Drive your car to death, save $31,000

Drive your car to death, save $31,000

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August 31 2007: 1:53 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- By keeping your car for 15 years, or 225,000 miles of driving, you could save nearly $31,000, according to Consumer Reports magazine. That's compared to the cost of buying an identical model every five years, which is roughly the rate at which most car owners trade in their vehicles.

In its annual national auto survey, the magazine found 6,769 readers who had logged more than 200,000 miles on their cars. Their cars included a

1990 Lexus LS400 with 332,000 miles and a 1994 Ford Ranger pick-up that had gone 488,000 miles.

Honda Civic Consumer Reports calls the Honda Civic a "Good bet" to make it to

200,000 miles.

Calculating the costs involved in buying a new Honda Civic EX every five years for 15 years - including depreciation, taxes, fees and insurance - the magazine estimated it would cost $20,500 more than it would have cost to simply maintain one car for the same period. Tagged: 10 cars with bad reputations

Added to that, the magazine factored in $10,300 in interest that could have been earned on that money, assuming a five percent interest rate and a three percent inflation rate, over that time.

The magazine found similar savings with other models.

To have much hope of making it to 200,000 miles, a car has to be well maintained, of course. The magazine recommends several steps to help your car see it through.

  • Follow the maintenance guide in your owner's manual and make needed repairs promptly. * Use only the recommended types of fluids, including oil and transmission fluids. * Check under the hood regularly. Listen for strange sounds, sniff for odd smells and look for fraying or bulges in pipes or belts. Also, get a vehicle service manual. They're available at most auto parts stores or your dealership. * Clean the car carefully inside and out. This not only helps the car's appearance but can prevent premature rust. Vacuuming the inside also prevents premature carpet wear from sand and grit. * Buy a safe, reliable car. Buying a car with the latest safety equipment makes it more likely you'll feel as safe in your aging car as a newer model.

The magazine recommends several cars that have the best shot at reaching the 200,000 mile mark and a few that, according to its data, aren't likely to make it.

All the cars in the magazine's "Good bets" list are manufactured by Honda (Charts) and Toyota (Charts). (One extreme example was not enough to get the Ford Ranger onto the list.) The "Bad bets" are a mixture of European models and two Nissans.

Consumer Reports' "Good bets" for making 200,000 miles: Honda Civic, Honda CR-V, Honda Element, Lexus ES, Lexus LS, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Highlander, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Prius, Toyota RAV4

Consumer Reports' "Bad bets" for making 200,000 miles: BMW 7-series, Infiniti QX56, Jaguar X-type, V8-powered Mercedes-Benz M-class, Mercedes-Benz SL, Nissan Armada, Nissan Titan, Volkswagen Touareg, V6-powered Volvo XC90.

Reply to
Jim Higgins
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Pretty much what I've figured over the years. The new versus used debate often comes up as used being a bargain due to the depreciation, especially in the first year or so.

I'd rather buy new, pick my model, color, options, etc and use that sucker until there is no life left. Buying used is often a compromise of features.

Of course, there are times that the savings mean less than the "fun" of driving a new car. Common sense does not always prevail.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Hmmm.....I've got 150k on my '98 Olds Van, and 106k on my '00 Intrigue GLS (bought used for $5k w/90k). I could have written that article! They have a good point on some of the models in their "worst bet" list, like the Toureg is a very neat vehicle, but I'm not so sure it will hold up well, I've heard a few horror stories, one so bad VW bought the car back as they could not fix electrical gremlins. A frriends BMW 750 had a rear main seal go out on the big v12 motor, that's gotta be expensive! Anything else going wrong and you would have likely been better off buying a different car vs. fixing it!

Reply to
scott

I always buy brand new but the stress factor of having a new car is high. You have to worry about door dings, scratches, vandalism, hit and run and theft. With an older car (10+ years old) you have nothing to worry about.

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Reply to
Vaughn

Or take pride in? I like having new luxury features on my cars. Heated leather, Xenons, side airbags, etc. Makes it worth it to me.

b
Reply to
Brent

No offence, but people can take as much pride in an older car, as you can your brand new ones.

Reply to
80 Knight

What does pride have to do with the age of a vehicle? Or the features it has?

All those things are nice to have but don't confuse pride with the ability to spend money. You can have a lot of pride in keeping that 10 or 15 year old vehicle in top condition. Some people take pride in driving the cheapest car made. Maybe the word you want is "ostentatious"?

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

The hard part is ; "Knowing when to let go"

My last trade-in was the perfect car for me, yet in the course of one summer, it seemed there was a major failure every couple of weeks.

