Does it pay to keep older cars?

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8

When you have a new (er) car you will quickly see if it is a "keeper" or not. Whether you keep it because of its superb utility (my 70 Impala 4 door), its reliability, or its entertainment value, some cars are just worth hanging on to.


Exactly! I'm probably going to hang onto my Club Sport and Wrangler forever. Too much fun and too many good memories...


You are always lucky if you find those keepers!

And you have two! I would do a lot to get back a couple of mine I let go...

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8

And you have two! I would do a lot to get back a couple of mine I let go...


If it makes you feel any better, I still kick myself for selling my 1988 M6:

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
If it makes you feel any better, I still kick myself for selling my 1988 M6:

I'd kick you too!

 

[07titan]

Back in 2008, we purchased a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. It came with a lifetime powertrain warranty. We just hit 100,000 miles and plan to keep it,,,forever or it becomes a major expense. The water pump failed last year, chrysler dealer replaced free. I just replaced the tires last year, and in the process to change the alternator. Front brakes are original, rear brake pads changed 2 years ago. I have front rotors and pads in the shed, waiting. I have the dealer do the spark plugs, transmission fluid and filter change and engine flushed, just to have on their records, I did the gear fluids and transfer case. The vehicle has been great for us. This vehicle we plan to keep,, forever or becomes a major expense. The 1 catch with the lifetime power train warranty, every 5 years it needs to be inspected, in 2013, and next in 2018. This is no problem. If it wasn't for the warranty, chances are we would of traded it in a few years ago, my wife uses this car. We've been lucky. The warranty can seen, google, 08 chysler lifetime powertrain warranty.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Originally Posted By: Traction
Sometimes I wish I could bring myself to sell all my cars/hotrod/projects, and just lease what a local dealer is offering. New Hellcat 707HP Dodge Challenger for $614 per month. Which wouldn't seem like much considering how much fun it would be to drive it like you stole it for 3 years, put new tires on, and go get another one!


7000 down.

 

[Cujet]

Cost per mile, per class of vehicle, does not vary all that much between new and used.

We'd all like to think we can purchase a $1200 used car and get an additional 100,000 trouble free miles from it.

The reality is that cost per mile is relatively steady, with fuel, oil, tires, insurance and so on consuming the funds.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
Cost per mile, per class of vehicle, does not vary all that much between new and used.

We'd all like to think we can purchase a $1200 used car and get an additional 100,000 trouble free miles from it.

The reality is that cost per mile is relatively steady, with fuel, oil, tires, insurance and so on consuming the funds.


I simply wanted to add that capital cost should be divided by mile. A $25,000 new Honda Accord, driven regularly and properly maintained will last 200,000 miles. For a capital cost of 12.5 cents per mile. The rest of the 55c per mile is fuel, insurance, repairs and so on. Many people fail to do the math.

My Jaguar x-type has 165,000 miles and needs $4000 worth of repairs. It might make it to 200K if I put in that money. 35,000 miles, 12c per mile.

 

[MaximaGuy]

My philosophy is keep driving till it hits a major road block and if one takes care of lubrication with a decent PM, the major road blocks could be none. Now there is also pain in owning and driving more than one vehicle, insurance, parking space etc.

My benchmark is if I get 200K out of it, I am a winner, anything more than that is bonus which offcourse comes with expenses like bearings, rack, pump, LCA, O2 sensors etc. etc.

I know folks who can afford plenty for a new vehicle keep driving and on the flip side there are lot of folks who don't make much to afford the payments on a lease/new vehicle.

 

[Alfred_B]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
Originally Posted By: Cujet
Cost per mile, per class of vehicle, does not vary all that much between new and used.

We'd all like to think we can purchase a $1200 used car and get an additional 100,000 trouble free miles from it.

The reality is that cost per mile is relatively steady, with fuel, oil, tires, insurance and so on consuming the funds.


I simply wanted to add that capital cost should be divided by mile. A $25,000 new Honda Accord, driven regularly and properly maintained will last 200,000 miles. For a capital cost of 12.5 cents per mile. The rest of the 55c per mile is fuel, insurance, repairs and so on. Many people fail to do the math.

My Jaguar x-type has 165,000 miles and needs $4000 worth of repairs. It might make it to 200K if I put in that money. 35,000 miles, 12c per mile.


How about the full capital cost (let's assume that the $4k in repairs is capital) over the 200k miles?

For example, my A6 was a $56k car. It has had $1,600 in engine repairs (assume capital because it was essential for the car to function). At 200k miles it will have $0.283 per mile of depreciation

 

[Vikas]

I will eat my shoe if that Audi would have no other "capital" cost (as you define it; aka essential for the car to function) in 200K miles

 

[B320i]

I am not a fan of cars of this decade, even some of the stuff from the 2000s.

