Car Talk - All Things Autos

[spork]

Did not find an existing thread on car purchases, sales, repairs, etc., so here it is.

I drive a manual transmission 2006 Scion xA with 122,000 miles. Just picked it up from my car mechanic after an oil change and a minor repair. On the mechanic's lot, I noticed an automatic transmission 2010 Scion xD with less than 90,000 miles, listed for $6,000. Kelley Blue Book purchase price for this vehicle is ~ $6,500. Trade-in value of my vehicle is about $600. Mechanically my vehicle is doing well; I keep up with the maintenance and since it's a Toyota it has always run like clockwork. Cosmetically it has a lot of scratches and scrapes on the outside and the inside is getting worn. My wife says the car is stinky, I say that it's the driver.

I think if I traded my car in to the mechanic, I could get the 2010 xD for about $5,000 out of pocket. Should I?

[mamselle]

I thought you were going to reminisce about the Magliosi's!

M.

[secundem_artem]

Since we have 2 cars in our household, I use 2 different approaches to car ownership and purchasing.

1.  Drive 'em till there's nothing left. Our 2010 Mini Cooper. 
2.  Drive 'em for 3 years - preferably leased and replace.  Our 2017 Benz. It's under warranty for the 3 years I will own it. I adore German cars, I can afford it & I get a new car every 30-36 months depending on the lease.  Not the cheapest way to have a car, but it's my only vice and I am a bit of a gear head.

Whether a 2006 or a 2010, I'd say your vehicle is in my category 1.  Drive the thing until it leaves you stranded 1 time too many or the repair costs are more than would it would be to replace the vehicle.  I really don't see a vehicle that's 4 years newer with 30,000 fewer miles as being worth $5000.  If the only thing a car is to you is a way to get from Point A to Point B - I say drive it till you kill it.

[polly_mer]

Whether a 2006 or a 2010, I'd say your vehicle is in my category 1.  Drive the thing until it leaves you stranded 1 time too many or the repair costs are more than would it would be to replace the vehicle.  I really don't see a vehicle that's 4 years newer with 30,000 fewer miles as being worth $5000.  If the only thing a car is to you is a way to get from Point A to Point B - I say drive it till you kill it.

Yep.  We tend to drive 'em until the monthly average repair costs are about as much as a new car note, but less predictable. Don't buy another old clunker; hang on to yours or bite the bullet and buy a slightly used something that you'll get another 10 years/100k miles out of.

[ciao_yall]

Since we have 2 cars in our household, I use 2 different approaches to car ownership and purchasing.

1.  Drive 'em till there's nothing left. Our 2010 Mini Cooper. 
2.  Drive 'em for 3 years - preferably leased and replace.  Our 2017 Benz. It's under warranty for the 3 years I will own it. I adore German cars, I can afford it & I get a new car every 30-36 months depending on the lease.  Not the cheapest way to have a car, but it's my only vice and I am a bit of a gear head.

Whether a 2006 or a 2010, I'd say your vehicle is in my category 1.  Drive the thing until it leaves you stranded 1 time too many or the repair costs are more than would it would be to replace the vehicle.  I really don't see a vehicle that's 4 years newer with 30,000 fewer miles as being worth $5000.  If the only thing a car is to you is a way to get from Point A to Point B - I say drive it till you kill it.

We are also in the "Drive 'em till there is nothing left" category. We live in a big city and maybe take the car once a week. It's 10 years old and looks new.

My fantasy is that in a years some zillionaire will be reminded of the car he was conceived in and offer us $1,000,000 cash for its sentimental value. The car would be pretty old by then, though as that zillionaire is only in the 5th grade right now.

[spork]

[. . .]

I really don't see a vehicle that's 4 years newer with 30,000 fewer miles as being worth $5000.  If the only thing a car is to you is a way to get from Point A to Point B - I say drive it till you kill it.

Thanks to all who chimed in; this is basically the conclusion I had reached. It's nice to see an example of social proof.

I'm hoping I don't have to buy another car until there's a basic fully-electric vehicle that would suffice for commuting and hauling stuff around town.

[clean]

Im glad that you decided to keep the car going.  I firmly believe that the best financial decision I have ever made was buying my last car, keeping it well maintained and driving it until the cost of repair was above what I could justify.
(My 1998 Toyota Avalon had over 260K miles. It finally needed a timing belt and water pump change that would have cost $1100 to do.  I would have paid up to $700, but as it also would need tires soon, and had a slow AC leak, so I could see another set of expenses coming down the road, so to say.  I ended up selling it for $600.  I drove my other vehicle for some time and came across a 2000 Gran Marquis with less than 50K miles for only $2000!)

I also suggest that you begin, if you are not doing so already, to 'pay yourself' a car payment and build up cash for your eminent car replacement.  Long ago, I started saving $250 a month, plus some bonus payments after summer school for my next car.  I now have accumulated $35000 for my next car, and I can not imagine that I will end up buying a new car anytime soon, BUT I could!!

Again, Im glad you decided to keep this one going.  I hope you can get another decade out of it!!

