Car repair philosophy. Anyone think like this?

[Jerry1]

My everyday car is a 2003 Subaru with 158,000 miles. I want one of those new $35,000 Subaru's.

But here is the key: If I spend $500 a year on non-essential things to keep the old car pretty and fun to drive, it will save me $35,000 which may be about $400 or more per month.

Since you don't drive that many miles, you're in the situation where you want a new car (you're coming up on 15 years) but you're not using the old one enough to wear it out by then. 158K miles isn't that much on a vehicle where, maintaining it like you are could easily get another 100K miles. Personally, I'd be at the point where I'd be thinking seriously about the new car. Not because it makes sense financially, but because it's nice to have a new car and I assume you can afford it. The safety and electronic improvements have already been noted, but just the overall ride and comfort of a newer car is going to be a pleasure. Plus, you are clearly wanting it.

The good news is that your car is likely in very good shape and you can do some good with it. Either you can get a bit above blue book value or you can sell/give it to a younger family member that will really appreciate it.

Personally, I'm on the front end of retirement and these decisions. I have two newer cars and expect to drive them for quite awhile. However in 15 years, DW will be over 75 and I'll be over 70. I think by then, I'll want a new car even if the ones I have are in good shape (they will be). So I'm kind of thinking of setting a limit of 15 years or 200K. We'll see how it works out.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Just dropped 4k into a 2005 Subaru Outback. Did it because I trust the mechanic (NOT a dealership mechanic) and knew replacing it would cost ALOT more than 4k. And buying used I would just be buying unknown problems. After 4k ... I know what I am driving.

4k? geez did you get a new shortblock or transmission?

those are nice vehicles btw

 

[Gumby]

When faced with a necessary repair to an old car, I compare the cost of the repair with the monthly cost if I financed a new car. If the repair costs $500 and the cost of a new one would be $250/mo, I figure I am money ahead with repairing the old one, as long as will last at least two more months after the repair.

My daily driver is a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid with 266k miles on it. I'm planning on getting to 300k. I will replace the tires within the next 1-2 months, since they have almost 60k miles on them.

 

[Montecfo]

Rather than using blue book or whatever, I use the cost of a replacement vehicle to justify expenses to maintain/improve older vehicles. My old beater pickup only has value of $2500 but it would cost me $10k or more for a satisfactory replacement vehicle, so I'll spend about 100% of blue book for maintenance, cosmetic repair and to improve towing capacity. The cosmetic repair is covered by insurance reimbursement, but I could just pocket the check. This approach works better for a utility vehicle.

I think you have it right. I never understood the logic that you should not put more in car repairs into a vehicle than the vehicle is worth. The real analysis should be expectation of repairs versus total cost of ownership of the vehicle you would replace it with.

 

[Walt34]

apparently she doesn't want any driver assist stuff that would prevent her from running someone over if she had to

That's something I hadn't thought of! When all these driver assist functions become ubiquitous I wonder if the homicide rate will fall when all the angry wives can't run over their philandering husbands anymore?

 

[38Chevy454]

Don't forget the new car also comes with whopping sales tax bill, likely an increase in insurance costs, and depending on your state a potential increase in registration fees. Those are related but separate from any cost of the vehicle trade-offs.

 

[CRLLS]

Here in salty-roads Illinois, cars have a limited lifespan regardless of maintenance or miles driven. I get a little over 10 years but at that point, I would not put a large dollar repair into them. In my 13 year ownership, my '99 GM car had rusted fuel lines (repaired) and rusted brake lines (repaired. That was an exciting trip). When the fuel filler tube had rusted out and the rocker panels were disappearing, we decided to replace rather then repair.

Similarly, my '02 Chrysler was with us for 12 years. After replacing the rusted-out front subframe, We decided to let that one go.

They certainly build them better these days though. My '73 Ford had the bottom of the doors waving in the breeze at 6 years.

~3 years ago, I bought a 2000 Jimmy from a Southern state with no rust anywhere I looked. It turned out that the Southern sun killed everything inside that was plastic. Oh, and the roof rusted out above the rear window! That one left our stable 2 weeks ago.

I'm all for repairing rather than replacing and I do a LOT of my own mechanical repairs. But at some time, here in IL there is a time when it is time to throw in the towel and move on.