Drove a mate's Cruze over the weekend. B and C pillars are so huge (airbags) they cause ridiculously large blindspots. I don't get a *&^% about crash protection, when the very presence of the devices makes it more likely to cause an accident! Went well enough for a little petrol, but interior design and those blindspots would lost me on the Cruze.

My old '93 German is getting close to the age my Dad's old Holden was when he bought it, but gee, its still in such great condition, runs nicely and is SIMPLE (i.e. no touchscreen Satnav, radio, reversing cameras or ANY of that distractive nonsense).

 

[01rangerxl]

I don't know if it really "pays" to keep older cars, but these days its easier than ever to keep them going. The internet has made sourcing parts and finding enthusiast communities so much easier.

I own older pickups because I like them, not because they offer a reliability or cost to own advantage. Newer pickups just don't interest me that much, so as long as it's not a pain to keep the old ones going, I will. There are downsides...the most advanced safety feature on my 1994 Ranger are some steel cables that anchor the seatbelts to the frame. I don't consider the RABS (rear-ABS) unit advanced since I'm not sure it does anything. Reliability isn't a concern though...1990s trucks are pretty good in that area. The biggest downside is really fuel economy in my case...V6 Rangers are just as thirsty as a current V8 1/2 ton.

If you like older vehicles, by all means keep them going, but I wouldn't plan on it really "paying." Cars cost regardless of how you go about it. You just have to find what works best for you.

 

[Olas]

Older cars don't need code readers which is another expense avoided.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Older cars don't need code readers which is another expense avoided.

OBDII cars are 22 years old at this point, so...

 

[KitaCam]

It's been 4.5 years since I got the Camry, and we're @ 144k on the odometer now (actually closer to 145k since I upsized the rims to 17"ers 3 years ago).
...repairs/parts replacements: starter/alternator, dogbone mount, vertical stabilizer links, brake pads and power steering hose.
Also painted the hood and roof (black).
Add in oil changes and the total cost for repairs and maintenance (excl. tires and upgraded DVD/rear camera)... 5¢/mi...not bad at all for a car bought @ 7-yrs old/100k miles...depreciation over these 4 years would be another 5¢/mi

It's burning oil, a quart/2k miles, (not serious when driving only 6k miles/yr) and drips 3oz/yr of power steering fluid (I keep a rubber mat under the car to gather the nickel-size drip/drops that accumulate)...

Still runs smoothly/effortlessly though I live with the occasional rattle of the rear strut mount (no odd tire wear there, yet), and will get 2 more years out of the Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring tires now on the car before I'll need to mount one more set. By then I'll know whether the repair costs are getting out of hand and how much longer it pays to keep it. But for now we're good to go!

@10¢/mile for maintenance/repairs/depreciation and 100k miles would cost $10k....

...so if I find a car in good shape for $5-7k, even after 10 years it would still cost $6-8K less than the car's new price after all the maintenance and repairs and depreciation (most of which was lost before my time)....at least that's been my experience.

 

[ls1mike]

I suppose it depends. Do you love it? Can you replace it?

Like the WS6. I can't really replace that. So at 17 years old I have made the decision it will stay with me and my son will get it. Certainly not an investment but a fun car to have, that my kids love and still gets a ton of compliments.

My truck is 15 this year and we don't suffer the rust problems out her in the Pacnorwest like in other parts of the country. So for me it is worth keeping. With only 47,000 miles, doing whatever maintenance/repairs it may require is a no brainer as it gets the job done. They both serve a purpose and I love both of them.

 

[MaximaGuy]

Guys, I wanted to run this through this forum..

Is it true that VW/Audi/Porche vehicles are speced for running for 10,000 hrs, meaning if you drive say 60MPH combined, they claim their vehicles will be good for 600K miles.

Doesn't make sense but someone mentioned this to me and I was like this is news to me.

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Older cars don't need code readers which is another expense avoided.


Hardly expensive.

$10 for a bluetooth OBD-II adapter

$5 for Torque Pro on your smartphone

BAM! You've got some excellent on-board diagnostic software right at your fingertips. I use mine all the time.

 

[KitaCam]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
I suppose it depends. Do you love it? Can you replace it?



Sticks ARE getting harder and harder to find...4 years down the road who knows? Maybe a VW Sportwagen?

 

[Dave Hess]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: MCompact
If it makes you feel any better, I still kick myself for selling my 1988 M6:

I'd kick you too!

3rd kick on your butt for selling that classic.