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I have been grappling with a decision to get a new(er) car for a while, but would still prefer to buy the best thing I could with cash (less than my limit so I can have cash left over for repairs). I am 30 and have never paid more than $1K for a car. I have never owned newer than a 1999 and have only one non-Volvo. (a 1999 ford escort in 2008.) I've had a 91 Volvo 760, 86 Volvo 240 sedan, 90 Volvo 240 sedan, and my current car.
I have a 1993 Volvo 240 station wagon. The odometer stopped at 199K, but my guess is that it is probably between 300-325K. In the past three years, I have replaced the radiator, the alternator, the timing belt, the water pump, my transmission lines, had the intake manifold gasket and had two other oil leaks fixed.
The only real issues is every now and again, I will have the battery light come on very faint (but I replaced the alternator myself a few weeks ago) and I have never been able to get my air conditioning condensation line to go to the right place. It goes inside of the car when I make right/left hand turns. The air conditioner is also not very robust and is still pretty hot.
Air conditioning just seems like a stupid thing to get rid of a car over. I was close to buying an 04 Volvo xc70, but I had panic attacks about getting rid of a car I feel can last a while over something like AC considering it's not like I have children or anything yet.
Which led me to thinking, when do people know it's the right time to get a new-to-them car?
If you have a paid off vehicle, and it costs you nothing but gas and routine maintainence (tires, brakes, fluids, etc), then it's not time to get rid of that car.
But, if said car all the sudden starts needing little things here and there, or requires you to start setting aside a Sat AM here and there for repairs, or leaves you stranded when you need to get to work, then it's time to start thinking about a new car. You're time is worth something as well, and if you are spending a lot of time (or money) just trying to keep the car running, then that's something to consider.
My last car (infiniti G35x) had almost 180K when I got rid of it. It had been giving me little issues here and there and I had to sacrifice a few weekends where I'd rather been out playing golf, or doing something with the kids, to fix. The nail in the coffin is when the front driveshaft (AWD) failed on the highway, and damaged the differential on the way out. The cost of repairs (even DIY'ing) would probably exceed what the car was worth, and I felt it was the start of nagging things here and there as something else would soon break.
Since I need a reliable car, I bought a new(er) car. Now my Sat AM's are spent with the kids, and not in the garage.
I have been grappling with a decision to get a new(er) car for a while, but would still prefer to buy the best thing I could with cash (less than my limit so I can have cash left over for repairs). I am 30 and have never paid more than $1K for a car. I have never owned newer than a 1999 and have only one non-Volvo. (a 1999 ford escort in 2008.) I've had a 91 Volvo 760, 86 Volvo 240 sedan, 90 Volvo 240 sedan, and my current car.
I have a 1993 Volvo 240 station wagon. The odometer stopped at 199K, but my guess is that it is probably between 300-325K. In the past three years, I have replaced the radiator, the alternator, the timing belt, the water pump, my transmission lines, had the intake manifold gasket and had two other oil leaks fixed.
The only real issues is every now and again, I will have the battery light come on very faint (but I replaced the alternator myself a few weeks ago) and I have never been able to get my air conditioning condensation line to go to the right place. It goes inside of the car when I make right/left hand turns. The air conditioner is also not very robust and is still pretty hot.
Air conditioning just seems like a stupid thing to get rid of a car over. I was close to buying an 04 Volvo xc70, but I had panic attacks about getting rid of a car I feel can last a while over something like AC considering it's not like I have children or anything yet.
Which led me to thinking, when do people know it's the right time to get a new-to-them car?
I would *NOT* move up to a '04 XC70 unless your 240 dies. While it's not a bad car, it's not a 240. There are some advantages to the platform 2 cars, but the XC70 is a totally different animal than the old front engine/rear drive Volvos that you are used to. There is a LOT of stuff that can go wrong with it, and parts are far more expensive than most of the stuff for the old 240s.
If you didn't already know these things, the later 240s have an improved A/C system which is better than the earlier 240 systems. The condensation line should be easy to fix. For cooling, the condenser can get plugged with road garbage over the years, and flushing it out helps. Also, if the engine fan clutch is weak or the auxiliary fan on the condenser no longer works, the efficiency of the system will suffer a lot.
About how you should know it's time to get rid of a car, it's really up to you, but (IMO) if you have an old car like the 240, and don't mind driving it, you might as well hold on to it until something big fails, instead of risking another old car. You could end up dumping a lot of money into an unknown car.
I have been grappling with a decision to get a new(er) car for a while, but would still prefer to buy the best thing I could with cash (less than my limit so I can have cash left over for repairs). I am 30 and have never paid more than $1K for a car. I have never owned newer than a 1999 and have only one non-Volvo. (a 1999 ford escort in 2008.) I've had a 91 Volvo 760, 86 Volvo 240 sedan, 90 Volvo 240 sedan, and my current car.
I have a 1993 Volvo 240 station wagon. The odometer stopped at 199K, but my guess is that it is probably between 300-325K. In the past three years, I have replaced the radiator, the alternator, the timing belt, the water pump, my transmission lines, had the intake manifold gasket and had two other oil leaks fixed.
The only real issues is every now and again, I will have the battery light come on very faint (but I replaced the alternator myself a few weeks ago) and I have never been able to get my air conditioning condensation line to go to the right place. It goes inside of the car when I make right/left hand turns. The air conditioner is also not very robust and is still pretty hot.
Air conditioning just seems like a stupid thing to get rid of a car over. I was close to buying an 04 Volvo xc70, but I had panic attacks about getting rid of a car I feel can last a while over something like AC considering it's not like I have children or anything yet.
Which led me to thinking, when do people know it's the right time to get a new-to-them car?
There is no single hard and fast rule, but some indications might be:
1. You need repairs costing more than it would be worth afterward
2. Your annual repair costs are more then the annual depreciation on a newer car
3. You avoid using the car on trips or for other particular purposes due to risk of breaking down
4. It spends so much time in the shop that you may as well just walk or take the bus
ETA: Also if it simply doesn't fit your needs any more, due to changing family size, hobbies, etc.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I have a somewhat different approach, but it's not exactly cost effective. Sometimes I will just get tired of a car and decide to buy something more desirable. In the latest case, I got rid of an old beater that with 170k miles still had plenty of life in it, in favor of a Challenger. I just wanted something really fun to drive, with a lot of power and the retro look. I still have my 4x4 truck that I use for hauling and some off-road but will probably keep it until it falls apart, since it gets less use but when I need it I have it.
Currently issues:
- No heat in cabin (not issue now but will be in Winter)
- Small oil leak
- DSC lights on in cabin
- Control arms bent
One we have to fix is the no heat. Currently at shop. Up to $1000 in repairs now (no heat and fixing of gasket for oil leak issue). If the flush doesn't work then removing heater core is a big job and north of $1000 to fix.
Car has 94K so we have to decide what route to take if we have to replace heater core.
Just lease a new car and then you don't have to worry about when its time to trade in.
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