Which car to go/which car to stay...VOTE! :)

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Thunderbird.

to stay or go?

Thanks!


Ah, sorry, keep the bird...

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Burt
I'd get rid of both of them.


The reality is that this is the best bet likely.

As someone with a lot of cars, some with high levels of attachment, I get wanting to keep cars.

But IMO here is the situation - a 2003 hyundai doesnt have much character. Reliable? Great. At some point there will be some good PM and something broken, and the costs will far exceed what the car is worth, which right now is likely not much.

The T-bird, while it is a model that isnt necessarily my favorite, has more character, lower miles, would probably serve as a safer and more enjoyable cruising car. Parts are arguably cheaper, with a ton of commonality to other domestic cars.

Fuel may be higher on the tbird, but how much do you use it? IIRC, you have one or two other cars as well, right? It is going to be tough to recoup dollar losses selling a vehicle in fuel savings of the new one.

If youre selling to wrap the cash into the purchase of another car, Id probably sell both if youre itching for a vehicle. If youre not, Id probably drive one or both until they die to extract max value. If/when one has something major, then you may consider selling both and buying a replacement vehicle.

Both have some cons to them, but my concern would be selling a good car that currently is running well, whose mileage is worth more to you in terms of miles driven on the road than what youll get for selling it. On older, high mileage cars, maintenance is key. An extra 10-20-50k miles may not make a measurable difference on value at this point...

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
As someone with a lot of cars, some with high levels of attachment, I get wanting to keep cars.

But IMO here is the situation - a 2003 hyundai doesnt have much character. Reliable? Great. At some point there will be some good PM and something broken, and the costs will far exceed what the car is worth, which right now is likely not much.

But the car that we keep is for a BEATER/SPARE Car - so character doesn't matter - practicality is the only thing matters

The T-bird, while it is a model that isnt necessarily my favorite, has more character, lower miles, would probably serve as a safer and more enjoyable cruising car. Parts are arguably cheaper, with a ton of commonality to other domestic cars.

That is something I have to consider - but MPG in the long run does have to be thought of - Tbird loses the battle there...I agree that it's the more emotional/fun/enjoyable car - but sadly, those criteria takes 2nd priority when deciding which car is the spare/long-term beater, don't you agree?

Fuel may be higher on the tbird, but how much do you use it? IIRC, you have one or two other cars as well, right? It is going to be tough to recoup dollar losses selling a vehicle in fuel savings of the new one.

As a beater/spare it isn't being driven a LOT, but I baby my BMW quite a bit, so It may get driven more than one thinks.

If youre selling to wrap the cash into the purchase of another car, Id probably sell both if youre itching for a vehicle. If youre not, Id probably drive one or both until they die to extract max value. If/when one has something major, then you may consider selling both and buying a replacement vehicle.

Not the case - The new car (for wife to replace the elantra) has already been bought - So now our main cars are the BMW and wife's new car. (bird or elantra becomes the spare/beater)

Both have some cons to them, but my concern would be selling a good car that currently is running well, whose mileage is worth more to you in terms of miles driven on the road than what youll get for selling it. On older, high mileage cars, maintenance is key. An extra 10-20-50k miles may not make a measurable difference on value at this point...

The primary object of selling one car is make room for the new car - not the money we get from it.

 

[JHZR2]

Is the elantra 2dr or 4dr?

Which car has the bigger trunk?

How many people do you intend to take in the vehicle on beater duty?

What is the EPA rating for the T-bird on the highway?






You have the luxury of selecting the beater that doesnt suck as much. Not everyone has that luxury. Practicality and fuel cost are indeed important, but it all depends upon real use. If the application is highway and the tbird gets 22 and the elantra 30, on a 100 mile trip the cost difference is $4 and change.

Per the EPA, the elantra is rated 21/30 and has 95 ft3 for passengers and 13ft3 for luggage. The T-bird is 15/23 and has 10ft3 for passengers and 15ft3 for luggage.

The t-bird has lower mileage, arguably cheaper parts, more volume, probably more enjoyable to drive long distance, etc. As a beater, it is all coming down to actual use.