It wasn't so much the cost of repair, as the reliability.

When the tranny started acting up, I dumped it.... ( but it was still a hard decision )

So, how do you know when it's time to let go ?

Reply to
Anonymous

The fact remains people that can afforded to buy new vehicles buy new, people that can not afford to buy new, buy used vehicles.

mike

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Reply to
Mike Hunter

Better to worry about a few dings than worrying about braking down, one might suspect ;)

mike

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Reply to
Mike Hunter

I run two vehicles, a luxury car and a sporty convertible. I buy a vehicle every two years, at the start of the model year, and sell of trade the one that is two years old.

As my accountant pointed out, for a total drive home price of around a $4,500 in two years, it does not make sense to keep a deprecating asset any longer. My only annual cost is fuel, the dealership provides the two oil changes. Doing what I do is less expensive than leasing, as well

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

on Friday 31 August 2007 10:34 pm, someone posing as 80 Knight took a rock and etched into the cave:

Excactly. Two examples...

  1. My mom had a boyfriend a few years back with a POS mid-70s pickup with a camper shell. He'd often leave the keys in the ignition. What was cool about it was the ,000 stereo/dvd system he had in the back that no one even suspected.

  1. I know a guy with a '85 Suburban 454. He's got it painted this beautiful cherry red, has an 8" lift, dual flowmasters and some really mean rims...and that's just on the outside.

I hope my Avalanche looks that good in twenty years!

Reply to
PerfectReign

on Saturday 01 September 2007 08:15 am, someone posing as RJ took a rock and etched into the cave:

Rule of thumb that I follow is this - either the car/truck costs more per month than a new vehicle or you change needs. For example, I had a perfectly good GMC Jimmy with 150,000 miles on it. It was only seven years old. Yet with two new children, I wanted something bigger.

Reply to
PerfectReign

If the tranny is acting up, often that is a good time to let go. OTOH, about 18 months ago I did put a new tranny in my LeSabre as it was still far less than the value of the car and still better than the value of it not running. A couple of years later and I'd just dump it. Six months after that, I put another $600 in a couple of repairs that are normal for a car with 120,000 miles.

My '91 Regal, though, was a goner. The book value in good condition would be $850 but I'd have to spend $1200 to get it to be worth the $850. Bye, bye.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Somewhat true, but there is a big middle ground there. Before buying may last car, I looked at a few one or two year old used ones. The selling price was 25% to 30% less than news, but the miles indicated the cars were

25% to 30% used up. IMO, that is a trade off. I was looking in the $25000 to $35000 range.

Cash in hand, it may be a better deal to buy the lower priced used model. If, however, you are going to finance most of the cost, used car loans are much higher than the often subsidized new car loans. I'm paying 1.9%. My credit score is about 800+. If it was 450, I'd be looking at other models and be paying 21%. Even with a good credit score, used loans are 8% or more.

If you can afford say, $300 a month, there is a good selection of both used and new. Better to buy a new Chevy Aveo or a used Lacrosse or Impala?

If you want to pay cash and only have $2000, options are limited.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

More like $10,000-$15,000 loss in 2 years for a $30-$40K car. If you buy a brand new car and decide to trade it in the following day you lose $5000 in depreciation.

Reply to
Vaughn

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So you trade in your GM vehicles every two years to avoid breaking down? :)

Reply to
gad

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Reply to
Chevy Man

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If memory serves, Mike doesn't own a GM car.

Reply to
80 Knight

??

This is a dumb statement, anyone with a pulse and a crappy job nearly can buy a new vehicle. I don't consider buying new cars be any indication of financial status, in fact, unless you have a lot of disposable income to blow, its a very poor investment. For a lot of people, the "car" is very important for some status reasons, and they devote a large percentage of their disposable income to paying for, insuring and driving (operating costs) their prestige vehicle.

Some folks choose to have their monies invested in assets that will grow and drive a second hand car. Of course cars are an asset that will be worth much less in a few years and be subject to the harsh realities of road driving. Personally, I find a lot of satisfaction in finding very nice vehicles with a lot of life in them, and buying them for a fraction of their original sticker price, and being quite proud of my "ride". Since late 90's nearly all vehicles are very reliable compared to how it was for 70's and 80's cars - for the most part. New also does not always equal reliable.

I have bought new, FWIW, but drove that car for 13 years. Would I buy new again? In some cases it makes sense, like if you are going to keep it a long time, when the resale on used Hondas is so high that you'd be better off paying a bit more and picking your color and options and getting a long warranty.

Reply to
scott

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