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I keep saying I am going to drive my car into the ground before I replace it. But I am starting to wonder about that. It's a 13-year-old car with just under 150k miles on it (but that's city driving too, not much highway). My wondering is brought about by yet another recent repair. This 13 year old car is my first car I ever bought new. Before it, I had a used one I bought in college. A cracked engine block eventually make replacing it a no brainer. This one is more difficult to judge.
I just did a calculation and my car has cost me, on average, $220 a month in repairs and maintenance over the past year. The year before it was $50 a month.
I had some big things done in the past 12 months (four new tires, new struts, break repair) so that's part of the reason. But I just brought my car in for repairs this past week (I noticed the lights were dimming when the car was sitting in traffic and it ended up just needing a new battery... but that still ended up costing $250 total between the cranking and charging analysis and the new battery). They told me that the valve cover gasket is still okay, but starting to deteriorate and that I may want to replace it soon. That's going to be another $300. I also know that the rear brakes will need to be done at some point and I really can't see well out of the windshield anymore with the morning and afternoon sun (it's very pitted). That is another $200 repair. I also worry about things like the alternator and fuel pump which are original (and which could result in a break down). I could list a lot more repairs that might need to be done. The car has pretty much been major repair free all 13 years (until recently).
It's also a bit of a drag with the car in the shop every couple of months. Since I know the repairs are coming, I schedule on my time off, but still. A drag.
So I am wondering if it really makes sense to literally drive it until it dies or if with this seemingly slow death if I should consider buying that new car I've been thinking about for well over a year. I finally narrowed down what car I want (choice of 2 really). They are both similar cars and both around the same price new ($25k). The Mazda I am looking at is still $23k used (for 2-3 years old) so there isn't much point in getting it used. The Chevy isn't available used yet.
I have money saved for a car, but not $25k yet. A loan would end up costing me $319 per month for a 5 year loan with my credit union (and I would plan to pay it off early since I am setting aside $500 a month for a car, so I would just dump that... and the $220 a month I am spending on repairs of my old car, on the new one). Of course, taxes and insurance would go up too ($500 more a year in personal property tax, $200 for insurance). So that would be $377 per month (vs $261 per month when you include taxes, insurance plus that $220 per month repairs on the old car).
I am thinking about buying a new car in either July (with the summer sales) or November (around black Friday), unless some of these other repairs come due sooner.
This is something I used to like to run by my dad when he was alive. Maybe I will run it by my uncle, his brother. I'd run it by my boyfriend, but to be honest, he can't relate to my financial reality (he keeps telling me to get a BMW because that's what he gets/can afford, lol). I earn a lot less than him and tend to be thriftier because of it.
It costs more to repair the vehicle than it is worth.
The unreliability of the vehicle has caused me to miss work or to force me to make arrangements for alternative transportation, said occurrences happening more than twice in a month.
The vehicle is functional, but is coming up on its end-of-life, usually around 150K or 200K miles, and can be reasonably expected to be a problem in the not too distant future.
What kind of car is it? Tires, Brakes, Struts, etc are all items that wear out and need replacement eventually. So they aren't likely to be an issue again in this cars lifetime.
Valve cover gasket I wouldn't touch until it actually leaks.
In my opinion, I'd say keep saving until you can pay cash for what you want, and barring any major mechanical issues (Think trips to the shop that cost more than half of what the car is worth) then just keep driving it.
I'm at 150k miles on my Accord and plan to drive it until the clutch burns up, I've pretty much got the cash saved to get what I want new, so it's gravy the longer I can drive this car. It too, just went through a fairly expensive period of regular wear items that needed replacing, but drives great now.
It costs more to repair the vehicle than it is worth.
The unreliability of the vehicle has caused me to miss work or to force me to make arrangements for alternative transportation, said occurrences happening more than twice in a month.
The vehicle is functional, but is coming up on its end-of-life, usually around 150K or 200K miles, and can be reasonably expected to be a problem in the not too distant future.
Thank you for posting this. I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla that I bought in 2012. It has 95K miles on it. I don't want to buy another car for a while, and I was hoping this one would last and had sort of the same question as the OP. This is a good list for the future. Right now, I have no problems, and I take it in regularly for maintenance.
Thank you for posting this. I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla that I bought in 2012. It has 95K miles on it. I don't want to buy another car for a while, and I was hoping this one would last and had sort of the same question as the OP. This is a good list for the future. Right now, I have no problems, and I take it in regularly for maintenance.
Corolla's are great cars. If you keep up with the maintenence there is no reason that car shouldn't go 250k+ miles.
I usually kick the car to the curb when the repairs start to cost more than the payment I'd have if I just went out and bought a new(er) car. Time is also a factor, as I DIY my own repairs and have very little free time. If I'm spending my weekends wrenching on a car, it's time for a new car.
