Keep Older or Buy Newer Vehicle?

I had cars for 25 years now. My experience is: if you drive the car to go to work, or otherwise depend on it on a daily basis, I seriously consider replacing a vehicule when it reaches 8 years old. If you are retired or the like, then keep it 15 years if it goes that far!

Daniel Montreal

WOW!!! 260k miles??!!! That's pretty good. I was able to squeeze, coax, even force 200k out of a piece-of-sh*t Dodge Daytona turbo, but when the rear wheel almost fell off, I said "that's it!" Your transmission shifting problem is more than likely a $2.50 silicone grommet that's above the catalytic conv. and can be replaced in about an hour if you've got a good jack, 10mm socket and a pair of needlenosed pliers. There's nothing wrong w/ your tranny (probably) I just replaced this piece on my 90 & 94 GXE's.

AFA when it's time to chunk the car, you could do a dollar-cost averaging calc to see just how much you've put into this car on a per mile basis over the time you've owned it. I guess when you're averaging a couple hundred dollars per month and you still feel like you're driving a jallopy, it's time!! If you do your own repairs, you find yourself underneath the car as much as inside, it's time! Yes, I think these cars age better than most cars of their class, but eventually it's time to stop the love-affair when the car is needing costly repairs (tranny overhaul, new injectors, new a/c components, etc.) the body looks bad and their residual value has bottomed out. I'd like to hear other's opinions as well!

Chris

Every eight years seems a very real estimate if you really depend on the car to be bullet proof.

At 260K it's hard to tell without knowing where you are with specific maintenance, but if you start to think about brake calipers that might be ready to sieze (all four of mine went in the last year on my '93), wheel bearings, CV joints, exhaust system (mine just went stem to stern), fuel injectors, ignition distributor, valve job . . . all of this stuff and every other part of the car is getting up to the "unreliable" stage. I have always drawn the line at around $1700 a year in maintenance in repair on average so if there is a heavy year I expect a light one next year. I would guess that light years are probably over for this car, and if you are thinking bang for buck. Just stop fixing it until it blows up or sell cheap to a kid who has the time to really fuss with it. All in all, my guess is that it is prepared to become a money pit. Could be time to start looking around.

-H

So true!. very good rule of thumb to draw the line at 1700 $ per year repair and maintenance! Pass that line, your car is being fixed every other week. Very unreliable. Learn from my mistakes. Besides, I estimate the depreciation of a decent 3 -4 year old car to be about 1500 - 2000$ per year, to which you add another 1000$ per year in maintenance, for a total cost not so higher than the high risk bet that your maintenance cost on a 10 year old car will be less than 2500 $ a year.

On my Caravan (bought new in 1992), in 2001, since it only had 100 000 milles, I decided to stretch it another year. Here is what I spent that year:

brake lines and gas tank 455$ rear bearings, rear brakes and drums, nuffler: 996$ radiator, serpentine belt; 625$ alternator: 350$ front rotors and pads: 165$ caliper, engine mount: 250$ tranny: 3500$ other: 500$

(all canadian $ I live in Montreal)

this is on top of the downtime, time lost at garages, wifes NB's about the car, etc. Learn from my mistake!

The honeymoon is definitely over.

Being stranded in cold weather is another factor to consider as well as the cost. Although it is possible to keep a car going indefinitely, just like a B-52, it gets more and more expensive to do it. The feds have the luxury of putting replacement parts on a fixed schedule to guarantee reliability, but you'll be sitting on the side of the road.

I spent $2,800 to keep my old G.M. on the road for its final 6 months. Trade in value at the end of the line was, you guessed it, $2,800. The car had essentially been worth nothing, and caused me a lot of grief due to breakdowns and rip-off mechanics. I was out of a job at the time, so I didn't have much choice but to work with it.

If your safety, reliability, and budget dictate, get a new(er) car.

JM

Hi All,

Thanks very much for your mail.

I would love to get a newer - just looking around - i think this car is going to cost me at least 1500 by the end of this year.

I brought it from Canada, and I need to certify it - replace windshield, and additional repair costs.

Problem is I have no US credit history - i just began work here. Is it possible dealerships can finance newer folks like me? And would this be at a higher interest rate?

any ideas....

MN

IMO, every six months is a good time to get a new car.

However, my wife seems to disagree.

Time to move on, but I can relate to your wanting to hold onto your beloved third gen Max. I went thru the same thing myself, and it was a needed alternator replacement that broke the camel's back. Traded it running, and told them not to turn it off! Good luck. Bob

money

motors.

laker,

"> IMO, every six months is a good time to get a new car.

So funny ! So true for a car lover ! lol

Take my wife... PLEASE !!

The last two times I bought her a brand new $30,000 car, she was talking about a different one within three months.

JM