How much $$ do you usually put into your cars?

[zerosoma]

Repair-wise? Before I became "interested" in cars I would usually trade my vehicle off when I realized I had to do any major repairs over a couple hundred smacks. We were considering selling our Hyundai and buying something else like a mid-size truck because we had our Timing Belt service coming up. Ultimately we decided just to keep the vehicle and pay off our loans and take good care of our cars.

We took the Hyundai to a local well-known and reputable shop and had a BUNCH of stuff replaced and serviced. Kind of a "do it all in one shot" type of deal while he had everything apart.

We had the Timing Belt, Water Pump, P/S Pump, Serpentine Belt, Crankshaft Position Sensor, and the CPS blade replaced. The head mech got the job done in a day with only 9 hours of labor total and checked it over and said it really didn't need anything else. We picked it up today and noticed we got our P/S whine back again so I'm taking it back to get it figured out. Since we got a complimentary 2 year warranty (through Napa's credit and parts program) with parts AND labor included there shouldn't be any issues.

We paid about $1,465 for the whole thing after tax. Not cheap but we got everything replaced that is known to go out between 80,000 and 140,000 miles on these 1st Gen Santa Fe's.

How much money do you usually stick into a vehicle over its lifetime before you say, enough's enough? This was the first major bill we've had for it - we had one $300 bill for a tow and p/s flush and CEL diagnostic.

 

[dcf]

I have a 1995 Toyota Tercel with 181k on it . Only parts replaced were all the belts and a valve cover gasket . That's it. Everything else on the car is from the factory.

 

[greaper007]

I look at it like this, how much are you likely to spend on one car payment? $200, $300 (I'm not sure, I've never bought a new car)? Now, say you spend $800 on a repair, that's a lot of money. But, if you bought a new car you'd be paying say $300 a month for a payment, so that repair is only 3 months worth of payments. So if you drive the car another 4 months you're making money over a new car. This equation doesn't even figure things like increased registration fees, higher insurance and all the other fees you have to pay at closing for a car.

I would keep the car until
Repairs cost considerably more than the value of the car or safety systems on newer cars are considerably better. I had a 90 Maxima I sold a couple of years ago, I loved it but it didn't have airbags, abs, crumple zones or car seat anchors for my kids. I still made $1200 on the car too, not bad for 20 years of faithful service (10 with my dad, 10 with me).

 

[gregk24]

Parts replaced on my 2006 Honda Accord have been an O2 sensor, serpentine belt tensioner and the tranny. The tranny was replaced because of neglect IMO. The previous owner had the fluid replaced only once in 96K miles, that spells death for a Honda transmission in my eyes. I knew it would go eventually so I just had it replaced at 100k miles. Car has been good to me though. As long as your not spending more than the car is worth, or more than a new car payment, then keep driving it.

 

[JC1]

If you spend less than $1000 a year on average for repairs, then it's probably worth keeping the car. Of course you spent a one time large amount, which is not to bad in my opinion. If the car will need a huge repair such as engine replacement or tranny rebuild and the car is worth less than those amounts, then it's probably time to get rid of the car.

 

[HTSS_TR]

If you spend $800-1000 or less a year for repair and scheduled maintenance you are within normal range for mid-range vehicles.

Scheduled maintenance items include: Tires, brake pads and rotors, oil and filter, ATF ...

 

[NHGUY]

Originally Posted By: dcf
I have a 1995 Toyota Tercel with 181k on it . Only parts replaced were all the belts and a valve cover gasket . That's it. Everything else on the car is from the factory.

Not even new brakes or tune up items? Muffler?

I dont know what it is,but its almost automatic for import owners to praise their cars lack of needing anything....I know of no mechanical device that never needed anything and lasted 20 years of regular use.Heck,auto parts stores would go out of business not to mention garages... The fact that there is no daily driven 1968 Corolla or Corona (not to mention a Carina) still out there proves that the import jobs cant last "forever"...

 

[dgsbikes]

2006 Honda Ody 76K Miles - So far, it has added up to less than $150 a year. Mostly all fluid, filter and brake pad changes.