My last car went to 178K miles. I had been saving money to put aside for a new car for some time, but kept riding that car out. It was a bit of a gas guzzler though, and required premium fuel, and I drove a lot, so I was spending $400 in fuel.
Then it broke, badly. I kicked it to the curb, went out and bought a 2-year old car, put a good chunk down (that I had been saving) and ended up with a $200/month car payment with low interest. The kicker was that is was MUCH better on fuel economy, an took regular gas. My gas bill went down to $200/month, so basically my operating expenses remained the same (as did insurance). I overpay my payment, hope to have it paid off soon, and then will continue to pay that payment to mysef to save for the next one.
The downside of driving a car into the ground, was the car had ZERO value at the end. Dealer wouldn't even give me $500 for it, and I had to sell it for parts for cheap. Had it been a running driving car, I probably could have gotten $1-2K in trade in for it. The next time...I won't wait so long before I get rid of the car.
My opinion is that the old car for around town starts costing more for repairs than a new car payment would be it is time to get rid of it. If you don't drive a lot, a leased car may be the way to go. We are retired and drive a lot.
Our only car just flipped over the 52,000 mile mark so we will soon be looking for a new car and our old car will be our in county car. We will drive the new car when we go out of the county and on trips. We are averaging more than 10,000 miles per year and part of that time we had a second car that we used in county. Our normal driving to daily places probably take 250 miles a week.
What kind of car is it? Tires, Brakes, Struts, etc are all items that wear out and need replacement eventually. So they aren't likely to be an issue again in this cars lifetime.
Valve cover gasket I wouldn't touch until it actually leaks.
In my opinion, I'd say keep saving until you can pay cash for what you want, and barring any major mechanical issues (Think trips to the shop that cost more than half of what the car is worth) then just keep driving it.
I'm at 150k miles on my Accord and plan to drive it until the clutch burns up, I've pretty much got the cash saved to get what I want new, so it's gravy the longer I can drive this car. It too, just went through a fairly expensive period of regular wear items that needed replacing, but drives great now.
I agree with this.
It's easy to find a lot of reasons to buy a new car. If you want to justify buying a new car, you will "find" reasons. You've put a lot of maintenance into the car recently, so turning around to sell it so soon would be throwing that money down the drain. There's no reason to think you will continue to spend over $200 a month the next year. My only justification for buying a new car is if I have enough in my checking account, enough in emergency savings, I've maxed my Roth IRA for the year, and I have enough left over to pay cash for a car. If I haven't met these, then I don't buy.
A quality car should make it to 200k miles easy. I had an '82 Corolla at 240k before I sold it and a little '91 Mazda B2200 that I bought with 140k and drove to 210k before I sold it. Both vehicles continued to run great. I was just ready to get a newer car because I had the cash.
My advice would be to hold on another 2-3 years and see if you can save up to pay cash completely. Make good use of all the maintenance you've just put into the car and if you don't have the money, don't buy it.
You don't need a new car, you need a new mechanic.
"$250 total between the cranking and charging analysis and the new battery"
A national chain auto parts store would have done the test for free and your battery would have been maybe $100.
"They told me that the valve cover gasket is still okay, but starting to deteriorate and that I may want to replace it soon. That's going to be another $300. "
BULL****!! A valve cover gasket is under no significant pressure or vacuum. Unless there is a big dark stain trailing down the side of the engine, these are not a "repair" item... UNLESS the cover was removed by a clueless mechanic doing another task and not replaced for the $5 it costs, built into the standard pricing.
Ask around at work and with friends to find a mechanic who is smart with older cars and priced reasonably. There are many shade-tree mechanics and small shops out there if you ask.
My 22 year old van has 250,000 miles on it. By now I know its idiosyncrasies, what is likely to need repair, and as a side benefit, I know instinctively by now exactly how wide it is and how it will respond in unusual situations. I have escaped unscathed from situations where that knowledge saved me from injury.
There are reasons to get replacement vehicles - frame damage, rust rot, repeated expensive repair (I had one car the threw engine rods every few thousand miles), safety issues, cosmetic issues. What you are describing is being fleeced by mechanics. That won't stop if you get another vehicle, it will only get worse. Change mechanics, educate yourself, and learn how to keep from being an easy mark - even if it means hiring an outside mechanic to come into a shop with you and listen to the BS you get fed, then have him rip them a new ...hole.
Tex, I hear you about the '82 Corolla that went 240k and the '91 Mazda that went 210K before you sold them.
The things to take into account regarding vehicle longevity are the reputation of the vehicle and the local environment (road salt literally killed Japanese cars from the 1980's). And from the OP's description, her vehicle isn't the same quality as the vehicles in your experience.
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