I should clarify some points made above. I am not a believer in "benign neglect". It is short-sighted, expensive, and irritating as **** when the vehicle fails to perform as expected.
Should I -- as this 2001 vehicle has now "depreciated" to one-half its original sales price and has about 70k on it -- reduce expenditures? Or continue as before with the plan to go over 200k. Trouble-free.
First, my idea of "long engine life" is for the motor to be as close to new as is possible. To do this entails inspections -- internal & external -- where the additional cost of parts is, relatively, cheap. "Long engine life", for me, translates as "reliable as a brand-new car". If I decide to make a 2,100 mile trip starting tomorrow, (in two long days), then proper maintenance ensures the least likelihood of "unscheduled maintenance" (the costliest of all and the most likely to be shoddy).
Second, while any number of parts are, granted, better than a quarter-century ago, plenty of todays cars also have engine bays that are airflow-restricted. (Our Jeep is so hot that it is a good idea to have gloves on year-round ). Add to that the degradation of hose exteriors by ozone/smog and the "cost" is slight when one runs A/C seven-plus months of the year.)
And, this heat, this lack of cooling air, has its effects on other items as well. Do them all at a reasonable interval and be done with it: Vacuum lines, fluid hoses, etc. (For this vehicle, coolant changes annually (25k) and hose/fastener replacement every two years).
Sure, I could wait out the inevitable decline of componentry, but why? To reduce out-of-pocket expense? (Penny-wise behavior). Increased resistance in the electrical system is, alone, a huge contributing factor to vehicle decline. Yet the oems often do a very poor job of ensuring a good "loop" for that electricity to flow. Why not spend the extra on grounds, upgraded power harnesses and the rest? (Recently converted this Jeep to relay-driven headlights. Result [beyond the advantage of E-code lamps] is 13.70V at the lamps -- same as across battery/alternator -- and removing this high-amp load from the dash harness.
Bottom line, a car is a thing to get me from point A to point B. Reliably, and for as long as possible . . .
. . and "possible" is what is at the heart of any debate here. Keep one car 15 years -- to avoid the expense/depreciation/taxes/insurance costs of another, interim vehicle -- and one is ahead by (if buying a $20-25k vehicle) by well over $30,000 which can be invested for retirement ( plus interest and and dividend as that money increases.)
thus, the cost of scheduled replacement of parts/components is unbelievably cheap.
Granted, one needs to buy a vehicle with this in mind (no bottom line "economy cars"; those who purchase one after another fool themselves); to plan and to follow-thru (I'm by no means perfect at this), but the money argument sells itself.
If it looks worn, get it repainted. Replace the carpet at some point, have the seats re-upholstered, put in a nice stereo, etc. Replace suspension bushings, steering components as they wear down, buy the best parts around: have a little fun with it. "Feelings" have to separated from rational reasons for actions.
"I am what I drive" is appropriate to being 14-years old, not to an adult. And especially not to an adult with the responsibilities of family. In other words, while I want to have fun and enjoy the vehicle, it must first be reliable and safe.
(You want expensive maintenance, look at small private airplane requirements. And then consider how long they last. I recently came across an airplane my father owned more than thirty years ago when it was brand-new (V35B Bonanza). The current owner has traveled as far as India on a 1900-hour engine.)
Finally, if I have kept to a rigorous schedule and disaster strikes: lay-off, down-size, outsource to name a few (in my case, a devastating health failure) then I have a very high expense item (second only to home ownership) under nice control. Maintenance can then, reasonably, be delayed for an interim. An excellent vehicle, paid for, that needs only minor maintenance and gasoline is a far better thing than selling an impractical vehicle -- taking a huge loss in depreciation and unearned dividend and interest per above -- and buying a second-hand poorly maintained vehicle.
(Gasoline cost is -- even with recent rises -- still irrelevant to ownership [except for those who bought waaaay beyond their means] as it constitutes but 6-7% of total cost of ownership. If it ever hits the adjusted high (1980: $3.50) of 12%, then the equation changes somewhat).
Buy smart, and maintain the same way.
[ March 26, 2004, 12:44 PM: Message edited by: TheTanSedan ]
) which is now primarily driven by my girlfriend I give it an I.T.U., and she always questions why it feels so much friskier after I have driven it? I just tell her it must like me better.
