When do you replace your car?

For me, this time it's going to be when it becomes unreliable.

First time it breaks down for some reason that the ordinary person (me) COULDN'T predict, I'm going to be in the market for another car.

BTDT--I kept my previous car way too long, and it broke down on me several times. Finally, I learned my lesson.

1) Economics. It isn't worth the cost of repairs. This is especially true for a very old car because if it is in an accident, the insurance company will only pay me so much, regardless of what I have put into it.

2) I hate it. I've had a few cars over the years that were "best I could find at the time". Ultimately something came along and I got something I actually wanted.

insurance company that I'd just put on new tires and had some other recent repairs done. They paid the "blue book" plus extra for the new tires and repairs after I presented the receipts. Granted, this was awhile ago, I don't know if insurance companies are quite so fair these days.

If you've had specific repairs or improvements that can be documented, they may include that in the settlement. Legally they are basically required to. But certain repairs will be classified as "maintenance" by them and it can be a hassle getting them included. And if they are more than about 6 months old, they may ignore them altogether, or severely "depreciate" them.

Other than that, if it's fixable, I'll fix it.

Or, when I'm a gullible idiot and give my paid for, running, but body damaged car to my boyfriend of three years. I thought we were practically married and saw it as just letting him drive it primarily -- when we had gotten together, I was the only one with a car. I was the one who could afford a car payment at that time in our relationship, and only one car was rapidly turning into a PITA.

Two years later he dumps me. My bad, won't make the mistake again.

are more than the vehicle is worth

We're almost to that point with my wife's car. But we want to wait for awhile and see if the industry starts making plug-in hybrids that we can afford.

I am right now driving a 1982 Chevy Chevette and a 1983 Chevy Camper Van. My wife drives a 1998 VW Cabrio ragtop.All are in great shape.Haven't made a car payment in over 30 years.

until the repairs cost more than about 6 months of a new car payment. I'd never heard that before, but it made sense to me.

dg

That is - hardly ever

before it starts to break down and before parts are difficult to find.

At that point I would rather pay a little more for the "newness" combined with improved reliability & safety.

That loose metric has worked well for me over the years. Nice thing is cars are lasting longer and longer.

I expect to get at least 10 years from my Honda. My last vehicle lasted 8.5 years (before someone hit us in an intersection totaling it). Vehicle before that lasted 7 years. The one before that only 5 (but I was young and stupid then and skipped maintenance).

in 1996 and had a mere 248,000 miles on it when we sold it (A/C had gone out, it was manual transmission which none of the kids would touch). We owned it 12 years. We're now looking for a replacement just like it but in automatic and less miles and working a/c.

Dh's CRV is a 2000 (it will be the oldest daughter's when she finally gets her license, LOL). Mine is a 2001 T&C Ltd. with 128,000 on it and still runs great. We don't replace cars until they become too expensive to maintain regularly.

Honda makes some of the best engines on the planet (not just in cars but small engines too).

The automotive branch was started simply as a place to sell more engines. Sometimes Honda skimps on trim, or accessories, or auxiliary systems (like A/C) but the engine is rock solid which is why I have a lot of respect for Honda and feel they are far superior to Toyota engines.

I would like to see them make an electric vehicle for when my current vehicle reaches end of life.

The circa 99 Accord was a sharp sedan. I don't know what the circa 2008 remodel is. And this thing:



:wtf:

It is IMHO while they have never been able to break into the top 5.

Still I buy car for long term reliability.

Honestly I would buy them if they still looked like this: :)

Consumer research turns into "confirmation bias" if left to get stale. For example, I hear much talk of timing belt issues with Hondas....

You get a lot of bang for the buck w/Honda. I also love Ford and would buy one new if we had the extra cash...

Now a 'compact car' is twice that size and you have to get a smart car or a mini or something to actually get a small car..

It is one reason why mileage standards have rarely budged.

Cars have far more efficient engines but they need to be larger because the vehicles weight 500, 600, 800 more pounds.

Okay, okay, "driveway" ornament...;)

and I STILL haven't replaced it, lol.

Why anyone in their right mind would steal a car that old with deteriorating paint on the hood over the engine is another question entirely, but this IS the San Fernando Valley, auto theft capital of the US........

So far my 1997 Plymouth Voyager has done yeoman duty. 107,000 miles and it is in good shape. My wife's '97 Sebring has 160,000 miles and she still commutes to Dallas every day.

I look at the price of a new van or car and blanch. I really, really hate car payments. I also hate sitting in the cubicle waiting for the car salesperson to return from talking with his/her supervisor so we can decide just how much money is to be extracted from me. And, damn it, I want an electric van and an electric car!

and repairing it costs more then buying another PoS.

