I am wondering if it makes more sense financially to keep my 2009 CR-V with 148k miles on it, or sell it and buy a 2016 CR-V with 22k miles on it for $17,900? I can only get about $3,000 for my 2009, as it has hail damage. The monthly payments for the 2016 CR-V would be $225/month. What would you do?
Keep the old CRV until it can no longer move. Newer CRV’s are much worst because of many engine problems.
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What would I do ? First I would look at all the dealer sites in my area for a new CR-V and see if I could afford it . New vehicle , full warranty and I might even consider a lease .
If I really wanted a 2016 CRV and could afford $225 a month, I’d buy it.
If I wanted dependable transportation and didn’t care if it looked a little like a golf ball… I’d keep the 2009. 148K isn’t really all that many miles on a Honda and 11 years old means parts are easily available. That newer CRV will cost you $14,900 plus interest. Say a nice round $17,000.
If you want your '09 to look pretty again. A fraction of that money would pay a paintless dent technician to massage the hail dents out and a detail shop to do a deep clean inside and out, paint correction and wax to make your '09 pretty again inside and out. Estimates are free…
Edit: $225 a month means that loan is 72 months long, isn’t it? That is way to long for a 2016 vehicle, in my opinion.
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Another vote for “keep the 2009 until it can no longer move, or until the body crumbles into rust”.
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Are you sure about that. Most used vehicle loans are for 36 or 48 months . 15000.00 divided by 250.00 is 60 months with the interest added in.
I don’t believe that hail damage affects the gas mileage. I would keep on driving your present SUV. Keep up the required maintenance and you may get quite a few more years of service.
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Keep driving what you have a do regular maintenance as required. Make sure transmission fluid is changed very 30,0000 miles and use only Honda fluid!
As other point out older CRVs are more reliable than more recent ones.
I don’t know if Andrea will post again but we were looking to buy some kind of weekend fun vehicle this year. Until this Virus is under control that plan is canceled. I also think that taking on vehicle payments unless you just have to replace something is not a good idea now. Even people who thought they had secure jobs are finding their selves furloughed .
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Just to go off on a tangent, are you certain your insurance does not cover hail damage? Some does, some does not. It is at least worth asking.
It’s awfully easy to confuse appearance with reliability. Just because the car looks beat up does not mean it’s at death’s door. Have you been good about maintenance?
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I suspect the OP is looking at the LX trim level for that price and mileage, so it would have the same engine/transmission as the 2009 instead of the Turbo/CVT combination that’s the cause for concern.
kinda a coin toss between the car you know with miles on it versus a low mileage newer one with payments. Really depends on the track record so far with the 2009.
Since you asked specifically about the financial aspects…it makes no sense into buying a new vehicle if the 09 is running fine. I can understand the want/need to get rid of a hail damaged vehicle…but it has nothing to do with finances.
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The “economic” answer is, “Assuming the equipment is fit for it’s purpose, the time to replace is when the cost of the existing equipment is greater than the alternative.”
So start saving that extra $225/month for the expected replacement vehicle and keep your current CRV until the repair costs start averaging more than $225/month.
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Only thing I’d add is to emphasize that it’s “repair costs”, not “all costs”. Don’t include normal maintenance in the calculation, you’ll have that with the replacement vehicle.
Financially it’s better to keep and maintain the old one while saving up for its replacement until you hit some MAJOR repair requirement.
I have three cars worth $3000 or less. The average age of them is 18 years old. I haven’t spent $225x12 = $2700 in any year ever on the three of them together (other than normal maintenance that all cars have). (I have had one tow for normal maintenance I had neglected, and one tow for non-normal repair.) Finally, I consider somebody else’s used car to be less reliable than the cars I own…for the first six months. Two of my three cars were bought new.
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I have kept my 1999 Honda Civic since new. It had hail damage a few years ago. I waited a while then had it fixed by a body shop. I think they used the paintless method and I had to pay maybe $500 deductible. The underside of the hood had lots of scratch marks after that work - I objected and they repainted it at no extra charge.
The 1999 Civic serves well and is a pleasure to drive at about 190,000 miles. With reasonable care and normal luck your 2009 CRV will serve well for years and years.
I remember seeing a late 1945 Time magazine my parents had saved. On the back cover of the magazine was a Chevrolet advertisement with a picture of a 1942 Chevrolet. The advertisement said that new cars would soon be rolling out of the factories, but in the meantime, drivers were urged to continue to conserve their present car.
That advertisement made a real impression on me, even though I was in high school when I first saw the1945 Time magazine. WW II had ended over 10 years earlier, and advertisements were suggesting that people buy the latest new models.
Like my parents, I live by “continue to conserve your present car”. As long as a car is safe to drive and it doesn’t need an expensive repair like a new engine, save your money.
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The one thing you don’t say is if there is anything wrong with your old car besides the hail damage. As others have pointed out, hail damage is purely cosmetic.
Financially, unless there are major mechanical or reliability issues, you are almost certainly better off keeping your old vehicle. It is paid for and fully depreciated, so the cost per mile at this point is very low and certainly lower than for the newer car you’re considering.
Now, if there are reliability or major mechanical issues that’s another story. For some people, driving a newer car with newer features is worth the cost, but only you can decide the value of those. I tend to agree with @VOLVO_V70 - with the financial uncertainties of COVID looming, a car that’s working and paid for is worth more than a newer one with a loan!
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I’d add to my financial perspective that if you’re doing regular maintenance on your current vehicle it will run reliably for a long time but that newer, low mileage replacement you’re buying could be a “pig in a poke”. Short of meticulous records, you don’t know how well it’s been maintained so it could end up being a money pit.