Where Do You Draw The Line?

[The Critic]

I have '96 Saturn SL2 with 125,000 miles. According to Edmunds, it's worth about $730 at a private party sale and $325 on trade-in.

I plan to keep this car for several more years. During this time, I might accumulate another 50,000 miles. Considering the low value of this vehicle, is it even worth it to keep the car in top condition?

For instance, I was going to replace the front and rear struts with KYB GR-2, the front strut bearing plates and get a 4-wheel alignment. I am hoping to solve my steering pull and tramlining problem. Parts are $278, alignment is $70. That's $348. Is it worth sinking that much money into an older car like this?

Is there a general rule on how to decide if it's worth performing expensive maintenance to an older car? Where do you draw the line? I am starting to feel that I sink way too much money to keep this car running, and I'm not sure if it's worth it?

Thanks!

 

[crinkles]

i guess when the maintenance plus insurance togehter equals more than what your payments on a new car would be. lots of time left in your old beast.

comparing what you could sell it for to what you spend money on it now does not make sense.

need to compare what a replacement vehicle will cost you. that is not an easy task esp. for a pre owned vechile

 

[Shannow]

Critic, strictly, you need to do a cost/benefit analysis.

Put in the tangibles, the risks, and the consequences, and see what the bottom line ends up.

When you start throwing in non tangibles, you are starting to humanise the process...defeating the purpose.

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: Shannow


When you start throwing in non tangibles, you are starting to humanise the process...defeating the purpose.


in many things, the non-tangible things are what make or break the deal. disasterou sdecisions have been made by engineers trying to put numbers on non-tangible benefits and costs to come up with a C/B analysis.

i say keep it simple. if you like your car, and do not want to buy a new one, keep it.

 

[Spector]

If you plan on keeping it and repairs needed to them, repairng is almost alwasy less expensive then a replacement especially if the engine and tranny are good

 

[labman]

How much would it cost to buy something new enough not to need struts? If the Saturn meets your needs, I go ahead with the struts. Ongoing maintance should be much less than a new car. I just replaced all 4 struts on my 02 Cavalier with 140K. Good idea to replace the bearings and boots too. If you stay on top of things, you should be able to have several years of safe, reliable service.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
I have '96 Saturn SL2 with 125,000 miles. According to Edmunds, it's worth about $730 at a private party sale and $325 on trade-in.

I plan to keep this car for several more years. During this time, I might accumulate another 50,000 miles. Considering the low value of this vehicle, is it even worth it to keep the car in top condition?

For instance, I was going to replace the front and rear struts with KYB GR-2, the front strut bearing plates and get a 4-wheel alignment. I am hoping to solve my steering pull and tramlining problem. Parts are $278, alignment is $70. That's $348. Is it worth sinking that much money into an older car like this?

Is there a general rule on how to decide if it's worth performing expensive maintenance to an older car? Where do you draw the line? I am starting to feel that I sink way too much money to keep this car running, and I'm not sure if it's worth it?

Thanks!


Tough call, I've been faced with several times over the years. It all boils down to your finances, and just how well the car actually runs, and how it looks. I pretty much know how much longer I think I can get out of a car and base my decisions on that. For example, I'm not throwing a transmission in something 15 years old with 200,000 miles on it that burns 1qt of oil/1000 miles. If I need shocks or brakes that's another story, especially if I can't afford to replace the car.

About 3 years ago I sunk about $1200 into my E-150 for A/C repairs. I should have done the job myself since the A-hole that worked on it was tossing parts at it but that's another story. The van is mint and there was no way in the world I was replacing it for $1200. I recently put $450 worth of tires and an alignment on my 93 Aerostar 169,000 miles. I figure if it lasts me a year it was worth it to me, and I'll probably get a lot more than that out of it.

Another way to look at it is this: Lets assume it runs well, and looks OK. To throw $300-$500/ year into repairing/maintaining an old car could be a sound investment, considering that a loan payment could run that much a month, on an asset that is falling as fast as the stock/housing market has recently.

People might say you're wasting money, you know the car, and your situation better than anyone else. JMO

 

[cousincletus]

On my old cars I would get parts from a low mileage wreck in the junkyard. The junkyards should be littered with old Saturns. For all my Cavaliers, I was blessed that they were used in rental fleets. Lots of parts to pick from and the popularity of the car helped with more pickins.

