when you own your car, at what point do you buy a new one?

[yukookoo]

we are hoping to pay off our cars soon, we bought them both new and paid too much, never buying new again i dont think, but anyway now that they are paid off when does it become time to get a new car? When something breaks that fixing would cost more than a new car?

[Chamomile Girl]

I like to think that fixing a car is a good investment because that way you are keeping it out of the trash stream. I am hoping that we can get over 200K out of the cars we have now. Both are Hondas so that is not such an unrealistic view.

I would get rid of a car if I felt it to be incurably unreliable or if I just hated it and driving it made me miserable.

Otherwise I'd drive 'em into the ground.

[eirual]

I would guess when repairing your current one isn't cost feasible AND you have the cash saved for another one.

[OkiMom]

When it would cost more than its worth to repair or if you could get a new (used) car cheaper than you could fix the old one.

Also, if family size dictates you get a new car (for example, we are adding a third child so even though our original car works great it only seats 4 and we ended up having to get a car that seats 5).

Or if your living situation changes in such where you need a new car. Example moving from the city to the country.. I wouldn't want to drive around on the dirt streets of my hometown in a little sporty car like you can get away with driving in a city environment.

[major_mama11]

Originally Posted by eirual 

I would guess when repairing your current one isn't cost feasible AND you have the cash saved for another one.

Yup, ideally. I wish we had followed the second part of this.

We had a '99 car, paid off for several years, and nothing major was wrong with it, just lots of little piddly things breaking all the time (like ceiling lights falling apart). Kind of irritating, but it still ran just fine. We traded it for 1k in 2009, just before baby #2. Looking back, I wish we would have waited an extra year, and saved up to pay cash, rather than taking out a loan on our current vehicle.

Our new vehicle (a 2005) will be paid off in the next month or so, and I hope to keep it for a loooong time, and actually have the full amt saved before the next vehicle is needed.

[Chicky2]

Our POV is that it's almost always cheaper to repair or replace w/a used one.  We'll drive all 3 of our vehicles into the ground.  They have all been paid for for a few years.

[Mulvah]

I think, like other said, when it costs more to fix than to keep it. 

Edited by Mulvah - 1/29/11 at 4:00pm

[honeybunmom]

I've been driving my car for 10 years.  I.love.it.  I was considering getting rid of it.  As our kids get older and tuition based preschool comes into play and they start to eat more, I'm realizing what a good investment it was/is.  It's an Audi and it had maybe 7 or 11K miles on it when I bought it and has only 82K on it now.  While I'm choking on the thought of a new one (and we do need a new 2nd car since this will only seat people in the back who are 4'11" or under, I'm also realizing what a bad investment our Hyundai was.  It's 6.5 years old, paid off and requires more maintenance than the 10 year old car.  Granted, it has also been driven more, but it's also crummy to drive in comparison.  I'm going to approach our next car purchase with a much longer vision toward spending for something that will hold up better, for longer and be a more enjoyable drive for the next 15 or so years.

So, to answer the question, if it would cost more to fix than replace, that would be a good indicator that it is time to replace . . . or when you realize that the repairs are just bandaids and the thing is really a heap of junk that needs to go.  That would be our situation with the Hyundai.  It's the family car and I no longer consider it reliable.  We need to be able to take long car trips to avoid purchasing 4 plane tickets and this thing won't get us there.

[VisionaryMom]

Keep a log of your repairs. When the monthly repair bill over a period of time (6 months, 1 year) becomes close to what it would cost if you had payments on a new car, then it's time to replace it.

There is a reliability factor for me, too, in that one car in the family needs to be incredibly reliable. The other one can be less so and still be okay. (DH drives 2 miles to work, so if his car does have a problem, then it's not a huge inconvenience. Both cars can't be like that though, for us.) 

[Thalia the Muse]

Yep, IME there comes a point where everything starts failing, one piece after another. I just ditched the car I'd owned since 2001, and honestly I should have done it six months ago -- I just put $1,000 into repairs, and the thing wasn't worth more than $700. I didn't love the car, and I'm so happy to see it go!

We've always bought cars for cash upfront, and that's what we did for my new baby. I expect to drive the new one for a good 10 years or so.

