Is it time for a new vehicle?

[W2R]

I just got rid of a 9 year old VW because, even though it showed only 100K on the odometer, it was starting to become too unreliable for my taste and too expensive to maintain. Although it was still in good overall condition and very much serviceable, I decided to go for something newer because I had lost confidence in the VW.

If you can afford it, and it won't delay retirement or cause you hardship in other areas of your life, why not?

I just got rid of a 2000 Camry Solara that only had 39,0006 miles on the odometer, was completely reliable, and had almost never broken down. My financial plan had always included a new car upon retirement, so I had the money and will make no difference in my ER lifestyle. But mostly, my reason for pulling the trigger is that I wanted brand new car as a "good for me" present when I retired, as planned, something new and pretty, fun and luxurious, and it has made me very happy.

 

[easysurfer]

W2R,

Neat that you had it planned out in your financial plan to have a new car upon retirement.

For my retirement, I never did make the work 30 years, get a gold watch, but one of my first purchases when retired was a solar watch . Actually, I ended up getting two solar watches.

 

[W2R]

W2R,

Neat that you had it planned out in your financial plan to have a new car upon retirement.

For my retirement, I never did make the work 30 years, get a gold watch, but one of my first purchases when retired was a solar watch . Actually, I ended up getting two solar watches.

How cool!! Frank got an engraved watch from megacorp as a retirement present. At my agency retirees are not given a gift but they did pass the hat and I got a few $$ from that. I think buying yourself a solar watch was a great idea!

I had heard about how crucial the first few years of ER can be financially, so I didn't want to have to worry about my car during that time and that is why it was part of my financial plan.

 

[shotgunner]

Well I changed my mind and did not buy a Nissan 4WD XE King Cab. I do not use 4WD very often. Driving into cornfields and pulling boats off of icy boat ramps in the fall is the big reason I want it. I remember the pain of $4 gallon gasoline in '08. My little 4 cyl Taco was pumping out 25mpg on trips to NY and PA. The truck is my daily driver/commuter.

Anyway I am opting for a very lightly used 2010 Tacoma with a 4cyl 4WD. It has 300 miles on it. The guy who bought it is a first responder EMT and the little 4 banger is not a good emergency response vehicle for him and he found that out in week 1.

Thanks for all the advice. It was the Nissan and it's V6 that was not sitting right in my gut and that is what I was reacting too. Much happier now

 

[W2R]

Glad you got the new vehicle that you really wanted, shotgunner! 300 miles is essentially brand new, in my opinion anyway. So now you join FIREdreamer and me as the owner of a brand new Toyota. Mine has been flawless and owning it has made me very happy. I wish I had bought it sooner!

 

[Martha]

We had an old Toyota small truck. I don't remember the year. When we bought the motorhome in early 2004 we drove that truck to California with two dogs to pick up the MH. Then we gave the truck to my sister and BIL. They still drive it as the second vehicle, tooling down the LA freeways. I am borrowing it now. It has nearly 300,000 miles on it. It is still comfortable to drive and I like it far better than our 2003 Ranger. I want it back.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I trust my garage implicitly owner and I have been friends since childhood and they have serviced my vehicles for nearly 30 years. My catalyitic converters are failing, there are two. Two bottles of cat cleaner have allowed the check engine light to stay, but it is a temorary fix. Cats are warrantied up to 80K and I am beyond that. OEM part costs is over $2200 without labor for both. The garage owner told me cats are beginning to fail with more and more regularity in pre '05 vehicles due to the ethanol in gas that replaced MTBE. Apparently exhaust temps have been lowered by the ethanol and the cats get dirty and then fail the OBD.

In my past life as a real motorhead - I owned many cars such as yours. I certainly wouldn't pay anywhere near what you posted to maintain the car.

You need to think like somebody who owns a car with 90k miles. Think after market converters - or better yet junk-yard converters. But first let the existing ones fail. You'd be surprised how long some of that stuff can linger before it goes. before you drop a couple grand disconnect the battery to clear out those "check engine" engine codes and make sure that you indeed have an ongoing problem. Consider not fixing the check engine light - it doesn't affect engine performance it's a smog thing.

Go buy a can of Freon replacement R-134a (with the hose thingy) and do the AC - re-charge yourself - Maybe $10. You can do it in 5 minutes (No kidding). It is so easy you'll wonder why you ever paid anyone to do it.