Exceptions:

2009: New Tire Set: $330

2013: Alternator replacement $500

2014 (Planned):
* $400 for a new tire set
* $175 for an ASIN timing belt and Water Pump kit(all parts except seals)

Should fall back to less than $150 per year for a few years after then.

Thankfully, it has been mostly regular maintenance so far that has helped to keep all the repair bills away so far (just the alternator so far in 7+ years)


If I add up everything ever spent on the van so far and divide it by the 7 years of service, it comes out to about $275 per year averaged out not bad for a vehicle this size and class and sees about 10K+ miles a year.

 

[Kuato]

Once a vehicle is paid for, and aside from normal/scheduled maintenance....if I am averaging more than 100 a month over a 24 month period it is time for it to go. This allows for an occasional major repair.

 

[zerosoma]

What do you guys think could be the problem with the whine even after the pump was replaced? I can't figure it out.

 

[Chris142]

As much as necessary. I do all my own work and I get parts at cost+ tax. Other than tune ups and small things like shocks and water pumps my cars have been problem free.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: zerosoma
What do you guys think could be the problem with the whine even after the pump was replaced? I can't figure it out.


Air in the system or low fluid level is my first thought.

 

[SuzukiGoat]

Totaled my 05xb by hitting a vice off a tool truck laying in the road.

Bought a Suzuki and then:
Suspension, 1000
Tires and wheels: 1000
Bumpers: 300
Radio: 600
Timing belt, waterpump, plugs, wires, fuel pump/filter, belts, hoses, fuel lines, brakes: 800
Bedlined roof: 400
Bedlined interior and new drain plugs: 250


I'm sure I could affairs another 2k if I needed to.

Never going back though. Drive it cross-country two or three times a year.

Helluva lot cheaper than a 4runnet and I still get decent mileage.

Eventually ill add an is350 or ls460l to the stable.

 

[MCompact]

I budget $400 per month for all six cars- or $800 per year for each sled.

 

[hattaresguy]

As long as the mileage write off is more than the vehicle I'm ahead and its worth keeping. Right now that's .55 cents a mile so its pretty good.

I won't do major repairs like an engine though, by that point its trade in time. Or when it starts to get to rusty.

 

[eljefino]

Not so much money but time...

My wife's saturn is on its third manual transmission: bought it with a grenaded diff pin; 2nd trans lost 1st gear synchro. Also did yet another clutch in there somewhere. My saturn, I rebuilt the engine 7 ish years ago, did struts on all corners, and all new front end. Numerous wheel bearings.

Mostly this is motivated by the lack of 2300 lb 40 MPG econoboxes of 2005 vintage. So I'm keeping the 90s cars going.

 

[Azeem]

I wouldn't spend more than what the vehicle is worth on repairs.

 

[Colt45ws]

Since I already put a lot of money into my cars for mods, major repairs wouldn't bother me. Just push back planned mods.

 

[fdcg27]

Everything you had done to the Sante Fe would be considered normal maintenance, excepting the PS pump, which may be more of a wear item on Hyundais than is the case with most cars these days.
As long as the parts used were at least as good as OEM, you've bought yourself another 90K of use.
Things break and require attention.
That's the nature of any mechanical device.
It does cost some in maintenance and repair to own a car.
Nothing unusual about your experience and the expediture you made would not have been a reason to dispose of the car only to buy another needing the same maintenance items attended to in the near future.
Drive it, maintain it and keep it.
If you get handy with a wrench, most things can be fixed for very little coin and routine maintenance is almost free.
For that matter, a lot of good techs boost their incomes by doing side work for half price, cash only.
If you get to know such a tech, treat him like gold and throw him another twenty for getting your car fixed cheaply, correctly and usually quickly.

 

[demarpaint]

To me it depends on the condition of the vehicle, age, miles the cost of the repair, and how much I like it at the time. Some years repairs total only the cost of changing the oil and filter. Other years are more costly. Still the average cost is not much when you DIY, and certainly beats car payments. When they reach a certain age where they have little value, start rusting, and becoming a money pit I get rid of them. The last thing I want to do is dump a grand into a clunker only to have the tranny take a [censored] shortly after.