Where Do You Draw The Line?

[PandaBear]

It all depends on you, not the car.

How likely are you going to total it in an accident? How likely are you going to get something newer and when? Girl friend and wife usually is the #1 reason young male adult getting a new car.

If you are likely to drive long distance, I'd say do your best to maintain it to a reasonable extend. No heater core replacement for $1k, ok? But a couple hundred for radiator and a few hundred for new struts are ok IMO.

Not having to worry about a $700 beater when competing for lane change space, parking in rough area, fender bender, door dings, payments, overpaying insurances, etc is a great feeling. To me it is much better than having to think about what would happen to my $35k new car all the time.

Keep your expectation low and pay according to that expectation is the key. You should not feel bad about a set of new struts because you can use it and even if you lose the car (accidents or sales), you're not out by too much. However, dumping a few thousands in it for repair and expecting it to last another 10 years is not wise.

 

[QuOk]

I have Front and Rear KYB GR2's brand new in the boxes with Front and Rear mounts.Could ship all this UPS ground to California for $200 and also include 2 new Front brake Calipers in the box from Saturn.If i could find the repair manual i'll also throw this in.My feedback on Ebay is 100% with 528 transactions.I accept paypal if you are interested.

This is all from a car i sold 2 years ago that i never installed.
Brake caliper #'s are caliper asm frt #21010540 and #21010541.

 

[SevenBizzos]

I've been through this process a few times.

The aledged market value of the car is mostly irrelevant if you planning on keeping it. You have to figure out how much longer the thing is going to run. Since you're not debating over a major maechanical repair and expect 50k more out of the car, you should definately keep maintaining it. Replacing the suspension is part of that.

 

[BuickGN]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
i guess when the maintenance plus insurance togehter equals more than what your payments on a new car would be.


This is exactly what caused me to buy the TL. I figured the $700 payment on the TL would actually save me money in repairs and rental cars and believe it or not it has saved me money.

 

[scoobie]

the car is paid for. as long as you like the way it runs, i would keep fixing it. at a certain point things get to be too much though. my 1997 Crown Vic was eating up 1000,s of dollars of repairs. personally i didn't really like the ride - too floaty, and gas mileage was kind of poor, and the handling was garbage.
so i bought an 08 Impreza, rental vehicle, with 7000 miles on it, and I couldn't be happier with it.
However, my 1995 Dodge Colt is really nice to drive, it has a stick shift, handles good, has enough power, has a nice suspension, gets excellent mileage, so if it needs 1000$ of repair a year, and it usually doesn't, I don't mind. keeping the car repaired is good for the local economy, my mechanic appreciates the work, and it keeps a car out of the scrap yard, which is good for the environment. But if it started to be a repair pig, like the Crown Vic, then I would dump it. Crown needed : new head gasket, including huge towing charge, replace ignition switch vandalized by kids, replace fuel pump, also huge towing charge for that, still didn't work, needed new computer, another 1000$ for that, etc., etc., I finally got fed up, sold it, and so far there have been no problems for the new owner, and they really like it.

 

[AcuraTech]

I'd like to have a newer car, but I also like not having a car payment. My car is old, but still solid and runs well. Maintenance for me means parts cost only since I do the work. If you plan on keeping it another 50k, struts aren't that big of a deal. If it needed a tranny or engine, that would be different.

 

[refaller]

I just saw a study that talked about how people who have lost the part of the brain that deals with emotions actually make worse decisions. Their conclusion- paralysis by analysis. I think buying a new car is similar- if you analysis strictly the numbers, then it is almost always better to keep and fix- most car payments are close to $500/mth. That is $6,000/ yr of repairs. You could do a new engine and tranny every year for that. I buy new cars when I no longer enjoy my car. So far, my car is 9 yo, free to me (and I will fix it myself if/ when needed) and I still like it. When the new car bug comes to me, I look out at my baby and think there is no way I am parting with her. The car dealer called me one day (must be desperate) and said they had need of my car (yeah, lot's of people want a 9yo CRV with 115,000 miles on it) and would I trade for the same payments. I said sure, I pay nothing per month. Apparently, he could not do the deal.

ref

 

[Gary Allan]

Here's a simple solution for you. Go and find a car that you would want to buy if you retired the Saturn. Put that money in the bank and add to it at the same rate that you would if you had to borrow that amount.

I venture that the account will never go empty.

