New Car?

Ice Cream · Sep 10, 2010

My subaru Forester is about 9 years old, and it seems to need repairs quite often. It has 103,000 miles on it.
 
I had originally thought I would keep it until it had 150,000 miles. Now I am having second thoughts. I bought it new.
 
I am debating buying a new car, and do not have to take out a loan for that. (I know, I am lucky.) However, I also seem to hear that keeping a car until it reached about 150,000 miles on it, makes sense, economically. 
 
The Subaru looks very good: I had the entire passenger side, the back, the roof, and the front hood repainted within the last 2 years. (Snowplough caused damage to the front 2 years ago, and several tree branches fell on it last year. Never had any engine damage.)
 
What would you do in this case?

runfishhunt · Sep 10, 2010

If it's a primary use vehicle and is to the point you don't trust it to get you from point A to point B I'd get rid of it.

gatorbob · Sep 10, 2010

My Nissan Maxima is 9 years old and has 145,000 miles on it. It gets cranky now and then, but it still runs okay. I plan on keeping it another couple years at least, as long as it doesn't die. 
I've heard good things about the Forrester, and it's on my list of things to look at when it finally is time to buy a new car. But I'm worried that yours needs so many repairs at just 100k...

rlemert · Sep 10, 2010

The best time to replace an old vehicle is just before the point at which the cost of repair exceeds the cost of replacement. Unfortunately, you usually can only determine that point several months after the fact. <img alt="" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad2.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;" title="">
 
 Since you can afford to pay cash we can't take your expected monthly payments as the basis for your replacement cost. Instead, I suggest taking the purchase price divided by the expected life of the new vehicle as your basis point. So if you for example bought a car costing $20,000 and you plan on getting 10 years out of it, this suggests that your replacement cost is roughly $167/month ($20,000/120 months). If your average monthly repair bills are getting near this amount I'd give serious thought to replacement.

mrscoby78 · Sep 10, 2010

Dude.
 
I have a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country with 116k. I've never had an issue with it. Just maintenance stuff....brake pads and such. It was a 1 owner when I got it. 

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by GatorBob <a href="/forum/thread/70036/new-car#post_1943773"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-right:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-bottom:0px solid;"></a> 
. But I'm worried that yours needs so many repairs at just 100k...</div>
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merigayle · Sep 10, 2010

We have a Forester that we plan on keeping FOREVER

AlaMichele · Sep 10, 2010

I'd factor in the irritation element of having the current vehicle in the shop frequently. That said, I have a 2006 Rav4 I intend to drive until the wheels fall off. I'm hoping that's 150K - 200K with consistent maintenance.

Grizzly · Sep 10, 2010

1992 Corolla wagon. 200000 miles on it. No problems. Body will rust before the engine dies. We're driving this one into the ground.

yar · Sep 10, 2010

I've always traded my cars in @ about 100K - not because they weren't still good, but because I didn't want to have to be dealing with more frequent repairs. Right now, though, I have an '03 Matrix with about 72k on it. By the time it hits 100K, I'm probably going to be either retired or close. I'll have more time to deal with the peccadillos that crop up and plan to keep this one to at least 150K.
 
yar

GaReb770 · Sep 10, 2010

I put around 20,000 to 23,000 miles yearly on my car because I hate flying and am willing to drive from Atlanta to Miami, , Houston and/or Oklahoma City rather than fly for my road races. I tend to trade them in every 3 to 4 years simply because I like newer vehicles and feel safer in them from a mechanical breakdown perspective as I know nothing about car mechanics.
 
I currently have a 2010 VW Jetta TDI I just bought last month after trading in my Honda CRV that has 62,500 miles on it in 3 years.

rlemert · Sep 10, 2010

I used to have a colleague who's attitude was that car payments were just going to be a fact of life - like rent or mortgage payments. Making the final payment for one car was his sign that it was time to buy a new one.

RaisingArizonainNH · Sep 10, 2010

keep it.
 
 I have a 2001 Ford Windstar I bought last Dec for 2300 - it's paid off this month . I had 80,000 miles on it. I will keep it another few years at least (till I stop having to tote occasional groups of kids around)
 
 The car before that was a 98 Winsdstar I paid about 4000 for- it had 60 000 mile on it in 20004. I ran it till last Dec ( 5 years ) it was over 160,000 miles when i sold it,
 Used it and then use it more it the way to go ( less insurance, less registration and with goo maintenance - not usually all that pricey for repairs )

Notey · Sep 10, 2010

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by rlemert <a href="/forum/thread/70036/new-car#post_1943809"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-right:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-bottom:0px solid;"></a> The best time to replace an old vehicle is just before the point at which the cost of repair exceeds the cost of replacement. Unfortunately, you usually can only determine that point several months after the fact. <img alt="" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad2.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;" title="">
 
 Since you can afford to pay cash we can't take your expected monthly payments as the basis for your replacement cost. Instead, I suggest taking the purchase price divided by the expected life of the new vehicle as your basis point. So if you for example bought a car costing $20,000 and you plan on getting 10 years out of it, this suggests that your replacement cost is roughly $167/month ($20,000/120 months). If your average monthly repair bills are getting near this amount I'd give serious thought to replacement.
</div>
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I agree with this, but I'd compare it to a car payment and not straight line $20,000 over 120 mos. I think you need to compare it to the monthly cost of a new car and don't forget things like excise tax and increased insurance. Your actual cost would be more than this in the first few years if you were to finance it...and even if it weren't, you'd probably use the opportunity cost of the cash you used over time.

jcumming · Sep 10, 2010

A Forester should be good for 250,000 miles if it's kept well maintained. If yours has been and is causing problems I'd ditch it.
 
I notice a lot of 2007 and 2008 cars for sale with 35,000 or so miles on them. Some nice ones with about 40% of the value knocked off by depreciation.
 
I love a 3 year old car with low miles that looks brand new with $20,000 of it paid by the person who broke it in for me.

GaReb770 · Sep 10, 2010

I think I stopped buying used low milege cars when I bought one from Enterprise Leasing a few years that was supposed to have not been smoked in. I never could get that cigarette smell out (yes, I'm unusually sensitive to cigarette smoke) and sold the vehicle six months later. Ever since then I've only dealt with brand new cars where I feel fairly safe about any cigarettes having been smoked in it.

rlemert · Sep 10, 2010

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by Notey <a href="/forum/thread/70036/new-car#post_1944114"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-right:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-bottom:0px solid;"></a> 
I agree with this, but I'd compare it to a car payment and not straight line $20,000 over 120 mos. I think you need to compare it to the monthly cost of a new car and don't forget things like excise tax and increased insurance. Your actual cost would be more than this in the first few years if you were to finance it...and even if it weren't, you'd probably use the opportunity cost of the cash you used over time.
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 Yeah, my analysis was probably over-simplified. I considered operating costs to be a wash, for example, even though the new car would probably have better milage, and I completely missed the fact that insurance costs would differ significantly. Still, my goal was just to get a back-of-the-envelope number that could be used to trigger a deeper analysis.

Ice Cream · Sep 11, 2010

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by jcumming <a href="/forum/thread/70036/new-car#post_1944136"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a> A Forester should be good for 250,000 miles if it's kept well maintained. If yours has been and is causing problems I'd ditch it.
 
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That is what the mechanic says, but I think he might just like the labor he gets from my car. It is well maintained.
 
I am getting irritated, and maybe the irritation factor is what causes me to think of a new car. Although, I like this one a lot, when it's not causing me problems.
 
I am thinking of something with all-wheel drive, either toyota, VW-Audi.

liath · Sep 11, 2010

If you wait till 150k will you still be able to do it without a loan then?

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