When is it time for a new car...

[dakcp2001]

How old is you car? How many miles? When do you think it is time to get a new one?

My car is getting up there in mileage and years and it is starting to give me trouble. At the moment the car is running ok, stalls occassionally but was recently repaired and they couldnt figure out why it stalls.

I am thinking of taking a new job that has a brutal commute. I am afraid of ending up on the side of the road..........

I really want to try to hang onto this one as long as I can. Financially now is not a good time to buy a new one, but well Id rather be safe than broken down.

 

[Darcy03231]

For us its when the care becomes unreliable and the repair costs are more than the car is worth. I had a van that I drove for 18 years and it had 189,000 miles on it before I got rid of it. Last car only lasted 8 years. It didn't have a lot of mileage on it, but we were looking at a lot of costly repairs and the gas mileage was terrible (about 14 mpg). I got a new car last summer and fully expect to drive it for at least 10 years.

 

[golfgal]

For us its when the care becomes unreliable and the repair costs are more than the car is worth. I had a van that I drove for 18 years and it had 189,000 miles on it before I got rid of it. Last car only lasted 8 years. It didn't have a lot of mileage on it, but we were looking at a lot of costly repairs and the gas mileage was terrible (about 14 mpg). I got a new car last summer and fully expect to drive it for at least 10 years.

I agree with this.

OP, if you are going to have a long commute you need a reliable car. If your mechanic can't figure out the problem, maybe take it to a different mechanic. If there is no help there, I would look into getting a new (used) car. If nothing else, make sure you sign up for AAA so if you DO get stuck on the road you have help.

 

[Frantasmic]

It's either when your repair bill is more than the car is worth, or it's when you know you can afford the car, either paying cash for a new one or a good down payment and monthly payments fit your budget.

There's not a magic month's ownership number or mileage reached number.

I read a book a long time ago about a frugal couple who gave tips on living frugally. Their car buying plan was a new car every 14 years. They' buy one with cash and budget repairs and they lasted for 14 years.

My car, a GMC Envoy, is 8 years old, 108,000 miles and my philosophy is that I want it to last two more years, I'd be happy with four more years, and I'd be exuberant with six more years.

 

[MIGrandma]

I have a 1999 Blazer, with about 150,000 miles on it.

It's been wonderful not having car payments for the past few years, and (knock on wood) it's not giving us trouble regularly so we'll keep it until things start breaking down often on it.

 

[momof1princess]

it really depends on the car and your driving situation. if you commute daily, you might need a car sooner than someone like myself, who only uses the car to take a child back and forth to school each day, and to 2-3 activities each week. my car is a 1994 GMC Jimmy (SUV) and it has over 220K miles on it. so far, it has given us no major trouble. we've replaced the usual-batteries, tires, alternator and fuel pump, but no big repairs. *knock on wood*

 

[lovesmurfs]

How old is you car? How many miles? When do you think it is time to get a new one?

My car is getting up there in mileage and years and it is starting to give me trouble. At the moment the car is running ok, stalls occassionally but was recently repaired and they couldnt figure out why it stalls.

I am thinking of taking a new job that has a brutal commute. I am afraid of ending up on the side of the road..........

I really want to try to hang onto this one as long as I can. Financially now is not a good time to buy a new one, but well Id rather be safe than broken down.

We have a 1994 Nissan Quest that has 180,000 miles on it, and a 2001 Mazda 626 with 130,000 miles on it. DH only drives a few miles to work, and I take the train/bus most days (I drive in a couple of times a month), so my commute's similar to DH's. When we travel cross country, we rent a car.

For the situation you noted, though, I'd recommend a car that you have confidence in if you have a long daily commute. Nothing's worse when you're starting a new job and having to apologize for being late due to car problems.

 

[mrodgers]

It's time to get a new car when the old car is falling apart from rust around here. Mechanically, I've never had a car that didn't go bad before it fell apart from rust. My Toyota 4Runner with 189,000 miles still ran fantastic, but you can only patch up the fenders so much to pass state inspection. Same for my Honda I just got rid of this summer with 186,000 miles.

Not only is the body rust a PITA, but when you do need to repair it, it is a PITA to remove whatever needs replaced because of the rusty hardware. So, all repairs also require extensive PB Blaster applications, heat, or just break, drill out, and replace on the nuts, bolts, clips, and studs.

Here in PA with the amounts of salt they put on the roads, you can go from having a car look like brand new with 160,000 miles or more in the summer to looking like swiss cheese after winter is over.

 

[indimom]

Our personal formula is when the repair costs start to outweigh what we anticipate a monthly car payment would be or when we have enough in the car account to buy with cash. We are hitting that point right now. Boy, do we want a new car, but we are holding out for as long as we can to get more cash into the car fund.
We thought we had another two years or 20,000 miles left in the car (2000 LeSabre with 130,000 miles), but it's been one repair after another this year. Front end, windows, A/C, brake line, headliner, radiator, door panel. (Thank goodness, DH and his father are decent mechanics.) It's feels like this car is going fast, but we hope it will make it another 6 months or so.

In your case, I would at least start looking at cars/costs/financing options, because you can't afford to irritate a new employer with car troubles and late arrivals.

 

[laurie31]

For us its when the care becomes unreliable and the repair costs are more than the car is worth.

For us, too.

