Why do people replace cars that can be repaired?

[Jett Rink]

JHZR2: I hear what you're saying. I'd take a good running 83 Benz any day of the week over alot of the new cars they're selling these days. I love seeing an old Benz out on the road. While these cars, particularly the Diesels, are often praised (even on this website), you just don't keep a car like that still on the road without some kind of repairs that you likely wouldn't have on a new one. They just don't make them like that anymore. Only a fool would get rid of it because it needs new suspension components, radiator, or what have you.

Whenever I see one, I give the driver a thumbs up, to let him know that SOMEBODY at least appreciates what all he's done to keep it up. Franly, if a new KIA or whatever is allegedly worth more, then just consider yourself getting a bargain.

 

[JHZR2]

Jett,

Thanks for the kind words. As a fellow E30 BMW owner (I have an E30 91 318i), I can tell you have great taste!

Cheers!

JMH

 

[JHZR2]

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Am I spending more to fix it than it is worth at this point? yep!

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A car's worth and "spending more than its worth" needs to be explored somewhat. I'll float the idea that a car's worth may NOT be its market value.

In the US there are many cars having a market value far less than (what we could call) their utility value. For example: today you can get a decent, utilitarian, new car for about 20k. On the other hand you can buy a well maintained, older luxury car for

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Ray,

I love the utility analog that you use... I have used it so many times on here, and many dont seem to understand it. You hit the nail on the head, and though I typically buy new cars over slightly used cars, I keep them cradle to grave through the lifecycle, so the whole utility equation still exists the same.

Nice post, makes perfect sense!

JMH

 

[JHZR2]

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Subsequent "lightly used" cars turned out to be a nightmare.
I bought my first new car in December, 2005 - the Scion tC.
I'm SO glad I did.
Not one call to AAA - they all knew me by name I had to use them so often!

With often spending 3-4 hours per day in my car, that's sanity folks.

I also enjoy it. I don't wear pants to work with patches in the knees - why should I drive a car that may or may not get me there?

I do feel some sense of jealousy here.
Call it what you like, there's many overly-sensitive replies here.

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All very nice points! If I dont buy something MASSIVELY researched and proven, I buy new. Despite how good a 2 year old camry or accord may be, Ill buy a new one anyday (despite the value issue with used foreign cars). Same deal with a 2 year old domestic at 50% of its new price.

Unless a used car is the only option to get exactly what I want (an E39 BMW or a MT subaru legacy wagon in current model form), I would not buy a "lightly used" car. That to me is code for somebody else's problems, or leased and not treated well, etc. Id buy a 200k car with all the reciepts any day over a 35k mile 3-yr old off-lease vehicle.

My only exercised exception thus far was my E30 BMW, which had 72k... but an E30 is what I wanted, its what I had to get used because they didnt make it any more... so far so good... but that does not mean Id buy a lightly used 3 series today over a new one.

Thats just the way I do it...

JMH

 

[ScottB]

Yes. I someday plan on having another one of my dream cars - a Shelby GT, Z/28, etc. They will be VERY old, and I understand what the purpose of those cars is - PURE FUN!

For every day practicality, it's new for me.
Now, OTOH, my wife bought a 1996 RAV4 for $4500. We figured that if it lasted 1 year, we'd be good.
It's gone four years and another 65k miles, with only some moderate fixes.
If it dies today, we can say it did it's job.

 

[brianl703]

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If I dont buy something MASSIVELY researched and proven, I buy new.

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My second used car is the same make and model as my first used car, so I knew what I was getting into. When I finally did a CarFax on the second car, I found some stuff that lead me to believe it had a spotty maintenance history (it had failed emissions at one point and apparently had sat around for about a year without being driven much). I got the 2nd car for $1000 less than market value so I guess that made up for it.

 

[brianl703]

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Now, OTOH, my wife bought a 1996 RAV4 for $4500. We figured that if it lasted 1 year, we'd be good.
It's gone four years and another 65k miles, with only some moderate fixes.

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That's about what I paid for my second used car and about how long I kept it. I saved up the money for a new car while I had it. Amazing how much that $250 a month adds up to after 4 years

 

[BrianWC]

I've enjoyed buying lightly used cars and until recently, had plenty of time to work on them. But there comes a point where you begin to get diminishing return on your investment-even if it's only an investment of time. I LOVED my 1997 SAAB 900 SE Turbo. Four doors, five speed, oodles of torque, a huge hatch, what wasn't to love? But it wasn't hard for me to part it out after wrecking it at 191,000 miles. I would have had to buy new airbags, dash, radiator, alternator, hood, grille, bumper....then who knew if it would stay reliable or if the rest of the car would have begun to disintegrate? All for a car that was worth at best $3-4k with the miles? No thanks.

Now, as I'm expecting my third kid, the hassle factor is big. I can barely sneak outside to wash our cars much less spend a few hours replacing shocks or any multitude of other things that fail on an aging car. Matter of fact, I've been sitting here today wondering just that-when am I going to get time to replace my blown front struts on my 9-5?

 

[brianl703]

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As previous posts mention, the quality of mechanical service and replacement parts is iffy too. The factory alternator or starter might last 150,000 miles and 10 years, but after you replace it with a rebuilt unit, it will typically become an annual replacement item.

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I've never bought the typical Autozone rebuilt alternator--of the two alternators I've replaced, one was rebuilt by a local company that has been around for YEARS and the other was a wrecking yard pull. Both are still working fine and it's been several years since I replaced them.

