Repair and continue driving or buy replacement vehicle?

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 So the will reads: "Being of sound mind and body I spent all my money while I was alive."

That sounds so good it almost makes me want to run right out and buy a bunch of annuities with all my loot! Then I think about sharing my money with the insurance salesmen instead of my kids and favorite charities.... Na, I'll think I'll let it ride.

[aja8888]

On wiper controls, my 2005 Jetta TDI has rain sensing wipers. It's a function I can leave on and it works quite well. When it is just misting out, the wipers respond like a traditional delayed system and increase frequency as rain increases.

If I replace this vehicle someday, I will find one with that feature as being a top priority.

[bld999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 On wiper controls, my 2005 Jetta TDI has rain sensing wipers. It's a function I can leave on and it works quite well. When it is just misting out, the wipers respond like a traditional delayed system and increase frequency as rain increases. If I replace this vehicle someday, I will find one with that feature as being a top priority.

Amazing what can be had aftermarket these days:

Hydreon Corporation Rain Tracker RT-50A Rain Sensing Wiper System

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bld999 Amazing what can be had aftermarket these days: Hydreon Corporation Rain Tracker RT-50A Rain Sensing Wiper System

Very cool! I didn't have any idea that was an aftermarket option. But it is a great feature.

[Turboslacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulligan This is the problem I eventually will face except I am at 200k with essentially nothing done to it at this point. Almost anything major that goes wrong will be close to the value of the vehicle. I made a mistake 15 years ago with an Iroc Z28. It kept breaking down, and I kept thinking there is nothing else to fix on it. I was repeatedly proven wrong again and again!

So you are telling us you no longer drive a bitchin Camaro?

[Turboslacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayvt But that savings won't accrue to you. You'll just die with more money for your heirs. A few years ago we bought a BMW Z4 convertible for that very reason. I thought and thought about it, then one day realized that somebody was going to buy a sporty convertible with my money, and it'd be better for that somebody to be me instead of my kids. But now I'm debating if we should buy a new car or spend $1000 for new tires on our current one.

Excellent choice. Research tires at tire rack and put on the best perf tires you can. The car will feel better than new. Regret from selling will sink in soon afterwards if you still enjoy the today.

[trouthog]

"Keep it," it's just that simple

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts" Albert Einstein

[JOHNNIE36]

Just left the PenFed website checking on the transfer of funds from Ally to fund my "mmc's" (formally called CD's). Everything OK. Then I started checking other things on the site and found 0% interest on auto loans for three years. Longer terms and low interest rates available. How can they lend money at 0%? And, why not take advantage of this if you are thinking of financing a vehicle?

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOHNNIE36 How can they lend money at 0%? And, why not take advantage of this if you are thinking of financing a vehicle?

It is the same program offered by USAA and perhaps others. To qualify for the 0% rate you must purchase the vehicle through PenFed's buying service, where the seller obviously provides some sort of financial incentive to PenFed for bringing them customers.

[Karloff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nico08 I am trying to figure out if I should repair and continue driving my car or buy a replacement vehicle. I currently own a 2007 Honda Accod v6 with about 88,000 miles. I could sell the car for about 9,000 or trade it in for about 7,000. A new 2014 Honda Accord v6 would sell for about 28,500. At about 100,000 miles, within the next year, I will need a timing belt, water pump, drive belt service that will cost about 825.00. So what do you think, repair and continue driving or buy a new or slightly used vehicle. I take decent care of the car I have and have not had major problems with it. Thank you for the advice.

I went through a similar situation recently, but mine was an Acura TL (basically, a luxury Accord). The difference is that I bought mine used with 90K miles on it, almost 10 years ago, and it served me really well. 88K miles in a Honda is peanuts! That car will run to 150K miles easily, possibly 200K miles. I just sold my Acura and it had 152K miles. It also needed work (new tires, new timing belt/pump tensioner, new brakes, new paint job!), so the repairs would have totaled at least $2K, for a car that was by then 15 years old. But in your case, I would definitely keep the car and drive it at least another 2-3 years. It won't depreciate much further, I assume.

A word of advice regarding the timing belt. As you know, that service is recommended every 100K miles. Yes, it's expensive. I did mine at my trusted local mechanic and paid almost $800 a few years ago. But the car never ran the same way afterwards. Still fine, though, just not "the same". I would do that type of job at an authorized Honda dealer, even if it was an extra $200 or so. It's worth the piece of mind.