 

[sciphi]

If the car is in otherwise fine condition, then go ahead with new struts. You'll have it for long enough where it makes sense.

Or try for gently used stuff that a new owner who wants to "soup up" the car is taking off.

 

[duaneb9729]

What kind of car could you buy that you would trust as much as this car for the value of this car + the cost of the repair?

Ad in the time you will be keeping this car, to me, the peace of mind is worth repairing this car versus replacing it.

Better the devil you know? how does that old saying go?

 

[NYEngineer]

I agree with duaneb. My 98 Yukon has 227,000 miles on it. I know I need to keep the truck a little longer. I repair whatever is necessary.
My wife on the other hand, doesn't get it. Her 01 Saturn has 140,000 miles. She recently got new tires. They checked the alignment and it showed all four wheels were out. The mechanic told her it wasn't worth the 90 dollars with all the mileage on the car. If I had been with her, I would have left and got the tires and the alignment someplace else. The car is in perfect condition. Where's the sense in that??

 

[Pablo]

TBH that trade in vs. pp sale is peanuts. Not even worth the thought. I'll bet after you c [censored] the new dealer all the way down, then just get him to take another 500-1000 off for your clean used car.

Also those fixit yourself dollar figures are really nothing vs. buying new.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
..For instance, I was going to replace the front and rear struts with KYB GR-2, the front strut bearing plates and get a 4-wheel alignment. I am hoping to solve my steering pull and tramlining problem. Parts are $278, alignment is $70. That's $348. Is it worth sinking that much money into an older car like this?


That's peanuts! People pay way more than that for just one month's car loan payment. If you had to sink $2K+ into it in one shot, I'd call it a day, but $2K over the next 2yrs would be worth it if you can stand driving it.

Joel

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

One thing is for sure. You'll get rid of the car immediately AFTER you've spent a substantial amount on a repair.

Why? Because a new repair will be the final straw.

 

[Cutehumor]

I'm in the same boat. 96 sunfire 162k miles. trans needs rebuilding, fuel injectors need replacing, I need new tires, brake pads. that is probably $2k of work for a car that is worth $800. I've been delaying the brakes and tires for 6 nmonths now. Ever since, new problems keep coming up (one fuel injector is leaking and now the trans). I'm babying the trans right now. Since I drive 7-8k miles a year, if I get another year or two out of the trans. In 2011, at 15 yrs old, I'll probably junk the car.

 

[D189379]

$348 is less than my monthly truck payment. If the car suits your needs, why not fix it?

 

[mechtech2]

It's probably well worth it.
Compare it to getting a new car, or a used one that will need some sort of work anyway.

 

[tom slick]

I'll toss some numbers out:
If you bought a used car for $15000 and financed it over 5 years you'd pay about $300/mo, that's $3600/year, with insurance it would be $4000/year. At the end of 5 years you'd have paid almost $3000 in interest. So at 5 years you've got $18000 invested. If you are planning to keep the car for a long time then resale is not really a consideration. Rust in most places in Calif. is not an issue so the car is going to stay in good structural shape.

Your current car only costs you maintenance and insurance, I'd bet you'd spend an average of less than $1000/year fixing it, even with engine and transmission repairs. So financially it doesn't pencil out.

On the other hand, there are other very good reasons to buy a new/different car, maybe keeping the car out of the shop is one of them, although brand new cars are typically less reliable than cars in the middle of their lifecycle. Maybe you'd like some safety features a new car offers, etc.

 

[eljefino]

Go test drive what you think you'd replace the saturn with. As an example many s-series owners hate the ION... overpowered, bad MPG, bad handling.

Then look at someone keeping a 20 year old BMW alive b/c they love the handling, or some other aspect. You need to define what a "good car" is, in order of MPG, roadholding, repairability, economy, reliablity, comfort, etc.

Does your saturn jump out at you as something that "they don't make like this anymore"? With all the airbags and smog stuff of new cars they're heavy and worse on MPG. The new stuff doesn't speak to me: Read about all those people who sold novas and GTOs back in the 1970's and 80's as "beaters" that wish they had them back. Now we look at the s-series as "beaters" (if only b/c you can buy them for $500) but if there's an intangible... keep it!

 

[ravenchris]

Keep an eye open for a possible US clunker rebate.