Keep Old Car or Buy a New One?

[Balou2u]

I wanted some different views on my situation.

We own a 6 year old Chrysler Pacifica with 63K miles outright. Overall the car runs well. We have put some money into it over the past few years: A/C blow, seat motor, tie rods, brake sensors....but nothing major to the engine.

We were thinking about buying a brand new Honda Accord and use the Chrysler as a trade in. We would finance the rest over 5 years at a pretty good rate at about 3%. We currently could afford the payments without much stress.

Our thoughts are; the Honda could last us well over ten years, the value of our current car will never be higher, questions about reliablility and repair bills could get us in the near future with our current car.

We are just not sure the peace of mind of a new car with a warranty is worth a monthly payment. I know there is no black and white answers but what advice would you give?

 

[mhsjax]

I wanted some different views on my situation.

We own a 6 year old Chrysler Pacifica with 63K miles outright. Overall the car runs well. We have put some money into it over the past few years: A/C blow, seat motor, tie rods, brake sensors....but nothing major to the engine.

We were thinking about buying a brand new Honda Accord and use the Chrysler as a trade in. We would finance the rest over 5 years at a pretty good rate at about 3%. We currently could afford the payments without much stress.

Our thoughts are; the Honda could last us well over ten years, the value of our current car will never be higher, questions about reliablility and repair bills could get us in the near future with our current car.

We are just not sure the peace of mind of a new car with a warranty is worth a monthly payment. I know there is no black and white answers but what advice would you give?

Personally, I hate car payments and as long as the car was running well, I would drive it till it drops. At a later date the Honda will still be a great car and you can buy one them. I would just start saving the amt that the car would be and then maybe you can pay cash for it, once your other car dies.

 

[herdtoDisney]

I wanted some different views on my situation.

We own a 6 year old Chrysler Pacifica with 63K miles outright. Overall the car runs well. We have put some money into it over the past few years: A/C blow, seat motor, tie rods, brake sensors....but nothing major to the engine.

We were thinking about buying a brand new Honda Accord and use the Chrysler as a trade in. We would finance the rest over 5 years at a pretty good rate at about 3%. We currently could afford the payments without much stress.

Our thoughts are; the Honda could last us well over ten years, the value of our current car will never be higher, questions about reliablility and repair bills could get us in the near future with our current car.

We are just not sure the peace of mind of a new car with a warranty is worth a monthly payment. I know there is no black and white answers but what advice would you give?

Me personally, I prefer no payments...but I would look at my driving needs and consider gas mileage in the equation. I don't know what the Pacifica gets, nor the Accord, but if there would be significant savings, I would consider it.

I don't worry so much about reliability-today's cars often go well over ten years with no major troubles. My own daily driver is a 1997 Chevy Cavalier, which I love and won't give up.

 

[cvjw]

I would buy a Honda or Toyota if I was comfortable with the payment. Just for a point of reference, I have a 6 year old Toyota Sienna minivan with 63,000 miles on it. So far, I have had to only do regular maintenance on it. Not one thing has broken on that van. It is super reliable. Resale prices for used cars are high right now. I would want to be driving a car that I could count on - I am super scared of a car leaving me on the side of the road!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

I know it is emotionally a tough call. From a money standpoint, keeping your present car makes the most sense..............so try this approach:

Start setting aside down payment money now for the next replacement vehicle and join AAA for peace of mind.

Here are the financial reasons to put off buying a new car............the sales tax will add up to about a thousand bucks up front, you will have to borrow more money for the new car, it will depreciate substantially in the first few years, the new car may be more expensive to insure since it is worth more.

I know the present car has not been perfect, but it should have a lot of life left in it. Not sure how many miles you drvie a year, but it takes a lot of gas savings to offset the expenses mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Don't be deflated by the expenses you might face in the near future...............new brake pads, new tires, a battery. The cost is nothing compared to the price of getting a new car.

 

[patsal]

I'd keep the old one until the repairs get out of control. Every month without a car payment is more money for a down payment on your next car!

 

[pyrxtc]

I'm just surprised you are considering trading in a car with such low mileage and no major problems.

I just traded in my 06 for an 11 but my van had 127,000 miles on it. All but 5,000 was me and my family. Engine was great and never a problem there but lots of other "little" things were breaking.

If the new car would get better gas mileage then maybe I would trade it in but I would rather start putting that car payment into a savings account until I started having problems with my current car and then use the cash towards a new car. This way you can see how your finances do with having that payment every month and see if you can really "live" with it.

 

[kathie859]

I'm in the "drive it til it dies" camp. Like previous posters, I hate having a car payment!!!! Frankly, I always get the most push back from DH---I think boys are more concerned with having a cool (read new) vehicle!! I bought a new car last fall having buried a 94 Saturn. Now I still have no payment (paid cash) but my insurance and tangible property taxes are higher

 

[beansmom]

i wholeheartedly agree with keep it til it drops. Car payments stink and the insurance is more. And you're keeping one big hunk outta the salvage yard for a while longer.

 

[seashoreCM]

When you replace a part, the new part should last from that time forward just as long as the same part in a new car.

And things like brake pads and batteries and mufflers last no longer on a new car compared with on an old car.

buying a brand new XXX and use the YYY as a trade in

Note that you really don't get as much as you think for trading in. When the dealer quotes you a trade in value, that comes off sticker price and you won't be able to bargain much lower if any. Meanwhile you can already bargain with no trade in, you can get a significant amount off. The biggest advantage of trading in is to eliminate the hassle of disposing of the old car.