I'm surprised to read the ages and mileages of some of the cars. (meaning it sounds like not so many miles for cars that old). We have a 1999 Saturn SC1 with 244,000 miles. We bought it new, have taken very good care of it, and it still is doing quite well. No major repairs ever. It gets great gas milage, too, better than many new cars we've looked at to replace it, so we will just keep it until it dies. DH commutes 60 miles a day, so we need something with good gas mileage.

My car is a 2002 Saturn L100 and it has 140,000 on it. No problems at all, except it only seats 5 and the kids are now at the ages when they want to invite friends to go places with us. Well, there's only room for ONE more kid in the car, so they have to take turns inviting a friend. They want us to get something bigger that will seat 7, but I don't want to lose my good gas mileage, or my ability to park in the "compact car" spots at work.

We usually keep cars around 10 years, but DH's car just seems to be like the Energizer bunny - lol. He was hoping to get a quarter million miles on it when we bought it, and it looks like he's going to make it!

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I agree with the post above but will add:

* Don't buy new - the decision to purchase a new car is among the worst financial decisions given the instant depreciation of nearly 50%.

* Save until you can pay cash - If the need is immediate, buy something that will just get you through until you can purchase something better with cash

People waste more money on cars than almost anything else. Consider your car to be a mode of transportation, and spend only what you have to spend for reliability.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

How old is you car? How many miles? When do you think it is time to get a new one?

My car is getting up there in mileage and years and it is starting to give me trouble. At the moment the car is running ok, stalls occassionally but was recently repaired and they couldnt figure out why it stalls.

I am thinking of taking a new job that has a brutal commute. I am afraid of ending up on the side of the road..........

I really want to try to hang onto this one as long as I can. Financially now is not a good time to buy a new one, but well Id rather be safe than broken down.

When you can afford the car payment. Until then we repair the car. If it breaks down, you have it towed and get it fixed.

We buy used cars and my dh can do car repairs so our situation is different than yours.

That being said taking on a car loan is something we are avoiding. We are trying to be car loan free. We are almost there.

 

[laurie31]

I agree with the post above but will add:

* Don't buy new - the decision to purchase a new car is among the worst financial decisions given the instant depreciation of nearly 50%.

* Save until you can pay cash - If the need is immediate, buy something that will just get you through until you can purchase something better with cash

People waste more money on cars than almost anything else. Consider your car to be a mode of transportation, and spend only what you have to spend for reliability.

I agree with the "don't buy new" too!

We bought mine used, in 2003, and it only had 6000 miles on it, and I paid about half what it would have been new.

We did buy DH's car new, but we had shopped around a bit and the used cars of similar quality were about the same price as the little SC1 new, and we were desperate. DH's car had died very unexpectedly (well, okay, it was 10 years old and had 220,000 miles on it, but we thought it was okay for another year) and I had a 2 year old and a 2 week old. I couldn't drive 120 miles with the babies to drop DH at work, and the other option was me being home with the kids with no transportation, so we HAD to have a replacement right away.

Usually we shop around for weeks before getting something.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Buying new is big here, but this is Detroit! Everyone knows someone who can get them an employee discount.

I drive an '09 Malibu with only 13,000 miles, so I am nowhere close. My DH drives an '08 Impala, and his has 58,000 or so on it. In two years, we are trading it in for a new Silverado, but only because we need a truck.

We usually hold on to cars for 8 years.

 

[Handbag Lady]

My last car was 15 years old and had 126,000 miles on it. I drove it every single day. I gave it up because it needed the following repairs and was worth only $1000:

Two auto windows broken: $600 total
Heater A/C broken: $1200 (I had three estimates and this was in the middle). Basically, you could have the heater on or the A/C on. The off knob broke off so there you go.
A weird knocking sound on the rear axel: Three repairs at $200-ish, still not repaired. Only happened when you took off too fast or braked REALLY hard.
Headlights malfunctioning: $1800 for new electrics. This was awesome. The headlights would work for days and then just stop. You had to have the headlights in high-beam mode or hold the switch with your hand.
Brakes: $400

The thing that killed me is that I took such good care of this car inside and out. The engine was great. The interior was fantastic and the body was sheer perfection.

I guess you go with your gut after seeing how many repairs your car needs.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My last car was 15 years old and had 126,000 miles on it. I drove it every single day. I gave it up because it needed the following repairs and was worth only $1000:

Two auto windows broken: $600 total
Heater A/C broken: $1200 (I had three estimates and this was in the middle). Basically, you could have the heater on or the A/C on. The off knob broke off so there you go.
A weird knocking sound on the rear axel: Three repairs at $200-ish, still not repaired. Only happened when you took off too fast or braked REALLY hard.
Headlights malfunctioning: $1800 for new electrics. This was awesome. The headlights would work for days and then just stop. You had to have the headlights in high-beam mode or hold the switch with your hand.
Brakes: $400

The thing that killed me is that I took such good care of this car inside and out. The engine was great. The interior was fantastic and the body was sheer perfection.

I guess you go with your gut after seeing how many repairs your car needs.

Was it a Pontiac?I just have to ask. DH gets parts from the junkyards to fix those damn windows.

 

[tvguy]

I certainly can't put a value on reliability, and rust isn't an issue here, but my 1987 Chevy has stranded me just once in 23 years, (not counting dead batteries which can happen every 3 years with any car). It is always going to be cheaper per mile to fix a car than buy a new or newer one (excluding collision damage).