I would have replaced one car at 10,000 miles (starter failed at the post office), another at about 20,000 miles (alternator failed in my garage) and another at about 40,000 miles (alternator failed at the gas station). Unexpected problems at low mileage. In each case I made the necessary repairs and was able to reliably use the vehicle for several more years.

I have friends who are mechanics. I do all the routine and recommended maintenance - and that includes changing out belts and hoses before they crack and break. I know several people who have maintained their vehicles this way and have put hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Off the top of my ead I can name 4 people who drive vehicles that are decades old and have over 300,000 miles on them. It's usually a lot cheaper to make the major repairs than it is to replace the vehicle in my experience.

Assuming there are no known problems with the vehicle I usually don't even consider replacing it until it has ten years or over 100,000 miles.

My last car had more than 250,000 miles on it when I replaced it. It was 18 years old.

It had been a good car, but it was at the point where I'd get something fixed, something else would break down. And it was unreliable.

Left me stranded more than once. No mas!

(Disclaimer: I stole that from a song by Pete Kennedy.)

I will replace it when it becomes unreliable, but no sign of this happening yet.

The best thing about it- we have a personal property tax on cars here, based on what they think the value is, and the tax bill for this car is down to virtually nothing! My only tax that keeps on going down.

It's a US-built Toyota from the days when their engineering was so solid it could rightfully be called a masterpiece (late 90s).

Almost zero maintenance, very fuel efficient, and even over a decade later doesn't look dated or old at all.

I had a Corolla for 20 years. We now have two 20 yr old vehicles (both at 100K+ mi) and one that is 8 years old (just turned 40K mi on the odometer). All are in working order. My husband does most maintenance and repair work provided it doesn't require special equipment. We have not had a car payment years now. Knock on wood, we have only owned one lemon. The important thing to do is to maintain your car like you would your home. You can't run it into the ground and expect for it to perform.

OK... not really. :)

I like to buy a new car that's highly rated for reliability, keep up on routine maintenance, and keep the car for as long as I think it's reliable and repairs will be worth the expense. Only once did I replace a car a little on the early side by my own standards (when it was five years old) because I just wanted a nicer, newer car without any more compelling reason.

Right now I have the advantage of living close to work so mileage isn't piling up on my current car very quickly. It's a Subaru, a little over five years old with a little over 50,000 miles on it. It's still in great shape. I should have no trouble keeping it at least another five years. I've already got the money saved up to buy the car's eventual replacement with cash.

When this car reaches 100,000 miles or ten years, even if it's still running reasonably well, I might be tempted to buy something new anyway, especially if by that time good plug-in hybrids are available for a decent price. I hope someone comes up with an all-wheel-drive hybrid, something I haven't seen before. All-wheel drive is one Subaru feature I'd hate to give up.

Whether I need to or not.

If I have to worry about it leaving me stranded, away it goes.

I'm hoping my 15 year old car will last longer than me because I can't afford to buy another one.

It just reached the 250,000 mile mark a few months back. I take it to D.C. and back on occasion. That is one bad-ass automobile. And like a poster above said - I really, REALLY hate car payments also. $300 bucks or more a month even for a new used vehicle is just too damned much money.

not really. I drive my cars until the drop dead.

Then I go out and buy another used one.

Why used?

Because a new car uses between 10 and 21 barrels of oil to manufacture.

I'll try to keep it going 'til I die.

I'm 48 but my car is only 41. You can bask in my reflected coolness.

Our oldest is a 1995 Lincoln Mark VIII, it currently has around 230k miles and it still starts, runs and drives well, I'm not looking at replacing it unless it throws a rod or blows the transmission or something major like that. Keep on chugging baby! :D

thanks :hi:

I had to replace the radiator last year about this time. I did it myself, because the shop wanted $800 to do the job, and the new radiator only cost $200. But...this particular vehicle has had a long series of problems, each of which has cost between $500 and $1000 to repair. It's a 1999 model, with about 120,000 miles on it.

I kept fixing it, for the six years we've owned it, because its paid for and replacing it would require a larger amount of cash than fixing it.

About six months ago, someone backed into the passenger side front fender as I was driving through a parking lot. The insurance company wrote me a check for $2300, and I decided not to repair the damage, which was purely cosmetic. But, the next thing that's going to cost over about $200 to repair will send the thing to the donation yard.

I believe the vehicle knows that, since it has been trouble free since the collision. It had better behave or it's beads for that GMC Jimmy.

