I have a question, wife needs new bushings on her 2004 Honda accord. the car is 14 years old, runs good, is n great shape body and interior. The car has over 130,000 miles on it but she is now retired from work and not driving it as much. Would she be better off making the investment on the repair ($625.00) and keep the car or trade it in for a new car?
If your wife likes the car then from a financial standpoint…repair the Accord and drive it until the wheels fall off. If you decide to buy a new car…don’t trade the Honda…sell it privately. Trading it in just gives most of the profit to the car dealer.
Look at it this way, the repair is about 2 car payments. If the car lasts another 2 months you’re ahead.
Ed B.
Economically speaking, yes, it’s unequivocally better to put the bushings in than to buy a new car.
As far as what she wants, however, only you guys can decide that. Not every decision needs to prioritize economics. If your finances can take it and you really want a new car, go for it.
WHAT new bushings? Honda’s typically don’t have many bushings in the front end. Maybe the Sway bar bushings which cost 30 dollars? I’d be interested to know WHAT bushings and what is the symptom you are trying to remedy. I find this diagnosis and repair slightly sketchy if you ask me
Blackbird
If the repair is justified, $625 is not a lot of money. When you retire, as my wife did, you drive less, don’t hit traffic jams and can tolerate some unreliability. I’d fix the car, and keep driving until “the wheels fall off”, figuratively speaking of course.
My wife’s last 'work car" was a 1994 Nissan Sentra, which we retired in 2012. It was still reliable, but starting to rust through.