[aja8888]

I see various references to normal required maintenance on cars called "repairs" and folks who decide it is not in their best interest to spend the money on them. These cars are machines and require periodic maintenance like your body does. Repairs consist of faulty items that are not found in your schedule of maintenance found in your owner's manual. Wear items such as brakes, tires, timing belts, spark plugs, fluids, etc. are typically maintenance items.

Does anyone here actually read the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual and do the required items? Your vehicle will last a long time if you follow that schedule, but it is not a guarantee it won't need any unexpected repairs along the way.

[Chuckanut]

One reason to get a new car is this :

A completely sustainable electric vehicle - SFGate

Interesting technology combined with some marketing hype.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turboslacker Excellent choice. Research tires at tire rack and put on the best perf tires you can. The car will feel better than new. Regret from selling will sink in soon afterwards if you still enjoy the today.

+1 for tirerack.com. Great prices, great selection (far more than you'll find at a B&M store), useful reviews and information on each tire, and their 'wizard' guide thing for selecting the right tires for your car and your driving requirements is fantastic (and I usually hate these things). Fast, cheap shipping to your door or your mechanic (though I am only ~ 200 miles from one of their main warehouses, but they have several across the country).

Just find a local mechanic on their list so you don't get the cold shoulder for bringing in your tires and only paying for mounting.

-ERD50

[aja8888]

+2 on Tire Rack!

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 I see various references to normal required maintenance on cars called "repairs" and folks who decide it is not in their best interest to spend the money on them. These cars are machines and require periodic maintenance like your body does. Repairs consist of faulty items that are not found in your schedule of maintenance found in your owner's manual. Wear items such as brakes, tires, timing belts, spark plugs, fluids, etc. are typically maintenance items. Does anyone here actually read the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual and do the required items? Your vehicle will last a long time if you follow that schedule, but it is not a guarantee it won't need any unexpected repairs along the way.

Sure, but a new timing belt with all the other items is pretty pricey and feels like a repair to the wallet...


To others.... do not just think of miles when it comes to timing belts.... there is also a time component... 100K miles is also probably 100 months, or just over 8 years... my car is over 10 years old and has only 57K miles on it.... I changed the timing belt about year 9....

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud To others.... do not just think of miles when it comes to timing belts.... there is also a time component...

An interesting comment and it makes a point about the differences betweeen consumer automobiles and things like aircraft, trucks, ships, etc. My understanding is that the later are usually maintained on a time basis. Change the oil after 400 hours of operation. Replace the frammit every 700 hours. Never let the gridget go past 140 hours without lubrication.

I have always thought that time makes more sense since it more realistically reflects what is going on. I can drive two cars 15,000 miles a year - one on highways at speeds near a constant 60 mph, and the other in stop and go city traffic. Obviously, the first car operates for a far shorter time than the second and experiences much less wear and tear overall.

Of course, modern automobiles require very little maintenance compared to the ones of 20+ years ago so this is possibly is academic.

Maybe the engineers in the group can comment on this.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turboslacker So you are telling us you no longer drive a bitchin Camaro?

When the wallet got weak, and the skin started to sag, it was time to move on to old peoples vehicles....

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut ... I have always thought that time makes more sense since it more realistically reflects what is going on. I can drive two cars 15,000 miles a year - one on highways at speeds near a constant 60 mph, and the other in stop and go city traffic. Obviously, the first car operates for a far shorter time than the second and experiences much less wear and tear overall. Of course, modern automobiles require very little maintenance compared to the ones of 20+ years ago so this is possibly is academic. Maybe the engineers in the group can comment on this.

Not an auto engineer, but.... the oil life monitors in most newer cars are even more advanced than this. Time, temperature, starts, running conditions all factor in.

And to a degree, time is addressed in other ways. Most car maintenance is x miles or Y months, with a 'normal' and 'severe' driving schedules.

But I agree, a running hour meter would be a good thing, and actually probably is in most cars, even if not displayed. Those computers track everything.


-ERD50

[easysurfer]

I've always done maintenance like oil changes according to miles instead of time.

The reason: IMO, It is too easy to got confused like did I change the oil a month ago? two months ago? four months ago?

[JOHNNIE36]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo It is the same program offered by USAA and perhaps others. To qualify for the 0% rate you must purchase the vehicle through PenFed's buying service, where the seller obviously provides some sort of financial incentive to PenFed for bringing them customers.

Gotcha! Gotta make money somehow.