Recently acquired a 2017 Accord, bringing my household vehicle count up to 5 (2 drivers). Looking to cut that number to 3.
Lets' start with the obvious keepers:
2017 Accord, 64k miles. Best car in the fleet by far.
2004 BMW X5 4.4i: 272k miles. My winter beater/Home Depot runner/ hobby car. Hoping to get to 300k before I consider moving on.
Obviously leaving is my barely-running and rusted out 1994 530i. Will be scrapped soon.
That leaves 2 vehicles as candidates for the last spot.
2012 Kia Forte 97k miles: Owned from new, in the middle of putting a new fuel tank in it due to rust (steel fuel tank in the salt belt). That's the first non-maintenance issue so far with this vehicle. Couple open recalls need to be addressed, including the anti-theft "update".
2009 Honda Accord 4 cyl 209k miles: Needs VTC actuator, would probably do timing chain while in there. Not original owner, but been in family from new. Losing a fair amount of oil between changes, but for the sake of this exercise, let's assume it's a leak and not burning (no tailpipe smoke). Will obviously diagnose that issue before committing.
Typically, I'd automatically take the car with lower miles. However, the disparity in perceived quality between the two brands gives me pause. I do 100% of maintenance and repairs and am trying to minimize the amount of time I spend wrenching on things that aren't the X5. Primary use for this 3rd vehicle would be 20 miles of in-town commuting per day. Insurance is slightly less expensive on the Honda, but it's close enough to be considered immaterial.
Which vehicle would you keep and why?
Lets' start with the obvious keepers:
2017 Accord, 64k miles. Best car in the fleet by far.
2004 BMW X5 4.4i: 272k miles. My winter beater/Home Depot runner/ hobby car. Hoping to get to 300k before I consider moving on.
Obviously leaving is my barely-running and rusted out 1994 530i. Will be scrapped soon.
That leaves 2 vehicles as candidates for the last spot.
2012 Kia Forte 97k miles: Owned from new, in the middle of putting a new fuel tank in it due to rust (steel fuel tank in the salt belt). That's the first non-maintenance issue so far with this vehicle. Couple open recalls need to be addressed, including the anti-theft "update".
2009 Honda Accord 4 cyl 209k miles: Needs VTC actuator, would probably do timing chain while in there. Not original owner, but been in family from new. Losing a fair amount of oil between changes, but for the sake of this exercise, let's assume it's a leak and not burning (no tailpipe smoke). Will obviously diagnose that issue before committing.
Typically, I'd automatically take the car with lower miles. However, the disparity in perceived quality between the two brands gives me pause. I do 100% of maintenance and repairs and am trying to minimize the amount of time I spend wrenching on things that aren't the X5. Primary use for this 3rd vehicle would be 20 miles of in-town commuting per day. Insurance is slightly less expensive on the Honda, but it's close enough to be considered immaterial.
Which vehicle would you keep and why?
