You know, the oems are great quality, but failures do happen. I think the miles will make it show up - I just hope it's nothing terminal (I don't think it is).
When to replace an "old" car....
- Thread starter STL_G8GT
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I know a lot of people say new aftermarket axles are fine but I never trust them. Reman for sure grind off the heat treatment and the rubbers aren't great, new one may be a knock off with wrong dimension that pop out or fit issue. I have had very good luck with OEM reman. They are made with new joints and boots but the original beam. They are almost as good as new (the spline need a bit of encouragement to go through the hub but that's it for me). Expect to pay more than new aftermarket but this is a "you get what you pay for".
Or just bite the bullet and buy new OEM if you want to drive for another 6 years+ and can't find OEM rebuild.
In my car they typically last 15 years 160k miles. I don't know if you would consider that "lifetime". The boot split but they still run without clicking. I just replace them when that happen instead of reboot them.
My vibration problems typically come from tires or wheel if they are speed specific, you will feel the bounce if it is strut, and bushing would "rattle" on rough road. Idle vibration for me was engine and transmission mounts. Wheel bearing would have a different feel depending on you turning left or right at identical speed.
One way to diagnose CV problem cheap is probably to buy a junkyard axle and swap, then see if it goes away. You may get lucky and get a good OEM axle for cheap this way as well.
Sorta. We tend to do 25k/yr so 10yr is 250k, and I prefer to do as little as possible in the meantime. But I am starting to prefer to get rid of the vehicle around that time, everything is uniformly worn, and rusted, despite whatever rust treatments I've tried. I'd be fine with ignoring a few vibrations around that time.
On my VW I recall doing the boots around 250-275k. Pulled both axles and rebooted, nuisance of a job but not impossible, even for me. Swapped them side to side as that was recommended by someone. If only I had kept that car though, got rid of it shortly thereafter (after patching the fenders, hood and rear hatch for holes).
Its not hypothetical at all. It will only get worse. For a young lady alone on the road, its a no brainer. Replace it.
I’d rather have a well maintained 20 year old Lexus than some of the new cars on the market.
I put three through college. Putting going to and from home aside, they all needed a car.
Trips to WalMart, maybe 4-5 miles away? Doctor or dentist visits, attend Church, clothing store, shoe store, torrential rains (or high winds, bitter cold, whatever) and next class almost half mile across campus? Then, occasional evening out for a movie, dinner or college ball game? Endless things could call for the need of a car. I always taught mine to be self sufficient, don't beg or depend on others for rides.
Well - we stand apart on this point.
None of my six kids needed a car in college.
Further, how can a kid be self sufficient when they depend on Dad for a car?
I had a car in college - because I used money earned over several years of mowing lawns and bussing tables to get it. Didn’t cost my parents a dime.
I was self sufficient.
I respect your opinion. I just don't agree with it at all. A Lexus with known problems nearing 200K, or a new vehicle, fully under warranty? It goes beyond just the vehicle simply "running". Suspensions get old, handling wanes. Performance and reliability decrease over time. Rust eats away in some areas, gaskets, belts and hoses degrade. Even a "well maintained" vehicle will have some things very worn.
There are many "running" vehicles I would not even ride in. Safety standards increase over time. No one can dispute that.
Our definition is not bumming rides, or anything else off of class mates. I don't expect a student to fully support themselves during college if they are not yet fully employed. (If they were, why would most even go to college?) Your definition applies after they graduate and get a job, which all of mine have. They learned the right way.
How is that a bad thing? People used to form friendships this way. I used to bum rides with this girl I met (who I married). I saved a lot by not having a car all the time in college; my parents could not help me and this was cost cutting on my part.
When our kids were driving in HS and even a bit later, we did not want them to drive in others' cars. We taught ours to be really good drivers and did not want to chance it.
My very general rule is this. When a car is 20+ years old I replace it when 1. it needs a new engine or transmission. 2. or, the total costs of repairs to whatever is needed to keep it running SAFELY exceeds 1/2 of it's current Kelly Blue Book value. 3. So we are NOT talking about appearance items, spare tire, seats, carpets, rear window motors, air conditioning. Just what makes it GO and STOP safely.
