Should I fix my transmission or buy a new car?

[BridgetBordeaux]

Lots of interesting experiences on this thread. The TrailBlazer probably has some more miles on it with a better trans. As long as your "check engine" light was not on before the trans croaked, you have pretty good odds of getting a few more years out of it if you did the basics like oil changes were done frequently over the past 10+ years. BTW, that trans was supposed to have its fluid and filter changed several times during its lifetime. Not sure if you did them, but always read the owners manual for guidance on what items are needed every 30, 60, 90k etc. If you guys did not do the routine trans service, then you really got a lot of miles out of it.

That inline 6 cylinder is a decent engine and parts for other systems on that SUV are plentiful. Keeping it on the road should not be too difficult to do.

Leasing most vehicles is not a good dollar value in terms of cost per mile. Buying a vehicle and then driving it for as long as possible is the best financial plan.

The value of the vehicle should not play a role in whether to put a couples thousand dollar in it. By the time someone pays sales tax on a 25,000 car and pays the increased insurance bill, the 2000 dollars is eaten up pretty fast. If you spend 2000 dollars and then drive the car for 12 only months, you have more than gotten your money's worth out of that repair. Anything after 12 months is all "gravy", and if you get a total of 3 years out of it with only a few minor parts and pieces, you will have come out way ahead.

Now for full disclosure............after having our 2002 wagon for 250K miles (new trans at 175K) we did replace it with a 2015 sedan..... the laundry list of issues with it was getting long....but we purchased the 2015 after deciding that we were ready for a new car and that we could take on our next 250,000 mile "journey".

We will have it until at least 2025!

 

[KKB]

"Leasing most vehicles is not a good dollar value in terms of cost per mile. Buying a vehicle and then driving it for as long as possible is the best financial plan."

We all grew up believing this...it is always better to buy than to rent. Drive it until you can drive it no more.

But as we began to look for a car for DD16, we realized that $10K only buys a 10 year old car with 100K miles. And a car with that age & miles will require significant upkeep as well. We realized we already had that (2002 Mazda Millenium) so she got that & we priced leases vs. buying a new car for us. My brother, a financial planner, has leased for years & I just didn't understand.

But after doing the math of buying vs. leasing (the link someone posted above was excellent--took into consideration many factors) I was shocked that buying is no longer the obvious winner. We determined a lease to be the financially smart thing to do. (for us, considering many factors)

I'm not saying leasing is ALWAYS the right decision but don't assume it isn't until you research it. And I respect the desire to keep an older car so you have no payments. But if you are going to have payments one way or another, do look into buying v. leasing.

Unfortunately we determined this too late for DH's car. He's going to have to keep on trucking in that 1999 Nissan.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

It is always a balance of circumstances, preferences, and dollars.

Here is a very short.....I mean short........piece on this issue from Clark Howard written one year ago.

http://www.clarkhoward.com/car-leasing-back-does-it-make-sense-you

 

[tvguy]

But as we began to look for a car for DD16, we realized that $10K only buys a 10 year old car with 100K miles. And a car with that age & miles will require significant upkeep as well. .

I bought a 1 year old Ford Taurus from Hertz for my son with 25,000 miles on it in 2007 for $9,995. A year later, I bought 1 year old Ford Taurus from Hertz for my daughter with 29,000 miles on it for $9,500. You just have to shop around. They have just about any brand you can think of.

 

[tvguy]

It is always a balance of circumstances, preferences, and dollars.

Here is a very short.....I mean short........piece on this issue from Clark Howard written one year ago.

http://www.clarkhoward.com/car-leasing-back-does-it-make-sense-you

Most of it is common sense. If you lease, you pay for all the depreciation over the term of the lease which typically is the biggest depreciation hit, all the interest on the loan, and a profit for the dealer.
When you buy, and IF you hand on to the car, that depreciation, interest and profit for the dealer is spread over more than the 2 or 3 years of the lease, not the typical 11+ years car buyers now keep their cars.
However, I do understand that some are willing to pay more for having a new car more frequently, and the peace of mind a new car can bring.
My arguments against leasing are made was a cheapskate whose top priority in owning a car is lowest cost per mile driven. And yes, my 1987 Suburban HAS broken down and had to be towed to the shop, but only once in the 28 1/2 years I have owned it.

 

[Crazy4DisneyandTink]

Lots of interesting experiences on this thread. The TrailBlazer probably has some more miles on it with a better trans. As long as your "check engine" light was not on before the trans croaked, you have pretty good odds of getting a few more years out of it if you did the basics like oil changes were done frequently over the past 10+ years. BTW, that trans was supposed to have its fluid and filter changed several times during its lifetime. Not sure if you did them, but always read the owners manual for guidance on what items are needed every 30, 60, 90k etc. If you guys did not do the routine trans service, then you really got a lot of miles out of it.

That inline 6 cylinder is a decent engine and parts for other systems on that SUV are plentiful. Keeping it on the road should not be too difficult to do.

Leasing most vehicles is not a good dollar value in terms of cost per mile. Buying a vehicle and then driving it for as long as possible is the best financial plan.

The value of the vehicle should not play a role in whether to put a couples thousand dollar in it. By the time someone pays sales tax on a 25,000 car and pays the increased insurance bill, the 2000 dollars is eaten up pretty fast. If you spend 2000 dollars and then drive the car for 12 only months, you have more than gotten your money's worth out of that repair. Anything after 12 months is all "gravy", and if you get a total of 3 years out of it with only a few minor parts and pieces, you will have come out way ahead.