 

[onion]

That's [censored] good advice, Gary. I've used a similar but less disciplined approach for years, and have paid cash for all my vehicles since 1997. Of course, I drive relatively cheap used junk- my average vehicle over the past decade or so has cost about $3000.

From a purely economic standpoint, I think a simple and effective rule of thumb would be to keep maintaining and repairing a vehicle until there's a major failure (engine or transmission). Granted, engine or transmission replacement would still be cheaper than buying new... but you might be able to buy a much better used car for little more than the price of said major repair.

Personally, I plan to drive my '94 Corsica (168,000 miles) until it has a major mechanical failure (that I can't easily patch up), or until the wife decides that her '01 Lumina needs replacement (in which case I'll inherit the Lumina).

 

[GMFan]

I'd fix the Saturn. People over at Saturnfans.com have 200,000+ miles on their Saturns. One guy over there has 550,000 miles with original engine/tranny and he is about to rebuild his motor.

You have a lot of life left in that Saturn. Every year you keep it is saving you lots of money. A few hundred here and there is less than $350/month car payments.

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: refaller
The car dealer called me one day (must be desperate) and said they had need of my car (yeah, lot's of people want a 9yo CRV with 115,000 miles on it) and would I trade for the same payments. I said sure, I pay nothing per month. Apparently, he could not do the deal.

ref

 

[RTexasF]

Quote:
I plan to keep this car for several more years. During this time, I might accumulate another 50,000 miles.


This says it all to me. If not doing the repairs would make it unsafe or even questionable then do them. You know the car and know it well......is it worth keeping in good repair or not? Forget the current and future value, they have no bearing on the term that you want to keep driving the car.

 

[CharBaby]

Being a plastic body car and living in California, the whole vehicle should be solid. And I agree with others here that, if the drivetrain is in good condition then there is all the reason to sink the money into a car that you want to keep. But, not if your going to sink in $350.00 a month.

 

[Mr Nice]

Keep the car since you know its maintenance history and you can easily keep it on the road for a few more years.

125K miles is not a whole lot of miles.

 

[XS650]

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.



From a practical $tandpoint you should keep it. Saturns have earned a good reputation for long life and reliability so you would most likely get a lot more miles out of it before it becomes a money pit.

The low sales value is to your benefit, you won't be losing money on depreciation and don't need to pay for comprehensive or collision insurance.

Unless you just want to get rid of it, there is no reason to get rid of it.

 

[cp3]

Draw the line where you want to. Do you like the car? Enjoy driving it? Like others have said there's no way it's going to cost you more than a new one and if you buy used you probably don't know the history like your car. If you can aford a new or newer payment and find a car you like, go for it.
I go through the same thing every so often. Fortunately my saturn costs me nothing near a new or lightly used car and I probably couldn't float another loan payment anyway.
But if you do decide to get rid of it let me know!!...lol

 

[another Todd]

Keep it maintained, the resale value means nothing because you are not selling it. The maintenance keeps you arriving at your destination without being on the end of a tow truck, and other inconviences that go along with that including high repair bills. The real value in the vehicle for you is reliability, not resale value. You don't have to pamper it with synthetics, but keep up on regular maintenance, which you would have to do on a newer car also.

 

[PT1]

This is what I do:

UOA on engine
UOA on trans
Cooling system evaluation

If all check out well, I will keep the vehicle and do a complete oil service of engine, trans,driveline and cooling system service

I consider chassis, brakes, tires all disposable items IF I can do the repairs myself. The cost usually pales compared to new vehicle depreciation. Once a vehicle is fully depreciated and at the end of it's trade in value the miles you put on it are the least expensive. 50,000 additional miles on that car will cost little.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: XS650
From a practical $tandpoint you should keep it. Saturns have earned a good reputation for long life and reliability so you would most likely get a lot more miles out of it before it becomes a money pit.


Long life? Maybe.

Reliability? I hope you're kidding.

The car is becoming a money pit (or has been for quite a while), which is why I started this thread in the first place.

Anyway, I guess I'll go ahead and put new struts on it. You guys are right, maintaining the car is inexpensive compared to replacing the car.

Thanks for all of the input.

 

[Vilan]

Last summer I paid about $2000 for an engine rebuild and timing belt replacement. On a 15 year old Metro. Cost more than the car is worth, but I figured if I spent $2000 on a new (used) car I'd just be inheriting somebody else's problem. I know this one is solid with few repair bills otherwise... why take a chance? Haven't regretted it yet.