[HollyBearsMom]

We have never financed our cars.  At the time we bought them the interest rates were too high.  However with all the 0% financing out there if I could make more money by keeping my money in the bank and/or invested then I would think financing would be a good idea.  Caveat- you have be fiscally responsible or it could blow up on you.

In terms of when to buy a new/used car?  My thought is when when the repairs outweighed the value of the car. For example we had 1998 Audi  that died 2 years ago.  It had 245K on it, the inside was shot (ripped/torn) but the outside looked good and it had been well maintained.  However the engine needed to be replaced and we discovered the brakes pads needed to be replaced too. The cost for a used engine alone was going to be in $5K range. The book value of the car was about $6K.  However no one would buy it w/o an engine other than a parts guy (and we tried!).  So we went with the parts guy offer (our own mechanic we really like/trust) and bought a new car.

[nd_deadhead]

Good advice so far - it makes sense to keep fixing a vehicle as long as the repairs average out to less than a car payment - AND it is reasonably reliable. of course any car can have an issue at any time, but if you are worried about whether or not your car will got you somewhere and home again, it's time to replace it.

I have bought both new and used cars. The Jeep that I drive was bought used, and I have driven it for 12 years and 80K miles. I don't plan on giving it up any time soon - I love that vehicle!

But 2 years ago we bought a new Toyota Sienna. We traded in a Chrysler Town and Country that I never did like - we rushed into buying it (our previous van had dropped its 3rd transmission, it was time to pull the plug), it was uncomfortable for me to drive, it got crappy mileage - it just rubbed me the wrong way. We got a really good deal on the Sienna, and after 2 years, I still love it - maybe more than ever. I expect that we will drive this one for at least 10 years - probably more. We did finance the new van, at 3%. 

[Drummer's Wife]

Totally up to you (and your finances).  The subaru I drive has 234k miles on it, and I am about to replace it b/c while it runs, I'm not sure how much longer it will run for.  We took it in to get a new battery and have it checked out and were quoted $1200 for repairs (things that obviously aren't necessary to drive it, but things that will be needed in the near future).  Then the mechanic said it will soon be time to get new struts and some other stuff I didn't understand.  Considering the car's value, even he said he wouldn't put that much money into it.  That's how I know it's time to replace it, though we will be paying cash again for another vehicle b/c we have no desire to have a car payment in the near future.  I do know that I will want something nicer and newer in a year or so, so we plan to use the car I'm about to buy as a trade-in (since we won't owe on it) combined with savings and hopefully have little to none to pay off when it's all said and done. 

Some people buy new cars every couple years; some people finance something else as soon as their current vehicle is paid off; and some people buy a new car when the one they drive finally dies.  It's completely up to you and how comfortable you are maintaining your vehicle, and some of it is, of course, pure luck (thinking about my mom - she has a Prius that she bought new and is only a couple years old and something major went out on it - not covered by warranty). 

[Ellien C]

We keep our cars around 10 years and then it's time to start thinking about a new one. I do buy new and I do finance the cars. My car payments are never more than $400 and we don't take out loans for more than 4 years. So we save up a down payment for what we need. I've never been upside down on a car. I think that can happen with long loans and small payments. We're comfortable with the car payment, though we don't do it when we've got infant day care expenses. Just presenting another perspective. I'm OK with financing cars and homes.

[Stayseeliz]

When it's no longer safe to drive. We plan on putting a new engine in our van at some point if need be. We'll drive it as loooooong as we can!

[lookatreestar]

drive 'em til they die.

[laura-belle]

Historically speaking? When the insurance company declares the car to be a total loss. (Um, yeah...my husband has been rear-ended a lot).

Ideally? When the cost of the repairs over 6 months to a year exceeds the actual value of the car with the repairs done (and we have the cash with which to purchase a better vehicle).

[velochic]

When the cost of a repair is more than the value of a car.  It goes off to Goodwill (or some other charity for tax deduction) at that point.  Once we gave a decent car to our nephew that we needed to replace (because my mom, who lives with us, couldn't get in and out of it).  We save the cash to buy a new car by the time for replacement.  Right now our cars our 1996, 2000, and 2006 models.  None of them are even close to needing to be replaced (touch wood).  I can't imagine a situation where I would buy new or go into debt for a vehicle.