 

[97tbird]

ANSWERS:

-Elantra is 4 door

-Bird's trunk is slightly bigger, but we never had a situation where we used the Tbird over the Elantra due to trunk size

-We don't really intend to have/take any other people in the beater car really - if it's a situation where other people have to ride with us we always use the MAIN cars, which in our case will be the BMW or wife's new Mazda
as in, the beater will be almost always doing short grocery runs and some trips to my work place when I want to keep the BMW inside.(which is pretty often)...so most beater trips will be around 20-30 min city driving.

-The beater will be doing 90% city driving (which is what Tbird has done so far)

 

[JHZR2]

OK, so MPG difference per EPA is smaller in the city then the highway, and miles are lower, so the gas economics start to matter less. The Tbird is probably a heavier car, and thus will have an edge in collisions.

Do the 4 doors matter? Sometimes they do. I generally prefer 4dr cars unless it really is a personal cruiser.

Im still leaning towards the tbird. Im not seeing any real benefit to the elantra besides being 40k miles closer to something big failing (which as an owner of high mileage cars, doesnt scare me much) and a bit better MPGs.

But Id still personally go tbird.

Of course vehicle footprint may come into play too... Park in tight spots much?

 

[oilmutt]

No kids...,working wife...,keep them both!

 

[sciphi]

I'd vote to keep the Bird. Might as well have a beater you enjoy driving.

 

[OVERKILL]

This man had the right plan!

TERMI SWAP!!

 

[Cujet]

Keep the T-Bird. With proper love, they can be excellent cars. Parts are cheap enough and given enough time, it will become an American Classic.

 

[Brybo86]

So wife will drive the 6 every day summer and winter and you drive the BMW only if its nice? How many miles on the BMW? I'd sell both beaters and enjoy the BMW everyday.

 

[Rolla07]

considering its gona be a 3rd car.. id keep the tbird. gas mileage isnt important if you have 2 other cars. Personally clean up the elantra and sell it. Use money to work on tbird. Hobby is worth something. Also its something you appreciate. can you put a price on that?!!!

 

[Hollow]

Wish I could take the bird off your hands, I miss my 97 Sport.

 

[Lillikai]

Keep the Elantra, sounds like its a much more reliable "beater" than the Tbird.

 

[dwcopple]

205K, dump the Hyundai. Parts for the Thunderbird are plentiful and cheap. Plus you can build it, if you so desire.

 

[NateDN10]

I was originally going to say to keep the Hyundai, given that you said you won't have time to work on the TBird and the Hyundai seems like it'll be cheaper to fix up and gets better mpg.

However:
-You said you'd have someone else do the work on the TBird, so money is more a factor than time.
-The kept car will be a 3rd and won't get driven much so mpg isn't as big a factor.
-The TBird has lower miles.
-The TBird is better looking and more fun to drive.
-Once you get the paint fixed up, it shouldn't be a problem to keep it outside if you're good with washing and waxing it. Many cars are kept outside their whole lives. This may depend on the quality of the paint used.

So I think my vote is to keep the TBird.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I say sell both and replace with a small pickup. I've found a pickup to be far more useful as a third vehicle than a car is.

Suggest something like this: 1995 Nissan truck on Craigslist

Or this: 1995 Nissan King Cab 4x4 on Craigslist

 

[SteveSRT8]

Fact is a small trailer does everything most ever need a PU for.

But I sure like having one around!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Fact is a small trailer does everything most ever need a PU for.

But I sure like having one around!


And I sold our Dakota (our third vehicle) and replaced it with a trailer. But if I had two cars, and was interested in a third, I suggest that a small truck will offer a greater degree of utility.

Unless they put a hitch on the Mazda or the BMW.

 

[Vikas]

With paint gone, both of them are beater. Figure out which one you will not mind fixing as neither are going to become immaculate even if you put multi $10Ks in it. Once the paint starts blistering, you no longer have the option of restoring it without repainting. A good paint jobs if done properly to add value to the car will run you tens of thousands of dollars. Anything else will be hack and can be spotted from 50 feet away.

Seriously, visit a good body shop if you don't believe me.