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Hi, what do you guys think? if you don't repair cars yourself, but have a reliable and honest mechanic you can trust, when would you consider getting a new vehicle? Are there rules of thumb? Our Grand Caravan 07 has 98k miles and just had struts and brakes replaced plus some more minor issues to the tune of 2.2k. I estimate it's worse less than 5k. How long should I keep it up? Thanks!
Hi, what do you guys think? if you don't repair cars yourself, but have a reliable and honest mechanic you can trust, when would you consider getting a new vehicle? Are there rules of thumb? Our Grand Caravan 07 has 98k miles and just had struts and brakes replaced plus some more minor issues to the tune of 2.2k. I estimate it's worse less than 5k. How long should I keep it up? Thanks!
When your monthly repair bills start to equal the cost of a monthly car payment, I'd say it's time to get another car. Otherwise, every month you don't have a car repair bill, you're ahead of the game.
Just made that decision this past weekend. Decided that the cost of repair is more than what the car is value at/worth. That's when I knew, it was time to let it go.
When your monthly repair bills start to equal the cost of a monthly car payment, I'd say it's time to get another car. Otherwise, every month you don't have a car repair bill, you're ahead of the game.
Fortunately, there are no payments. The last repair bill was 15 months ago so 2,200 divided by 15 is a monthly payment of about 150. Definitively less than a regular car payment.
The time to get a new car was before spending $2.2k.
There you go. Truer words were never spoken.
I'd run it another 15 months in an attempt (probably forlorn) to recoup some of that $2.2K. And while you're at it, squirrel some cash away for a larger down payment.
I disagree with the theory that you should replace the car when the cost of a repair exceeds the market value of the car. The real question is whether the repair is cheaper than the alternative: buying a new (or used) car.
The top two factors for me are whether you can trust the car to get you where you need to go and how much time the next repair is going to buy you. If your mechanic is telling you "I can do this, but you still can't count on this thing for very long" it's time to replace.
I drove my Grand Voyager until it was ten years old with 150,000 on it, so if you keep taking care of yours you should have plenty of time to drive it.
I believe it's time to considering replacing your vehicle when the average cost of monthly repairs exceeds what a car payment PLUS auto insurance difference would be. Newer vehicles are" usually" more expensive to insure. If your on a budget, you need to factor that in.
Also, there's a smaller deciding factor for some individuals. What if they just don't make the same" type" of vehicle your trying to purchase to replace the older model? Now it doesn't apply to minivans so much but others who read this thread may want to consider that. For example, our truck, an excursion...it simply cannot be replaced With a newer model unless willing to pay the $70,000 for the conversion of a newer f250. Therefore, we have a strict maintence schedule and repairs are done as needed.
Personally I wouldn't keep a minivan if the repairs became that high. Resale value is dismal.Best of luck in your decision.
With an older car, the utility value often exceeds the book value, sometimes by a good margin. In other words, your car might only be worth $2000 to a potential buyer to to age and cosmetic wear and tear, but you might have to spend $5000 or more to ensure that the car you are replacing it with is as good as what you've got mechanically.
So it very seldom makes financial sense to replace your car rather than repairing it. That doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with buying a nicer newer car because you want one. It's just difficult to really justify financially.
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