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The logic of maintaining an old car. Login/Join 
eh-TEE-oh-clez
Picture of Aeteocles
posted
At what point do you decide that a car isn't worth maintaining, that you've figuratively driven the wheels off of it and it is time to move on?

Let's say you bought a $40,000 car and drove it over the past 10 years and put 100,000 miles on it. You've taken care of it along the way, but it's only worth $5,000 now.

Then let's say a $2500 repair comes along that makes the car undriveable and that regular maintenance wouldn't have prevented.

Would you repair it?

I've seen arguments for both repairing and not repairing the car. Where do you sit?
 
Posts: 13046 | Location: Orange County, California | Registered: May 19, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Unflappable Enginerd
Picture of stoic-one
posted Hide Post
To me it really depends on if I have straight up cash to get a suitable vehicle to replace it, I don't finance anything anymore...


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Posts: 6192 | Location: Headland, AL | Registered: April 19, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Three Generations
of Service
Picture of PHPaul
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Depends on my financial status.

$2500 in one-time repairs is still better than $600/month for 60 months for a new car.

OTOH, if I'm in a position to afford a new car with the attending warranty, I'm all for avoiding the hassle of repairs. Especially when there are likely more on the horizon.




Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
 
Posts: 15181 | Location: Downeast Maine | Registered: March 10, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Big Stack
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^
Yes, but how long until the next big repair comes along?

Also reliability is an issue. Is this a vehicle you need to get to work? Are you screwed when it doesn't work?
 
Posts: 21240 | Registered: November 05, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by PHPaul:
Depends on my financial status.

$2500 in one-time repairs is still better than $600/month for 60 months for a new car.

OTOH, if I'm in a position to afford a new car with the attending warranty, I'm all for avoiding the hassle of repairs. Especially when there are likely more on the horizon.


This is where I'm at logically. It also depends on the situation. If for example everything else mechanically looks like it is fine, then perhaps I'd spend $2500 on it...Like a ford powerstroke truck with 130k miles and just the tranny goes bad, but everything else is solid I'd fix it.......but if it looks like the first shoe to drop out of many. I'd get rid of it and buy new......I'm at that point now.......I have a 2008 expedition with 93k miles, had it since new, maintained it, and no issues.... but probably going to get a 2018 because I'm simply tired of it.....I can afford a new one and the 2018 is new body style so wth.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
blame canada
Picture of AKSuperDually
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Is it rare, special or likely to become so in the future?

What is the scrap value?

Consider donating for a tax write-off also. Here's the logic on that. You receive a tax break (assuming you need one) for the retail value of the vehicle. The receiving charity get's it for next to nothing, puts $2500 into it (or quite possibly can do it for less), and then has a $5000 vehicle to sell or use. Not all charities will accept the vehicle in this condition, but some will.

I was in a similar situation about 2 years ago. I bought a truck that was going to be a relatively easy flip from a couple who couldn't manage the manual transmission. It had some easy repairs needed that they were qualified or prepared to do. Shortly later I was in the middle of a major vehicle swap (sold 3, to buy 2 new ones), and needed to use the truck to shuttle one of the sold trucks to Fairbanks (550 miles North of us). It was moose season, so I threw my wheeler in the back and made a hunting trip out of it also. While in the middle of nowhere on the hunting trip the hydraulic clutch went out. It somehow developed a hole in the throw-out cylinder boot/actuator, and dumped all the fluid. I was stuck without a clutch. I managed to get it started down a hill in first, and power shift back to town, but now I was stuck 550 miles away from my garage and tools.

Since we were buying a new vehicle anyway, we just found one at the local dealership. That actually worked out well. But then what to do with the truck. I already had a buyer down south, but paying someone to make that repair would have eliminated not just the profit but would have meant a considerable loss.

Instead, I found a member of the local church I was supporting who needed a vehicle desperately. He was a retired heavy diesel mechanic, and he worked on vehicles when he was able (physically). He gave a lot to the community, but lived on a very tight fixed income. I sold him the truck for $500 (which he paid over time, with my prior permission). About 6 months later he had it up and running, and it's his daily driver now. He now has reliable transportation, and it's greatly improved his quality of life.

I didn't utilize any charity, it wouldn't have helped my tax burden any that year.

When it seems like there's no financial win situation for you in these old vehicles, look for a situation where you can bless someone else. That's my advice.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The trouble with our Liberal friends...is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan, 1964
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Arguing with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon will just take a shit on the board, strut around knocking over all the pieces and act like it won.. and in some cases it will insult you at the same time." DevlDogs55, 2014 Big Grin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Posts: 13939 | Location: On the mouth of the great Kenai River | Registered: June 24, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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If it's not nickel and diming me otherwise , sure I'll fix it . Every month without a car note is money in the bank .
 
Posts: 3970 | Location: Down in Louisiana . | Registered: February 27, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Well, we're a drive it forever or at least a long time family. First car, which my wife owned when we got married, we drove for 15 years, second for 19, third is 15 and still going strong. Regular maintenance, occasional big repair like a transmission, but overall, we drive em as long as confident they can drive cross country and we still like the vehicle. Remember YMMV.
 
Posts: 781 | Location: KC Metro MO | Registered: November 23, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of P250UA5
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Depends on the vehicle for me.
I had a 2000 Acura TL with about 250k on it. Was a nickle & dime here & there on minor DIY repairs. Tossed it when we bought our Flex, due to us needing something bigger with 2 kids & my wife's business.
Moved into my wife's 2004 Civic, car was fine for a commuter, nothing special & the only major repair was the engine jumped timing & needed a water pump (2 repairs). Gave it to my sister when we bought my truck.

