Repair and continue driving or buy replacement vehicle?

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nico08

Recycles dryer sheets
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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.
 
Keep the car another 5 years and revisit the decision then. We have an '05 Odyssey and although there are some maintenance issues looming (battery, timing belt, wiggly tie rod) on an otherwise sound vehicle, all of those are peanuts compared to the costs of a new car.
 
I think that 88K on a 2007 Honda Accord isn't that many miles.

But then again, I like to repair when I can and drive cars to the ground.
 
The big question is are you tired of the car and want a new one or not....


The question you posed is kinda self answering.... pay a few hundred and keep driving what I have or spend about $20K to drive something else... the lower cost always wins when presented like this...
 
A timing belt change isn't a repair but rather regular maintenance. If you want to be frugal, then change the belt and drive it into the ground ( I'm still driving my 1995 accord which is my first car ). The accord will last you many more years with a relatively low yearly cost.
 
Keep it. Has a lot of life remaining and that's too unreasonable pricing. As stated belts are standard maintenance item no biggie. Might want a second opinion on a water pump. Seems too young to need that unless the. Honda is prone to that early failure.
 
If you are looking for the more cost-effective option, it is unlikely that a new car can beat your current Accord. It appears the current car mainly needs maintenance (as opposed to repairs).
If you would like the latest features in your car and can easily afford it, go for the new. You might find that fuel efficiency savings in newer cars can offset part of the cost of a new car.
 
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It's hard to beat an Accord that's running well at less than half the anticipated engine life. I recommend you keep and maintain it, unless the body has rusted or there is some other major problem looming. I got 17 years out if my 1995 Accord and still miss it. It is true that the Accords of the last millennium (like mine) were more fuel efficient than their larger successors. However, the operating costs of a new vehicle would have to be significantly less to justify the large capital investment.
 
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Hi. I don't get excited about driving the greatest and latest vehicle. What I value is reliability, that it starts in the morning when I am in a rush to get to work, etc.

I think that what got me started on the idea of replacing the vehicle was because the car did not start on wednesday and thursday night. the freezing temperature killed an otherwise weak battery. but i have since replaced the battery.

I recognize that a timing belt replacement is a maintenance issue, I may have mischaracterized that as a repair.
 
nico08 said:
.... What I value is reliability, that it starts in the morning when I am in a rush to get to work, etc. I think that what got me started on the idea of replacing the vehicle was because the car did not start on wednesday and thursday night. the freezing temperature killed an otherwise weak battery. ...
Click to expand...

Hi nico,
The car's "reliability" comes not only from it's build quality (which is pretty good for Hondas), but also from you. Specifically, for the battery: Keep the terminals clean. Keep it full of water. And, when it gets to be 4 years old, replace it.
The Average Life of a Car Battery | eHow
 
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Keep the car. Or sell it to me - all I buy are 5-7 year old 100k mile cars.

I run them for 5 more years up to 175k. Only reason I sell then is because I am tired of them - it would still be cheaper to keep.

People have this anxiety around cars approaching 100k - values drop unnecessarily.

If you sell now you are "selling low and buying high".............

Now if you want a new car - that's fine - just don't justify on "repair savings".
 
If you spend $1000/year on repairs, so what? Have you looked at new vehicle prices? Keep it.

Sent from my AT100 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
 
Take two aspirin and eat some chicken soup - it will help with the new car fever symptoms.

The only decision that makes financial sense is keep the vehicle and do the maintenance. We have a 2008 Pilot with slightly over 110K on the odometer. Late last year we did the maintenance you described (belts & water pump) plus new brakes, new plugs, an alignment and two new tires. We plan on keeping the car at least two more years and consider the $2K cost for the work to be money well spent.
 
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Texas Proud said:
The big question is are you tired of the car and want a new one or not....

The question you posed is kinda self answering.... pay a few hundred and keep driving what I have or spend about $20K to drive something else... the lower cost always wins when presented like this...
Click to expand...
+1. That's what it really comes down to. It would be far more cost effective to keep driving the 2007 Accord and reliability isn't much of an issue, just maintain proactively (don't wait until things break). If you just want something new, you've gotten more $ utility out of your old Accord than most folks do. I am about as cheap as anyone, but $ isn't the only factor in life.

FWIW we drove a Honda Prelude 164K with less than $1000 in non-routine maintenance. And it still looked and ran fine when we did sell it...
 
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I have the Accord's older brother, an Acura, one year older and 15k more miles. I did that maintenance (timing belt, plugs, etc) and a few other things as well. The car looks good, is in otherwise excellent condition and I see no reason it shouldn't give me another 100k.

At age 60, if I drive 'till I'm 80, changing cars every 8 years means 3 more new cars. If I can get 12 years use that's still one less new car I'll have to buy. If I can get 15 years and 200k miles, that means only one more car to buy. That's real savings.
 
The repair isn't that much relatively speaking, and you can get many more miles out of a reliable car. I vote for repairing it.
 
nico08 said:
............
I think that what got me started on the idea of replacing the vehicle was because the car did not start on Wednesday and Thursday night. the freezing temperature killed an otherwise weak battery. but I have since replaced the battery.

I recognize that a timing belt replacement is a maintenance issue, I may have characterized that as a repair.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest that you take it to a mechanic every year and have it checked out. They can test the battery, look at your tires and suspension and do required maintenance. Set aside a hundred dollars a month in a separate car fund, then buy these services for "free" once a year.

One place to find a trusted mechanic is here: http://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-files
 
A Honda with 88K miles is just getting broken in... You will always have regular maintenance on any car doing the preventive maintenance can allow a car last for 100's of thousands miles before it becomes more costly vs. buy new. I never buy new. All 3 of our care are over 10 years old and have over 80K miles and running strong. Our 1998 4runner has 180K and is also ready for a timing belt water pump and we will have the service done vs. buying a newer car. I understand the urge & desire to buy a new car. I love cars and have to resist all the time. My rule of thumb is if the yearly maintenance costs (not including oil changes or tires) are >30% of what the car is worth it is probably time to look for a good used car with low miles.
 
I'm debating replacing my '00 Lincoln LS with 160K on it. Drives nice. Moderate repairs.
 
Honda reliability.. no bias because we don't own one

My friends 2006 Honda Odyssey passed 400,000 last summer and I snapped a photo of the odometer. He uses the car for his business (medical laser repair) and pleasure. It does see a lot of highway miles, mostly here in the South. He preforms normal maintenance and all the repairs amounted to one rebuilt transmission and two rear wheel bearings. The engine still does not use oil.

It now has probably 430,000 on it and doesn't look a day over 100K:

 
I have a friend who has a 2003 Accord that has about 209,000 miles on it, and it's been pretty reliable. I think the only major issues he had were catalytic converter problems, and that's just been in the past few years. Oh, and when the car was fairly new, I think something went bad in the radio and it had to be replaced.

So, your 2007 Accord still most likely has plenty of life left in it. And, look at it this way...$825 is what? Maybe two monthly payments, at best, on a new $28K car?
 
wow- that is impressive. i dont think i have ever seen mileage that high on a vehicle
 
Andre1969 said:
I have a friend who has a 2003 Accord that has about 209,000 miles on it, and it's been pretty reliable. I think the only major issues he had were catalytic converter problems, and that's just been in the past few years. Oh, and when the car was fairly new, I think something went bad in the radio and it had to be replaced.

So, your 2007 Accord still most likely has plenty of life left in it. And, look at it this way...$825 is what? Maybe two monthly payments, at best, on a new $28K car?
Click to expand...

that is a good way to look at it
 
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