[wareagle]

If all goes well, my 20-year-old van will roll over 300,000 around January or February.  Mr. Eagle assures me that he can keep it running forever.  Friends of the facilities director at my former campus had the same model, and it was still going strong at 450,000 miles.  Unfortunately, the kids got into a wreck with it. 

I will be devastated when this van eventually dies.  (Maybe I'll die first - I can always hope.)  We are spiritually connected.

[simpleSimon]

Did not find an existing thread on car purchases, sales, repairs, etc., so here it is.

I drive a manual transmission 2006 Scion xA with 122,000 miles. Just picked it up from my car mechanic after an oil change and a minor repair. On the mechanic's lot, I noticed an automatic transmission 2010 Scion xD with less than 90,000 miles, listed for $6,000. Kelley Blue Book purchase price for this vehicle is ~ $6,500. Trade-in value of my vehicle is about $600. Mechanically my vehicle is doing well; I keep up with the maintenance and since it's a Toyota it has always run like clockwork. Cosmetically it has a lot of scratches and scrapes on the outside and the inside is getting worn. My wife says the car is stinky, I say that it's the driver.

I think if I traded my car in to the mechanic, I could get the 2010 xD for about $5,000 out of pocket. Should I?

Yes.  Doing so seems like a reasonable choice. 

In my youth, and earlier in my career, I struggled financially and could never afford any car I wanted.  In fact, I recall when my dream car was the Honda Civic.  I literally pressed my hands and face up against the dealership window peering in at the Civic that was just out of reach.  Sigh . . . those were the days.  Now that I am in a better position, I have two cars: one leased Benz and one Toyota truck.  I love them both.  Necessary?  No.  But if I don't spoil myself who will?  If I could go back in time, I would buy a Toyota truck.  It is so utilitarian and they last forever with a low cost of ownership.

[Bbmaj7b5]

  In my youth, and earlier in my career, I struggled financially and could never afford any car I wanted.  In fact, I recall when my dream car was the Honda Civic.  I literally pressed my hands and face up against the dealership window peering in at the Civic that was just out of reach.  Sigh . . . those were the days.  Now that I am in a better position, I have two cars: one leased Benz and one Toyota truck.  I love them both.  Necessary?  No.  But if I don't spoil myself who will?  If I could go back in time, I would buy a Toyota truck.  It is so utilitarian and they last forever with a low cost of ownership.

I had two of those spanning from 1985 to 2017. Both made it well over 200,000 miles, and the 1985 truck made it to 260,000. The engines would have gone on forever.

[stemer]

I have a 2003 paid-off TOYOTA with 200K+ miles and I am geeting concerned that while I am doing the "right thing" financially, a 16-year old car may fail in a spectacular way the moment I need it the most: the airbag won't deploy, the bumper will crumble etc. The "keep till it dies" approach may be frugal and suitable for drivers with short, local commutes but for some of us with long commutes and riding sedans on the highways with our fellow semi truck drivers,  it may not be a wise idea....

(Yes, watch me trying to talk myself into buying a new car)...

[clean]

You can replace the airbags with new ones if that is a concern.
You can certainly check on the status of the bumpers at the dealer or your local repair shop will check it out.

[stemer]

You can replace the airbags with new ones if that is a concern.
You can certainly check on the status of the bumpers at the dealer or your local repair shop will check it out.

...and the seat-belts, the ABS, the window columns, the chassis, etc...My point was not the particular items but the overall endurance limit of material.

[clean]

unless you are in an area that would make your vehicle especially susceptible to corrosion, (as in salted roads that may lead to failure in the undercarriage or chassis *** see below) I would expect that your vehicle will easily last 20 years.   In my case, my former car was not in an area that would need to salt the roads or otherwise lead to corrosion.  What led to a different car was that the cost of repairing an engine component (water pump and timing belt) exceeded the value of the vehicle.  Likewise, I suspect that unless you ARE looking for a way to rationalize a car purchase, you will find that it makes more sense to keep this car running.  New cars are no more immune to being eaten by semi trucks than older ones. 

On the plus side, if you want a plus... IF you are a Road Warrior, then perhaps it wont take long for your Toyota to have an engine failure that is too expensive to justify repairs.  Hopefully you are saving to pay for a replacement car so you dont need to borrow!   

Of course, IF you want a new car, buy one!  If you are driving hours a day each way, then you may as well be comfortable!  AS long as the thought of all that valuing slopping off with every mile you drive does not bother you more than the thought that your Toyota will be hit by a semi (and your new car, of course would not be because they are sprayed with fresh coats of Accident Repellent), then certainly, by all means spend the money! 
This thread seems to be more about cars than money, so we can create another thread that outlines the financial crashes that occur on the showroom floor, and leave this thread open to discussing the actual mechanical topics such as the probability of older airbags prematurely deploying or failing to deploy when needed.

***My PhD school office mate lives in Canada. His car was as old as mine, and in some ways in better shape. However,  the roads are salted in the winter and his car finally failed some sort of inspection of the frame that indicated that the salt had eaten enough of the frame that it was no longer safe to drive, though mechanically, it was otherwise sound.  Where I live, that is not an issue!

[larryc]

I too am a member of the Drive it Into the Ground Club and agree that you should keep the car. Our policy is to buy cars that are 2-4 years old and to keep them for 8-10 years.