Now for full disclosure............after having our 2002 wagon for 250K miles (new trans at 175K) we did replace it with a 2015 sedan..... the laundry list of issues with it was getting long....but we purchased the 2015 after deciding that we were ready for a new car and that we could take on our next 250,000 mile "journey".

We will have it until at least 2025!

My check engine light wasn't on and in retrospect, I can't remember when I ever had the fluid or filter changed in the transmission. That's probably the reason it went kaput! I'll be taking my SUV to get the trans fixed tomorrow. I have to give it a shot. If I can get another year out of her I would be over the moon. The truck was in really decent condition other than the trans and a year will give me a chance to save for a better down payment on a newer car.

 

[tvguy]

My check engine light wasn't on and in retrospect, I can't remember when I ever had the fluid or filter changed in the transmission. That's probably the reason it went kaput! I'll be taking my SUV to get the trans fixed tomorrow. I have to give it a shot. If I can get another year out of her I would be over the moon. The truck was in really decent condition other than the trans and a year will give me a chance to save for a better down payment on a newer car.

If you keep it, or for whatever car you buy, I'd change the transmission fluid and filter every 30,000 miles.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

I hope all goes well for you. I know this whole ordeal is very stressful!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

"Actually, 9 of the 10 longest lasting "cars" in the U.S. are American branded. All of the top ten are truck based - either pickups or body on frame SUVs. The lone "foreign" vehicle in the lot is the Toyota Tundra."
Where did you get this information from?
I just checked several online sources & most (but not all) the vehicles listed were foreign-made...(Forbes was the most reliable site I could find & 6/10 were foreign)

Read the article just a couple weeks ago. It was "cars most likely to be on the road after 200,000 miles". ALL of the top 10 were full-sized, body on frame trucks or truck-based SUV's.

Camry was #1 in the "car" category (which was dominated by Asian brands), but it ranked below a BUNCH of trucks.

 

[xlxo]

If rest of the vehicle is fine.... fix it. Your mechanic should be able to give you some ideas.

Not sure about this place...

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Other than the trans, the truck runs really well. I don't know what to do...

1) A transmission-job is a lot cheaper than a new car and/or car payments.
2) If the rest of the vehicle runs well, fix the vehicle.

 

[TaraPA]

I've got a 2000 Ford F-150 with 210k on it that has had a starter and an alternator...still running strong. But that pales in comparison to my Father in Law's Lexus ES300. He sold it two years ago with 294k on for $4000. My wife and I bought a used 4runner for her with 35k on it. We sold it to a friend of mine with 199k on it. His wife was in an accident (not her fault) and totaled it with 324k on it! Our family has had luck with cars. I think I'd pay to get it fixed even though it's easy to see how it's a gamble. With car prices now a days though you only have to get 5-6 months out of it to break even versus car payments.

The Lexus ES300 is notorious for long life - our 2000 ES300 is in the shop right now getting a new transmission at 175K miles! Never had a problem with it, body is still great, we couldn't find anything better used for under $6K for DS15 to learn to drive on this summer. It was a no brainer for us to fix it.

Just also replaced the transmission in DS18's '98 Ford F-150 with 145K miles on it. We would have preferred to dump that, it had other issues, but he was stuck. He didn't have enough $ to buy anything decent to replace it, so for him it was cheaper just to put $2K into it to fix, and we all have our fingers crossed that he gets another 3 years out of it til he's done with college.

Its a toss up no matter what you decide, there are risks involved, good luck!

 

[Cadiewampus]

If rest of the vehicle is fine.... fix it. Your mechanic should be able to give you some ideas.

Not sure about this place...

Ok that's just creepy

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

TaraPA--just checking.....Did you guys do the trans service every 30k? We have the same truck with the same miles and so far it is working well. We have been doing the trans service every 30k since new. Ours has the 4.6 V8 and the 4R70W automatic trans.

 

[Crazy4DisneyandTink]

I bit the bullet and got the transmission rebuilt. $1600 with a one year warranty. I picked up the truck yesterday and have driven it quite a bit of distance. So far, so good...

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Fingers crossed for you. Remember, even if it croaks on the 366th day, you got your value out of the 1600 bucks. I hope it lasts for much longer!

 

[Crazy4DisneyandTink]

Fingers crossed for you. Remember, even if it croaks on the 366th day, you got your value out of the 1600 bucks. I hope it lasts for much longer!

365 days?! I'll take it!

 

[mefordis]

I need to have the transmission rebuilt on my 2002 Chevy Trailblazer. The first place I took it to quoted me a price of $1675. I have a few other mechanics to call to see if I can get a cheaper price. My car has be incredibly reliable for 14 years, but I don't know if I should spend so much money on a car that is worth so little BUT I love not having a monthly car payment.

Other than the trans, the truck runs really well. I don't know what to do...

I have a 2002 Toyota Highlander and if it needed a new transmission I would definitely go that route, rather than take on a car payment. I would also start saving for a new car so I could pay in cash when the time comes for a new car. SMH at all of these people encouraging you to take on a car loan.

 

[tvguy]

Happy motoring.

 

[smiths02]

I think the standard, financial rule to apply is to determine what the car is worth with the repair. Is the car worth $1600 if repaired? If it is, then it is worth fixing it.