In both cases, the cars weren't really worth much. About $1k trade-in on the Acura & on a good day $2-2.5k on the Civic.

Would've kept driving the Civic if we hadn't needed something bigger than our Flex for our business.




The Enemy's gate is down.
 
Posts: 15154 | Location: Spring, TX | Registered: July 11, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I used to figure that it was time to replace a paid-off car when the monthly repair bills (averaged) exceeded a monthly payment on a new car. Now, being on fixed income, I'll be setting aside the same monthly payment amount towards a down-payment once the Cruze is paid off next year, and trade when I have enough put aside. ACV of the Cruze will figure into the downpayment, of course.

I'm praying the car will hold together during that time and I don't have to spend much on repairs.


--------------------------
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
-- H L Mencken

I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is.
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Posts: 9127 | Location: Illinois farm country | Registered: November 15, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of 81chop
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I'm more of a fix it than buy new person.

As an example..my current truck is a 1986 F-150 I bought for $600 almost 10 years ago smashed up. Stuck approx. 1500 into it to get body, paint and drive train up to par. This past summer I built a new engine and trans for it. This year is fix up the body some more and a repaint.

I considered buying a new F-150, but can't justify spending 30k+ on something that isn't a daily driver, and can't get/omit options I want/don't want.

For me, I enjoy turning wrenches and building vehicles, so really don't mind the work. And, for 30k, I can build a heck of a nice truck and have a bunch of money left over for gas and toys.

That truck would have to be smashed up pretty bad to warrant it being replaced.
 
Posts: 110 | Location: Central WI | Registered: March 22, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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We used to figure 100,000 miles was the life of a car. Now a lot of cars go 250,000 miles or more. Times are changing.
 
Posts: 1496 | Location: S/W Illinois | Registered: October 29, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
chickenshit
Picture of rsbolo
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I am a huge fan of driving cars until they are not "worth the repair".

I assume you are financially savvy and can probably afford to purchase with cash (no financing) the car you've likely been eyeing.


Go for it.


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Posts: 8000 | Location: East Central FL | Registered: January 05, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Conveniently located directly
above the center of the Earth
Picture of signewt
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My point comes when supporting the mechanic is more than the banker
 
Posts: 9849 | Location: sunny Orygun | Registered: September 27, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Prepared for the Worst, Providing the Best
Picture of 92fstech
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100k is barely broken in. Unless there are a bunch of other issues with it, I'd pay the $2500 and drive it another 100k. My 16 year old truck has 205k on it, and our 14 year-old Suburban has 315k. Both original motor and trans. I'd jump in either of them right now and drive them across the country...I've actually done that a couple of times.
 
Posts: 8419 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of domcintosh
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I bought a 2004 Hondar CRV with 40k-ish miles on it in 2007.

In 2015, the AC system failed, due to an implosion of the compressor, with 90k-ish miles. This followed a two year period it was in storage while I was overseas. Replacement of the AC system was 5k.

Given the overall reliability of the Honda brand, I decided to spend the money to replace the system instead of purchasing a new car. I owned this car completely, and expect to get at least 50k more miles out of it.



The opinions expressed in no way reflect the stance or opinion of my employer.
 
Posts: 5446 | Location: Stationed in Kitsap Washington w/ the USN | Registered: November 04, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Just a thought....The tax on a new one could exceed $2500.

For me it would depend on whether or not I still liked and wanted the car.
 
Posts: 2096 | Location: Bowling Green, KY | Registered: January 02, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Smarter than the
average bear
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I am firmly convinced that speaking only financially, that it would never pay to buy a new car. Whatever you have, it will be cheaper in the long run to keep paying for repairs, practically forever. The only problem is the reliability issue. If you have a second (or third) vehicle to drive, and it's not a big deal if you get stranded somewhere temporarily, then keep it forever!

I say this because if you compare the cost of repairs to the depreciation that you will suffer from buying something new (or even newer), the repairs will be less. In your example of a vehicle worth $5000 needing a $2500 repair. Lets assume that the $2500 repair will last only a year, and that in addition you'll need to spend another $500 in repairs over that year. That's $3000 you'll spend over one year. If instead, you ditched it, and bought something new or newer for $15,000. The strong likelihood is that the newer $15,000 car at the end of the same one year will be worth less than $12,000. That's depreciation of more than the $3000 you spent on the older car.

Of course the $2500 repair will likely last you several years. And the new or newer car will likely be more than $15,000, since you spent $40,000 on the last one. Any change in those numbers makes the analysis come out substantially stronger in favor of keeping the older car.

I own a 2002 Tahoe, and have since it was new. It has around 220,000 miles on it. Needed a new A/C compressor, around $800 repair. I didn't blink twice, because as long as I drove it another couple of months I got my money's worth. Transmission went out, and I spent $1100, and drove it another year.

I finally bought a new VW Touareg, diesel, and love it, because it's faster, better gas mileage, and because I no longer wanted to drive the Tahoe on trips. Having a problem in town is a lot different than in another state.
 
Posts: 3425 | Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Registered: June 20, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I basically keep vehicles 10-15Yrs mileage between 150,000 to 200,000 miles. The maintenance cost is not prohibitive.
 
Posts: 997 | Registered: October 09, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of smlsig
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Another comment on your "hypothetical car"

If you bought a car for 40K and 10 years later it's only worth 5K then it is probably a piece of junk and you should dump it.
Case in point, I bought an '06 F-350 new for 40K and sold it last year with 160K on the clock for $20,000 a much better investment and I would have kept it but needed the write off or so I was told.


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Our Founding Fathers were men who understood that the right thing is not necessarily the written thing. -kkina
 
Posts: 6309 | Location: In transit | Registered: February 19, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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