make the difference between a car that doesn't even run, isn't safe to drive, or can't be licensed, and one that can. $800 in deferred maintenance? Sounds cheap. Could have been a lot worse.
We just had a long discussion about this in the automotive section. The one explanation I liked the most was that to keep a good older car going, if you expect it to cost you 2 - 3 new car payments a year, that's pretty good, and still way cheaper than actually owning a new car.
I bought a 93 Nissan pickup 3 years ago for $2,000, and put about $3,000 into it including new tires, stereo, lots of new parts and labor. Ran great for 3 years, and I just put in another $2400 into a rebuilt transmission and rear main seal. I expect it to last me for many more years.
So, about $7400 into a used truck, including the purchase price and taxes and licensing, etc., that I also was able to use to move myself 500 miles for free - well, it did cost me around $125 to tow a small U-Haul trailer. And it's cheap to register and insure.
And now I have an old truck with lots of new parts in it. Makes way more sense for me to keep it and fix it, especially after replacing so many parts, than to buy another used vehicle (which is all I could afford) with a whole new set of mystery problems.
If your vehicle is otherwise dependable, I think it's more frugal to keep it and repair it.
Another reason it made sense for me to buy a $2,000 vehicle and keep fixing it, is because I didn't have $7500 to buy one that already had all of those things fixed. I could fix it up over time. That works better for me, financially.
If I am soon dumping a vehicle, I put a little into it as possible......just enough to keep it safe on the road.
But that's the tricky part; knowing what really needs to be done and what doesn't. Also, I would be reselling rather than "dumping" for nothing. Not keeping till it dies because I'll require an entirely different type of vehicle in the next phase of my life.
............ Mostly maintenance issues that I had long deferred; none urgent, but some hard to say re: failure risk. ...........
It's bad thrift to defer maintenance items on a car. A small part that could have been properly maintained for very little money, can fail and take the next part in line with it, costing thousands. Routine maintenance on a car can extend the life of the car for hundreds of thousands of miles. You don't save money by refusing to change the fuel or oil filters when they are scheduled.
$800 in repairs is about 2-3 month of new car payments.
It seems it is too l ate for you, OP, but a well maintained car is easier to sell used and it brings more money when it is sold.
But your car is not an investment. Those repair costs are transportation costs, not money you get back later.
It's bad thrift to defer maintenance items on a car. A small part that could have been properly maintained for very little money, can fail and take the next part in line with it, costing thousands. Routine maintenance on a car can extend the life of the car for hundreds of thousands of miles. You don't save money by refusing to change the fuel or oil filters when they are scheduled.
$800 in repairs is about 2-3 month of new car payments.
It seems it is too l ate for you, OP, but a well maintained car is easier to sell used and it brings more money when it is sold.
But your car is not an investment. Those repair costs are transportation costs, not money you get back later.
To clarify, I DO perform routine oil changes, etc.; I DON'T necessarily bring in a car with which I'm having no problems simply because my owner's manual says it's time to change out a (again, well-functioning) part. At least not when it's ten years old and I'm selling it within a year. However, I was hearing various odd noises, so figured I'd better get a check-up for safety's sake on the interstate. If I drove only locally, I might have let it go a while longer. And I never make car payments; it's always a cash purchase.
What justified it, in your mind? Because surely we won't recoup that investment when we finally sell...
Had you gotten rid of the car, how much depreciation would you have taken in the time period between now and when you plan to get rid of the current old car.
Had you broken down, what would that have cost you in time not working, in repairs, in towing, in hotel stays if you're travelling, and being held over the barrel for a non running car by a mechanic out of town.
Could $800 (or $800+ the value of the current car) gotten you a better/more reliable car?
And, though you say you won't recoup the investment, non running cars are worth their weight in scrap. Running cars are almost always worth at least $1000 if not $2K. No one will want to take your word that "its just the (battery, electrical system, fuel pump) and it will be good to go." No, they assume a new motor and transmission are needed.
Had you gotten rid of the car, how much depreciation would you have taken in the time period between now and when you plan to get rid of the current old car.
Had you broken down, what would that have cost you in time not working, in repairs, in towing, in hotel stays if you're travelling, and being held over the barrel for a non running car by a mechanic out of town.
Could $800 (or $800+ the value of the current car) gotten you a better/more reliable car?
And, though you say you won't recoup the investment, non running cars are worth their weight in scrap. Running cars are almost always worth at least $1000 if not $2K. No one will want to take your word that "its just the (battery, electrical system, fuel pump) and it will be good to go." No, they assume a new motor and transmission are needed.
But that's the tricky part; knowing what really needs to be done and what doesn't. Also, I would be reselling rather than "dumping" for nothing. Not keeping till it dies because I'll require an entirely different type of vehicle in the next phase of my life.
Yeah, I am just a fix-it-as-needed type guy. But if I ever get a nice vehicle, I will probably keep on top of things a little better.
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