 

[Sunset]

My everyday car is a 2003 Subaru with 158,000 miles. I want one of those new $35,000 Subaru's.....

I use our 20 yr old camry for local driving and shopping.

I keep it running fine, and fixed a dent myself that rusted out from a body shop fixing it 6 years earlier

After 20 years the paint does not look new, and I'm not going to repaint it.

At some point each person has to decide when to replace their car or keep pouring $$ into an old nearly worthless car.

 

[Gumby]

Don't forget the new car also comes with whopping sales tax bill, likely an increase in insurance costs, and depending on your state a potential increase in registration fees. Those are related but separate from any cost of the vehicle trade-offs.

Here, we also pay a property tax on our vehicles of about 2% of the value of the car per year.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Here in salty-roads Illinois, cars have a limited lifespan regardless of maintenance or miles driven. I get a little over 10 years but at that point, I would not put a large dollar repair into them. In my 13 year ownership, my '99 GM car had rusted fuel lines (repaired) and rusted brake lines (repaired. That was an exciting trip). When the fuel filler tube had rusted out and the rocker panels were disappearing, we decided to replace rather then repair.

Similarly, my '02 Chrysler was with us for 12 years. After replacing the rusted-out front subframe, We decided to let that one go.

They certainly build them better these days though. My '73 Ford had the bottom of the doors waving in the breeze at 6 years.

~3 years ago, I bought a 2000 Jimmy from a Southern state with no rust anywhere I looked. It turned out that the Southern sun killed everything inside that was plastic. Oh, and the roof rusted out above the rear window! That one left our stable 2 weeks ago.

I'm all for repairing rather than replacing and I do a LOT of my own mechanical repairs. But at some time, here in IL there is a time when it is time to throw in the towel and move on.

IME, German steel seems to stand up best to the tinworm. I've seen (and/or owned) domestic and Japanese cars that have had rusted-out front subframes after 15 years. My 23-year-old BMW 5 series has some surface rust, but nothing structural.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

When did you have the timing belt changed? i have a 2006 forester with 72,000 miles...thinking about having that changed...12 years old even though maintenance for timing belt is 105,000.

I had it changed at about 105,000.

 

[CRLLS]

IME, German steel seems to stand up best to the tinworm. I've seen (and/or owned) domestic and Japanese cars that have had rusted-out front subframes after 15 years. My 23-year-old BMW 5 series has some surface rust, but nothing structural.

I did once have a '64 Karmann Ghia that was like Swiss cheese. My '86 VW Golf was relatively rust free. To be honest, so was my '81 Mazda GLC. I'm not sure what that says about that German vs Japanese steel comparison. I can't afford (or maybe I should say I don't want to spend) the $$ for German car parts or German dealer service.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I had a couple mid-'80s Mercedes Benzes 15-20 years ago. At the time, other Benz buffs I knew remarked that models from the late '70s were showing "cancer" because at the time they were built, German steel mills were on strike and automakers used steel from the Warsaw Pact countries. I have no idea if that's actually true -- I do know that German steelworkers were on strike around that time.

If you had a pretty rust-free GLC, you must have kept it under a pyramid. They were popular cars. but I sure remember seeing a lot of rusty ones. Overall I like Mazdas -- their engineers had some interesting ideas, even though they didn't always work out.

 

[MarieIG]

Here, we also pay a property tax on our vehicles of about 2% of the value of the car per year.

Ouch! The property tax on my property is bad enough!

 

[Koolau]

Although, I pay cash for cars (not payments) I think in terms of "car payments" equivalents. If I have to drop $500 for brakes and tires in a given year, I figure that's one or two equivalent car payments on a new car. Keeps me fixing rather than replacing.

I had a 2000 Mazda with only 85K on the odo. When the transmission wouldn't go into reverse, I got an estimate of $2500 to fix which is just about value of the car. BUT the AC was also out of it, so I finally decided to replace the car. The deciding factor was that I found out a friend could fix the car and donate it to a family that needed a car.

So, philosophically, I keep fixing until it makes no sense to do so (though that's a judgment call.) YMMV

 

[marko]

While I'm into 3 year leases on luxury cars now, I did what you did back in the day. On a 1979 Subaru with 172,000 miles.