It's a rule I apply to any high milage car with maybe more than 8 years on it. Again, very general.
If it were me and I could afford it. I'd sell my daughter's car, give her one of my lower milage newer cars and buy another good used car for my wife and I.
Its not inherently "bad" but it teaches kids to use others. Constant "bumming" is not a good way. Being responsible for yourself is. If you are "saving money and cost cutting", then you are using them, its by definition coming at someone else's expense.
Then, what if the friend is not available when a ride is needed? What if the friend is a party animal that drinks and drives too much?
Yea I've noticed sometimes the 'bumming' starts becoming an expectation instead of a nice thing once in a while.
Completely done if all parties agree. I carpooled with my manager at my previous job because he lived down the street from me, and my engine blew up. I gave him gas money and we were totally cool.
What would be uncool is if the passenger took advantage of the driver's kindness.
Then you find another way, or you find you have to cut off a bad person. You are correct, "expecting" others to always be there for you is problematic. But expecting no one to ever be there for you is also problematic.
If one is in a town with good public transportation, and finds themselves with plenty of friends, then why bother with the headache of a car? Parking permits, parking tickets, trying to find parking spots, having to move when it's time to plow, getting home for vehicle inspection, getting a new problem properly diagnosed, the list goes on. If one has very few options, then fine, find a way to make a car work.
OP was looking to "move up" to something ten years old per the first post, so it's not "new".
I philosophically like the idea of keeping college kids in a safe yet unappealing vehicle so they don't get lifestyle/ expectation creep too early in life. If they have a new car in college then they might think they "deserve" a new luxury car when they get their first paycheck and "made it in life."
As long as my kid's just farting around town and making interstate trips home and back with a cellphone and our expectation that we know about the trip and when to expect him, his older car works in our use example.
The problem with used car shopping is... look all around... we're in Malaise 2.0. Direct injection, unreliable CVTs, high-strung turbos. There's a real chance the newer stuff can't make it to 23 years old as well as OP's Lexus. If there's an undiscovered value at OP's price/age point let's talk about it in this thread because there are many who'd like to know.
Yeah Jeff, this is really what it came down to. We didn't really want to spend $20,000 just because. We could justify a $10,000 expense as a just because, however. At 10K though she wasn't going to get a lot of the features that her existing Lexus has - and I don't know that we were getting a necessarily more reliable vehicle. With a 2012 CRV like we were looking at, that car is probably as reliable, but it's still 13 years old and an unknown. So we made the decision to stick with the older car that we know. I didn't like the idea of her draining a significant portion of her savings to pay for this right as she steps out the door to college. She bought her 04 pilot, she bought this 04 Lexus, and she will buy the next car. I can help with an interest-free loan, but she would be buying ultimately. I'd really love for this car to make it through college with her and into her first own place. Once she lands a job, if she wants to upgrade that's her prerogative. I feel comfortable with her being safe in the 04 rx330 and if my judgment is wrong we will help to ensure she's not "left out in the rain."
I was not responding to the OP. A post #66 (above) said:
"I’d rather have a well maintained 20 year old Lexus than some of the new cars on the market."
If you reread carefully you will see I responded to that. The "new car" thought was first mentioned by someone else.
I am a believer that "bumming" comes with a psychological cost, either in terms of others dislike you because they felt taken advantage of, or you feel like you owe others something and have to burden yourself for not making the others unhappy or do others favor even if you don't want to.
Plus it is always a worst case scenario if you get into, like if the friend moved away, or if he / she start hanging out with a bad influence but you are forced to stay close to keep the rides available.
There are a lot of affordable simple boring reliable cars, in the worst case there's always Mazda2, Scion xA, Toyota Yaris, etc. I'd take those any day instead of staying friends with people I don't want to just to keep a ride available.
Plus it is always a worst case scenario if you get into, like if the friend moved away, or if he / she start hanging out with a bad influence but you are forced to stay close to keep the rides available.
There are a lot of affordable simple boring reliable cars, in the worst case there's always Mazda2, Scion xA, Toyota Yaris, etc. I'd take those any day instead of staying friends with people I don't want to just to keep a ride available.