Help me decide if we should buy a new car

[gator75]

S o heres the burning question. our car is 13 years old still runs well has no major problems that we are aware of , and yes iam one of thoes people that hangs on to their cars until the wheels fall off , and then i always hope you can put them back on again. so do you think that we should dive into looking into another car something newer? Like i said there is nothing really wrong its just getting older and the thing that isn't helping the situation is that while it still runs its getting harder for the mechanics to find parts. Like this past summer a sensor went out ,and low and behold they couldn't find one anywhere except for a wreckage yard , and yes it did get fixed , but i worry that someday when we need a big part it won't be there. Also we live in a very cold part of the country and last winter it was very hard to get our car started.

so what do you guys think? we nhave the money for a decent down payment , but are less the thrilled to be back in the car payment game. so give me your best and most honest answers.

 

[mom2val]

Dh's car is a 1998 and has 140,000 miles on it. We are keeping it until it dies and is not worth fixing-- if it takes more than $1000 to fix we are done! We just had to put a new starter on it $160 and new tires will be happening soon but all cars need tires. I dread the day it dies and we have to start making payments again.

 

[JaymeC]

Instead of making car payments, why not pay yourself for a year or so and then use it to pay cash for the car?

But yes, it does sound like it's about time to retire your old one. The cold worries me, I wouldn't want to get stranded somewhere because of it. If you opt not to get another one, I'd be sure to keep some blankets, and other emergency supplies in the trunk for sure.

 

[seashell724]

I would still keep it for now and save up each month the payments you would be making on a new car to buy one in a bit. I find it very strange that mechanics have a hard time finding parts for it and the sensor problem. I am thinking the parts guys may be getting lazy because parts for a 13 year old car should not be hard to find. (Unless you have some very rare kind of car!) My husband is a mechanic and works on old and new cars so I'm using what I've heard from him as a reference to this!

I wanted to add that if you do feel uncomfortable in your car then you don't want to have anxiety each time you go out, so that is more of a personal option of how you feel.

I live where it is often -40 in winter and we plug our car in each night. I know that you want your car to be able to start!

 

[clh2]

We also keep our cars a long time...our "gauge" on needing a new car is "will it make it through the next winter". Once that answer is "NO" we will go on the hunt. Now - obviously - this is a very non-scientific method of determining when to start looking.

THe reasons for this - DH and I made one search for a car when it was cold out...and I just won't ever do that again. It also lets us be on the "offense" when looking for a car. I do not want to be "forced" into a bad decision (either car-wise or financially) because we needed to have something NOW.

We usually keep our cars until about 10 years/150-160K miles. We are in Wisconsin, and I do not want to "get stuck out in the cold" if my car breaks down.

Now - last time, we kept our old car and didn't trade it in, since we knew or DD would be driving.

 

[shelwoj]

It is going to be harder to find parts for older cars because of the cash for clunkers program. It got rid of a lot of cars that could have stayed on the road for a while longer. My dad and brother own an auto repair shop and that is their number one complaint.

Me, personally, I'd hang onto it until I HAD to get another car. I grew up in the cold weather and if you take care of your car, and it sounds like you do, it should be fine for a while longer. Just my personal opinion.

 

[Swimalie]

I like the idea of paying yourself some payments for a while and then car shopping. Can you make it until the new models are coming out next summer and get a 2011? And in the mean time, pay yourself some payments to get an even bigger downpayment?

We have a 2000 car now that has just hit 125,000. It's running okay but we're worried that it's going to start having issues soon that my husband can't fix so next summer we're getting a new car. We already have a huge downpayment (we've been putting $250 a month aside for several years in addition to our regular savings) plus we're refinancing in Nov and will be putting that towards the car fund. So for us, the car will be mostly paid for before we get it vs a car that is going to start having issues soon that my husband can't fix himself.

 

[adventure_woman]

I would start making car payments to yourself, so you could pay more of it with cash. I also wouldn't buy a brand new car, buy last year's model or a 1-2 yr old car...you waste a lot of money by buying brand new. Our van was 2 yrs old when we bought it and we still were able to buy the extended warranty on it.

 

[DawnM]

We have a 1996 Saturn that just will not die!

We just put $250 into it (DH does the work himself so that saves us a bundle!) But they were parts that just need replacing every several years.

Every month we don't have a car payment is another month to save money towards a new car!

For the above car, our cut off is $500. If a repair/replacement part is over $500 we are done with the car. It is old enough to just let it go and we have two other cars. At this point we have about 50,000 miles or so left on these tires and we figure it won't make it that long and even if it does, that will make it a 17 year old car and just TIME.

So, in your shoes, I would hang on a bit until something more major goes out and then get rid of it.

Dawn

 

[TiggerTails57]

Instead of making car payments, why not pay yourself for a year or so and then use it to pay cash for the car?

I have a 'new wheels' account for when my 10 year old Honda Oddy finally bites the dust........I'm hoping to have saved enough for a 1-2 year old car.

 

[karice2]

I am kind of in the same boat. Except my car is a 2003 with 189,912 miles on it. I know I have a long commute. I don't want to have a car payment again so I am just looking to buy a second smaller car. Currently driving an SUV.

Have you considered checking military bases. Sometimes soldiers that are leaving sell cars for a really good price.

I know it will be odd for a single person to have two cars but I like having the SUV for the snow (gotta go take care of my mean old grandma) and my Homeless Depot or BLowe's trips.

 

[csharpwv]

I always said I would NEVER buy a new car again after buying my 'dream' car right out of college. When I say dream car - I'm a very practical person - so for me it was a 2006 Ford Focus ZX5 with sunroof, upgraded audio - and generally an all around FUN car to drive - but VERY fuel efficient, and really practical when it comes to hauling things (it had TONS of cargo space).

However, when we decided to start shopping for a car that was a little more comfortable for long trip, had enhanced safety features (built in bluetooth and SYNC technology just to name a couple), and more room for passengers - we looked at both new and used.

It turns out that we were able to get a similarly equipped NEW car for a lower price than a used model- AND MUCH better financing options.

So - even though I said I'd never buy a NEW car again - in this situation it just made more sense to buy a new car. It was a model year end - with a really great promotion price - AND promotional financing.

SO be sure to compare all of your options - and - It wouldn't be a complete posting if I didn't ask - Have you driven a Ford lately????

We LOVE our 2010 Ford Taurus!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

First............join AAA for the day when you break down.

Next, keep on setting money aside each month your clunker survives. On the month that your clunker dies for good, pull the trigger and replace it with the money you set aside for use as either a larger down payment or use it to "reduce" to subsequent monthly payment.

Our 2002 wagon has 175K on it with the motor at 100k due to a warranty replacement. We don't have the "extinct parts" issue yet. Some years we have low annual bills and some years we spend 500 to 1500.

We are keeping ours until we lose faith in it's reliability. It is allowed to have a hiccup now and then, but once it proves to be unreliable---it's gone.