I had it in showroom condition and even went so far as to steam clean the engine every six months, painted all the engine parts different colors (filter cover, rocker box covers, alternator etc). It was more of a hobby thing at the time but the car looked brand new.

 

[DrRoy]

I used to treat my cars the same way to save $, but now I prefer a newer vehicle that will be more reliable and have improved features.

 

[IMATERP]

I'm rolling around in a 2008 Honda Accord with 134,000 miles on it. In 2005, my engine blew and Honda and I negotiated a brand new engine for $3,500. This happened at 93k and so I feel as if I am driving a 10/11 year old vehicle with 40,000 miles on it. I also like the fact that My personal property tax is based on the age of the vehicle. I actually like driving my car today as much as I enjoyed driving it off the lot - so I am hoping it will last another 4 or 5 years.

I

 

[wrigley]

Pioneer still makes car stereos? Better yet........Pioneer still exists? I must be getting old.

 

[Bamaman]

I worked for an auto manufacturer and was provided more than. 100 new cars. But in my retirement, I am now paying.

I have been staging out my cars getting ready for early retirement. I presently have a 2008 Lexus that is being reconditioned and then will be sold. It was just replaced with a Camry Hybrid that uses very little fuel. We have a 2014 Explorer that is our grandkid hauler. And a 2003 F250 diesel is here for the long run. My daughter abused her 2012 Civic SI and it is grounded and is going to be sold.

I am trying to rotate vehicles every 10 years and purchase brands and models that have a history of durability and lower depreciation. Other than brakes and a wheel alignment, I have not had a warranty claim in 550k miles of driving. I did have a leaking power steering nose in my truck I fixed.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

My Prius will be 15 yrs old this fall. Still quite reliable and it has all the safety features I cold get with it when bought new. Maintenance on it has been more reasonable than any other new car i ever bought. So, at this point its rather a matter of curiosity as to how much longer it can go before becoming unreliable. I can easily afford a new one, its been in the major purchase fund planning for yrs and I even like the 2016 redesign, but why not see how far i can get with this one. may reconsider if/when it gets to 20 yrs old, a nice number.

We bought an '07 Prius with low miles about six years ago. It's got all the options '07 Priuses came with plus aftermarket heated seats (this is Wisconsin). Now with 108,000 miles, DW loves it and wants to hang onto it as long as it keeps rolling.

My "daily" is a 1995 BMW 540i with 277,000 miles. It's not quite a daily anymore because I put "collector" license plates on it, which bars me under state law from driving it in the month of January. The plus side of the equation is that the plates never have to be renewed. So I'll drive my truck for a month.

 

[street]

I like your thinking and I don't buy new any more and haven't for many years. I do have two outfits I bought new and still have them and will keep them till they drop.

One is a Chevy 04 4 door pickup with 45000. The other is a 07 Honda Civic with 50000. I will keep them and then I have some ranch and beat around outfits that I bought used. I use them for ranch/hunting/back country work and sport.

I try to fix first and keep till they drop before looking for new.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Comsumer reports say it is cheaper to keep the car until the repair exceed the cost of the car. I think the old way of thinking was half the price of the car. My idea is if it is under 2k a year repair if more get rid of it. I figure a new car will cost you 2k a year. A new camry is 20k divided by 10 is 2k What do you think of this idea?

 

[Big_Hitter]

Pioneer still makes car stereos? Better yet........Pioneer still exists? I must be getting old.

oh yes they still make stereos - i put a pioneer head unit in my 74 f100

works great

 

[Live And Learn]

When faced with a necessary repair to an old car, I compare the cost of the repair with the monthly cost if I financed a new car. If the repair costs $500 and the cost of a new one would be $250/mo, I figure I am money ahead with repairing the old one, as long as will last at least two more months after the repair.

This is the logic I use also. I only drive about 5,000 a year. My car is a 1999 Jeep Wrangler that I absolutely love - even with the stereo system that no longer works. DH's car is a 2010 Ford Explorer that we purchased used in 2012. We only put about 3,000 miles on that car a year. Both cars get maintenance as needed. I will probably keep the Jeep forever. The Explorer will get replaced when DH fully retires in 2023 when we will buy something capable of towing a small travel trailer.