 

[robinb]

I'm in the same boat. We have a 5 year old Mazda 5 with about the same number of miles and ours is a POS. We have replaced the brakes and the suspension system in the last year (nearly $2000) and it still makes weird noises. It also needs a second set of new (very expensive because of the size) tires. It also is very low to the ground so the front bumper has been damaged (by us) and someone hit it in the back in the YMCA parking lot. It's just cosmetic damage, so we have not had it fixed so it looks like the POS it is. So ... it's resale value is down. We pretty much hate the car, but our car payments are just about over and we really don't want to pick up more payments. I think we will probably drive it until the hatred gets to be too much or 90-100K miles whichever comes first.

 

[ccgirl]

I wanted some different views on my situation.

We own a 6 year old Chrysler Pacifica with 63K miles outright. Overall the car runs well. We have put some money into it over the past few years: A/C blow, seat motor, tie rods, brake sensors....but nothing major to the engine.

We were thinking about buying a brand new Honda Accord and use the Chrysler as a trade in. We would finance the rest over 5 years at a pretty good rate at about 3%. We currently could afford the payments without much stress.

Our thoughts are; the Honda could last us well over ten years, the value of our current car will never be higher, questions about reliablility and repair bills could get us in the near future with our current car.

We are just not sure the peace of mind of a new car with a warranty is worth a monthly payment. I know there is no black and white answers but what advice would you give?

Only 63K miles an nothing wrong with it? NO way we would be buying a new car. My DH's "new" (used car) has almost that many miles on it. Typically, we keep our cars until there is so much work it is not the best financial decision. Case in point, my DH had a 2001 Chevy Silverado truck. Things were really starting to go. It needed $4,000 worth of work and had almost 150K miles on it. PLus, the gas was getting so expensive. It has been paid off for years and the dealership still gave us $2,500 for a trade in even with the dent in the side. He traded it in for a 2004 SUV. My car is a 2006 with about 8 payments. I have 125,000 miles and no plans to trade it in since there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

My advice is, how many monthly payments would you have to make in order to pay for the repairs? For example, say something breaks and you need $2,000 worth of repairs. If you have a 300 car payment, that would be 6 1/2 months of payments. After the 6 1/2 months you would be pretty much throwing that money away as you would have already paid for the repairs on the older car and not had any car payment.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[scrapquitler]

I'd keep the old one until the repairs get out of control. Every month without a car payment is more money for a down payment on your next car!

This is always my mindset, too.

Every month that I don't have a car payment is a good thing I don't even mind small repairs, because they are still cheaper than a car payment.

The car has only 63K on it, keep driving it for another 30 or 40K miles. And in the meantime, start putting the money that you would have paid for a car payment into the bank. By the time the car starts to become unreliable you'll likely have enough money in the bank to pay for your new car outright with cash.

 

[Swimalie]

Normally I'd say keep the old one. After 10 years, it's like the car is paying you or so Clark Howard says. But your car is young, low mileage and has had some major problems. I drive an 11 year old Honda with 130,000 miles and ZERO problems. I'd get rid of the problem car and get one that is reliable and will last a lot longer.

 

[sdzman]

I'd keep the car too. Those repairs you mentioned although annoying havent been do to any engine problems. Even the much better fuel economy probably doest justify the cost of a new vehicle.

 

[KELLY]

I don't care what I drive person. I work at home. We have a 2006 dodge carvan that is paid for with 51,000 miles. I plan on driving it until it dies.

 

[sandynd]

Also, don't forget that your circumstances can change drastically in five years, and the car payment will be an albatross around your neck if one or both of you aren't making the same amount of money you are now. Sorry to be a downer and making it all about me, but last year I had the choice to buy a new car or another used one. Fortunately I chose to pay cash for the used car, and have no payments, because in January of this year, my DH had to unexpectedly retire so he can get daily life-saving treatments. He'll never be able to work regularly again. Thank GOD I don't have a new-car payment to worry about along with supporting my family and making sure we have food, clothing and shelter all by myself.

 

[Balou2u]

Thanks for all the advice. We are going to probably keep our current car and drive it for a while more.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I wanted some different views on my situation.

We own a 6 year old Chrysler Pacifica with 63K miles outright. Overall the car runs well. We have put some money into it over the past few years: A/C blow, seat motor, tie rods, brake sensors....but nothing major to the engine.

We were thinking about buying a brand new Honda Accord and use the Chrysler as a trade in. We would finance the rest over 5 years at a pretty good rate at about 3%. We currently could afford the payments without much stress.

Our thoughts are; the Honda could last us well over ten years, the value of our current car will never be higher, questions about reliablility and repair bills could get us in the near future with our current car.

We are just not sure the peace of mind of a new car with a warranty is worth a monthly payment. I know there is no black and white answers but what advice would you give?

With only 63K miles on the Chrysler and relatively few repairs, non major, I would strongly consider keeping it. Depending on how many miles you drive yearly and it appears you drive around 10,000 yearly, assuming you bought it new, you could have another 4 years of use from it. If you have a good mechanic you trust, ask for an opinion. Replacing an AC blower motor and a seat motor are electrical items that could happen to any car. Replacing tie rods and brakes are normal maintenance items.

How about doing a manufacturer's suggested tune up and just keep not making car payments?

 

[chris31997]

I would start saving money for a new car if you want a "new" car. But I would buy a young used car.