Tires - OK you have me there. Alignment ditto. You have to pay to play. With new tires the rotate and balance is already covered.

New belts and hoses - The belt is probably a serpentine belt - cost $20 plus 20 minutes of your time to install it. You'll pay more than $100 to have your good friend do it. Hoses - Your car is only 7 years old does it really need new hoses ?

Total cost less than $1000.

Does that change the mindset

 

[W2R]

We had an old Toyota small truck. I don't remember the year. When we bought the motorhome in early 2004 we drove that truck to California with two dogs to pick up the MH. Then we gave the truck to my sister and BIL. They still drive it as the second vehicle, tooling down the LA freeways. I am borrowing it now. It has nearly 300,000 miles on it. It is still comfortable to drive and I like it far better than our 2003 Ranger. I want it back.

I love Toyotas too! I am sure that shotgunner will be really, really happy with his brand new 2010 Toyota Tacoma that he decided to get to replace his old one. I am so glad that he found the new vehicle he wanted.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Two years ago when I had some bodywork done for rust, the body shop guy told me that it would not be cost effective to sinking major money into repairs on my then 13 year old Honda and that I should start planning for its replacement. So I did the research and in 2009 came close to trading it in for a Toyota. But weighing my options, I didn't see the point of paying good money to replace a car that met all my needs and is still more fun to drive than what I would have bought. So I decided to hang on to my Honda until it becomes unreliable. Unknowlingly I saved myself major Toyota recall hassles and maybe even a runaway car.

Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.

I was in the same situation around four years ago, but ended up selling my then 12-year old Honda Accord and buying a 2006 Accord. Still regret doing so, but my boss (who I have to drive around when he's in town) put it to me rather bluntly - "I pay you enough to get a new car." Needless to say, I'll try to keep this one for a while, but based on the miles I put on it commuting back and forth to work, it may not last anywhere near as long as my old Honda.

On the other hand, the siren song of a BMW 3-series is quite seductive....

 

[shotgunner]

In my past life as a real motorhead - I owned many cars such as yours. I certainly wouldn't pay anywhere near what you posted to maintain the car.

You need to think like somebody who owns a car with 90k miles. Think after market converters - or better yet junk-yard converters. But first let the existing ones fail. You'd be surprised how long some of that stuff can linger before it goes. before you drop a couple grand disconnect the battery to clear out those "check engine" engine codes and make sure that you indeed have an ongoing problem. Consider not fixing the check engine light - it doesn't affect engine performance it's a smog thing.

Go buy a can of Freon replacement R-134a (with the hose thingy) and do the AC - re-charge yourself - Maybe $10. You can do it in 5 minutes (No kidding). It is so easy you'll wonder why you ever paid anyone to do it.

Tires - OK you have me there. Alignment ditto. You have to pay to play. With new tires the rotate and balance is already covered.

New belts and hoses - The belt is probably a serpentine belt - cost $20 plus 20 minutes of your time to install it. You'll pay more than $100 to have your good friend do it. Hoses - Your car is only 7 years old does it really need new hoses ?

Total cost less than $1000.

Does that change the mindset

FWIW I drove my previous 1989 Toyota truck for 16 years and 183,000 miles so I have squeezed it out of one before. Yes I would have done all new belts and hoses at 7 years as I am fastidous about keeping a vehicle as close to 100% reliable as possible. Also another potential large problem was transmission work. At 57,000 miles Toyota tore the tranny out of my '03 and replaced the input bearing in the clutch and 5th gear as it was making a squealing noise on cold start, (bad bearing). The mechanic told me I was lucky it was under the power-train warranty but said he thought I would see the problem again in 10,000 miles (what did he know?) Anyway this winter the tranny started a rapid rattling noise when the clutch was disengaged whether warming up or driving after a cold start.
Throw on new Michelin tires in the next 12 months, maybe a new clutch or input bearing and the repairs seemed to start adding up. So, new cats, tires, clutch, new rear bumper, alignment, 90k service, a/c recharge etc and still have a 7 year old truck for a daily driver. Of course there is the remote danger that after doing 3-4K of repairs and maintenance a drunk runs a stop sign totals me and insurance payout is what the truck books out no matter what I have done.