He is taking care of my car very well

My faithful 99 Malibu had to be replaced late last year. Boy did I hate to have to do that. The car was paid for, got great mileage, and only burned about 1 qt of oil every 3k miles, despite having over 100k miles on the odometer. But, when the dealership can't tell what is wrong with the car, nor how much it will cost to fix it, that's it.

It was prudent of me to pick really uncool neighbors.

The actual answer is more like when mowing around it becomes problematic.

When it is up on blocks (wait for it) It's a lawn ornament!!!!

Once I start paying so much for repairs that I may as well have a car payment, I buy a car.

because I won't be able to afford it. Gonna keep the one I have now (almost 100k miles on it) in the best shape I can for as long as I can, because with health care costs, food costs and everything else (but wages) going up, I don't think I'll be able to afford another one.

I have lost touch. She would never pay more than $500 for a car. And she would drive those beaters into the ground. She could squeeze more life out of a car than was ever intended and she did all of the maintenance and many of the repairs herself. I used to see her with her head under the hood tossing stuff out. She'd pop up with an irrepressible and contagious grin on her face, laugh, and greet me like I'd been missing for years. A great free spirit and woman with heart. She had 3 kids and a worthless husband. Ran into her once several years ago and asked about him. She laughed and told he that he had experienced a midlife crisis half his age and run off with her. Nothing kept her down, not even a clunker.

I remember the cars I had that were made in the 60s and 70s. Yeah, they were inefficient gas guzzlers, but I could diagnose a problem by listening to it, get a part, and actually have access under the hood to change it out, usually in under an hour. I could pull an engine, overhaul it and have it back in and running in 2-3 days. Not anymore, it takes that long just to unhook and rehook everything that is attatched to the engine now, and most of them aren't rebuildabe, at least not in the garage anymore.

The vehicle I have now I bought last Oct/Nov and is a 2009 model. It's a small SUV and has suited me well. I'm thinking when this is paid off into getting an electric vehicle, which would cover all my daily driving and I'll have the SUV for trips to the hardware store and long distance.

for as long as possible. Then buy a car that is used and one year old and repeat. Right now I am riding a 250K mile Honda accord that has had little if any problems.

That's what I did in 2003 - a compact with 8,000 miles on it. Paid cash and and have never been happier about a car purchase. Hoping I can get another 100,000 miles out of it if I keep up the maintenance; if it clunks out before then I'll probably be a bus rider for awhile before I can afford a new one. Which is fine in theory except this is SE Michigan, the motor capital of the world, meaning that public transportation sucks big time.

My last car was a 1993 Saturn SL1. It was a tin can and scary as hell to drive on the highway. The odometer was broken when we bought it used in 2001.

We replaced the water pump. We replaced the radiator. We replaced the head gasket and the belt pulleys.

Then... the transmission went out in 2006. Since I was driving 40 miles each way to work at the time, we had to really look at whether it was worth it to keep replacing parts on it. The cost of replacing the transmission was about $1800, but their were several other linking gaskets on the engine, as well.

So, we bought a 2003 Volvo to replace it. I work at home now, so the poor thing almost never gets driven, except by my daughter to school sometimes. But I'm not upset that we bought it rather than continuing to replace pieces of the Saturn.

I don't think I'll need to replace it for years and years to come. It would have to be a major repair like the engine or the transmission, with other issues included to make me part with my little car. I know you shouldn't get attached to things, but a sporty Volvo S40 is the closest I've ever come to loving a car.

Threw the rear drive shaft in traffic the other day. It's not worth fixing, there are too many things wrong with it.

But getting a car loan when you're on a small fixed income is impossible. I don't even want a new car, just a reliable transport. They tell me there's no problem with my credit, just with my income. Bought the last car with a loan from a friend, made all the payments on time, it doesn't matter, there is NO help for people in my situation. Suckage.


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unreliability and when the cost of continued repair/maintenance is more than a new car payment.

when it just shut down and had to be towed to the junk yard.:cry: Still driving my 94 Honda Accord. Both cars hardly ever
had any repairs. I hope to drive the Honda at least as long as the Maxima. Two great cars which I love. :dilemma:

For some, that's when repairs exceed expected monthly payments. For me, it's when putting more money into it (a significant amount of money, like over a thousand) won't mean another year's worth of driving. I recently replaced my 1995 Ford with a 2009 Ford, because sinking another $1500 in the transmission of the old one would only have fixed one problem with the car, and there were several. I had no faith in the thing making it through another winter regardless, so investing money on keeping it going was a waste.

So instead of owning my car free and clear, I have six years of payments to look forward to. Yummy. At least, though, I have a reasonable expectation the car will last that long.