I hope that local company (Artie's Auto Electric) is still around the next time I need to replace an alternator.

 

[Earl Filter]

Just curious...anyone listen to Dave Ramsey's radio show?

www.daveramsey.com

If so, then I don't need to tell you where I fall in this discussion.

 

[LouDawg]

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Well, I'm on my 3rd wife?

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Me too!

What were we thinking?

 

[LouDawg]

One more point that I don't think has been made (if so, I missed it as there are some lengthy posts).

I spend more time in my car than probably 90% of the people out there. So I wanted to drive a car that had most of the creature comforts and luxuries that I could afford. If I'm spending so much time in it, might as well enjoy it. So I got the Accord with the V6, leather, XM, etc. Did it make fiscal sense? Probably not, although with the Accord that's debatable. But does it make me happy and put a big smile on my face when I drive it? You betcha!

 

[The_Jeff]

^ arguably that accord has most of the creature comforts of a starter acura, for less money. Seems sensible to me.

 

[Stewart Fan]

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Stewart Fan in response to my comment:

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people will spend a lot of money on status items, fads, and changes in style. It is all a part of the need to keep up with the Jones's. It is not about being practical or logical.

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Sounds like someone is jealous.

Because I choose to work hard so I can afford nice things,that makes me impractical or illogical?

If you want to drive around in a POS be my guest.

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Thank you for demonstrating my point. Your answer to: "Why replace a car that can be repaired?" is "I work hard so I can afford nice things". Your obvious logic error demonstrates that you are not about logic. Furthermore, your attitude isn't about being practical either. For some reason "nice things" and making others feel jealous makes you feel good.

The irony is delicious. Thanks.

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Nice things do make me feel good. I've got a nice house,nice cars,great kids and wife.

I suppose I could live in a shack and s**t in a bucket,but why? So I don't offend anybody? Hurt somebodys feelings?

I'm 33 years old and the ONLY debt I have is my home,I don't owe a penny to anyone but my mortgage company,and my house will be payed off long before the final payment is due. All three of my vehicles are owned free and clear.

I don't give a flying **** about what ANYONE else thinks,and I'm not trying to impress ANYONE.

You think because I have a nice house and nice cars I'm trying to make people jealous? Not hardly.

I have nice things because I can. If that bothers somebody,F**k 'em!

 

[gedcruise]

Great point! Our '97 Aerostar with 120K and careful maintenance, by me, for its entire life, is worth maybe 2K. Its utility value is far greater, and, with a few hundred dollars in replacments of parts likely to fail, should give another 50K or more in reliable service.
Why buy new when you can preserve what you have, and spend your money on other things, like sending your kids to college, or saving for your retirement, not to mention some great vacations?

 

[bob_ninja]

One of the big problems when trying to fix cars is that mechanics are all over the place, many bad and many good. For that reason I always go to the dealer, pay more but get reliable service. Otherwise bad mechanic can cost you a lot of money due to poor advice and replacing parts that don't need to be fixed, etc.

The calculations can be very tricky. I have a 12 year old Honda Civic which I should sell as I have too many vehicles. The trouble is I can get less than $4K for it. As this car has been rock solid so far I have no reason to expect otherwise for another 5-10 years. So should I spend say $300 at the dealer to replace rusted exhaust and old belts, etc.?
Sure I could recover $4K now, but then have to spend $30K in 5-10 years. Or I could simply pay $1-2K repairs over the next 10+ years and keep using old reliable Civic. So the logic is not if I should spend $2K on a $4K car, but rather if $2K worth or repairs will delay $30K bill for another 10+ years.

If you have a reliable trouble-free machine then I believe that repairs are worth the trouble. If your machine is giving you a lot of grief, then not. Simple.

Keep in mind that the older reliable machine is replaced with a new one that yuo don't know if it will be reliable or will have a lot of failures. So there is a risk factor in purchasing new.

 

[brianl703]

Well, the claim I've heard is that the worst of the new cars today are still better than the best of what was available 10 years ago.

Of course someone might have determined that from JD Power data

I think the best rule when deciding whether to repair or replace a car is: Given the cost of repairs, can you buy a used car in as good or better condition for that money?

Usually the answer is going to be NO, given the way many people take care of their cars (true scenario here):

Customer: "Change the oil, we're gonna keep it a while."

(Meanwhile the oil is 2 quarts low and was last changed 10K ago). (Not to mention the logic of the customers statement that changing the oil is only worth doing if you're keeping the car a while! Sadly I think that's pretty common!)

 

[sxg6]

My reasoning for trading in my used 97 eclipse gsx for an '03 civic ex i purchased brand new. Granted, it wasn't in the shop for a major repair or anything, but here are my reasons anyways.

Positives:
- Better MPG - More reliable - M/T
- A brand new car, i know exactly how it's been treated/maintained
- Requires much less maintainence

Negatives:
- No more AWD - Less horsepower - Not as comfortable
- Not as fun to drive

To me, it's a game of pros and cons. And for me, the positive aspects of getting a new car outweighed the negative aspects of getting rid of my current vehicle. So, i went ahead and got the new car.

 

[ScottB]

Here's another (and my last) point. I can't even see the engine in most new cars, let alone have the tools (computers) to work on them.
Fluids, plugs, wires, battery.
Brake pads, filters, fuses, bulbs.

Much else, not really.

 

[gedcruise]

You are probably right. However, the best of cars from twenty years ago were pretty good. Of the 200K cars we have had thus far, all were built at least twenty years ago, and all were almost blissfully reliable.