Yeah like I said before, I had my trans overhauled at 350k just because I was driving all over the state and didn’t want a problem 400 miles from home at 20 below. I think it was about $2500, but I was getting paid 25 cents a mile, so a profit center. Shop said it didn’t look that bad. Everyone does their own calculation, but resale value on the car was no consideration to me.
Another perspective…because everything else on the car might also have 200K miles on it, or whatever. It’s not as clear cut as you might think.
Recently we traded in my wife’s 2012 Honda Odyssey with around 180K miles. The power sliding doors were starting to act up, and we couldn’t get anyone to work on them. Well, to clarify, the Honda dealer wanted to replace everything but the doors themselves for around $4800. The van was reliable, but was also starting to have some other “older car” issues. My wife got a taste of “new car syndrome”, and we ended up getting a 2020 Pilot.
Sometimes it’s not just a financial decision.
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+1
I can remember the days when I had to tolerate an aging car with lots of problems, but–thankfully–those days are behind me. Rewarding yourself with a new (or newer) vehicle that is fully warrantied (or is at least very reliable) is a very nice thing–if one can afford it.
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In 1959, I bought a new Fiat 1200 sedan. Going through the owners manual, I saw all sorts of adjustments and replacements to be done at 2000 mile increments, like “replace generator brushes and bearings”. I asked the dealer about all that maintenance and he said “Nah, we don’t do it that way over here”.
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couple years back, the water pump started leaking on my wife’s 2012 Malibu. Instead of replacing it, we traded it for a 2019 Rav4- her dream car.
of course, now her “dream car” has changed to a Toyota Sequoia
Honestly, I look at it as a Good Problem to Have, when you can go get a new (to you) vehicle when you need it. Life’s too short (and happy wives too important) to suffer with an aging car.
My father in law has around a 2002 Chevrolet LWB work truck that he bought new. It’s completely worn out. He’s poured money over the decades into fixing all kinds of warning lights, and many of them still haven’t gone away. It struggles to get up hills at times. I’ve tried to tell him he ought to quit pouring money into it, and buy something new(er) that he would enjoy, be safer, and more reliable. He’s totally fixated on driving it until it falls apart, though, even considering getting a new engine and transmission put into it. Of course, like I said, everything else on the truck is 20+ years old, but that doesn’t matter to him. He could also write a check for a brand new one, but chooses not to because it’d be “throwing money away”.
Like I said…it’s not always a financial decision.
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Mechanicals can be easily fixed but when you start to have electrical issues, that’s the time to reconsider.
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Your father in law is simply cheap.
Whenever they bought a new car, my folks used to say they were going to drive it till the doors fell off. No doors ever went missing and I don’t think they ever made it past three years before replacing it. I tried to explain the financials but they liked their new cars.
An ex-neighbor had an '80s era Volvo, and she used to say that she was going to drive it “until the wheels fall off”. All it took was one wheel falling-off for her to decide to dump it.
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4 years ago I bought a brand new vehicle. Bought it home to the wife and said “there you go, all yours.” I was going to drive the 2005 Town and Country w 250,000. She said she wouldn’t drive a new car being afraid to damage it. She’s still driving that beater around. The AC is going or gone. So at least now she’s willing to shop around because I’m not in the mood to fix AC on a car with that many miles. She said she doesn’t need AC. I said she does.
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I can tell you why I wouldn’t. Just looking at the numbers- a $7k vehicle that needs a $4k transmission is worth $3k broken. Now I go to all the trouble of finding a repair shop, taking chances they goof it all up and in the end, I still only get $3k for the vehicle ($7k sell - $4k repair). I’d just bail and either trade it in or sell it to someone else that can fix it themselves and make it more economically feasible…
Just tell here that it is almost impossible to buy a vehicle that does not have AC . Also stress that during cold weather AC helps keep windows from fogging up .
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I thought you could generally get more money out of the repair cost if it is in drive-able condition. It’s repairs like fixing the radio or A/C and stuff like where you don’t, unless maybe the car is very new and the buyer is expecting something with zero issues.
I can assure you people in my area, when the temp gets above 90 degrees with 100+ heat index’s, WILL spend money on AC… lol
This was last year, as the old saying goes, happens every year about this time (July/August)
The 4th of July 2012 was 105 degrees, don’t remember the heat index, but very hot summer, and we caught the kitchen on fire… lol
So AC is VERY important in my area…
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I think that’s true for most areas. About 20 years ago, my brother and SIL bought a home in rural PA, at a fairly high elevation. The house didn’t have A/C, but the locals told them, “you don’t need it here because of the elevation”.
Unfortunately, the humidity levels made A/C necessary, so they had to retrofit that house with a ductless split system. When they moved to their next home–at roughly the same elevation–they made sure to buy one that had central A/C.
Some people wiil rationalize that they don’t “need” A/C, when the real reason is penny-pinching. I know a guy like that, and he sits directly in front of a six inch fan during the summer while refusing to turn on his A/C. As he says, “I sweat and I stink, and I don’t care”.
When he drives to my home during the summer–sans A/C for the 1.5 hour drive–by the time that he arrives, the back of his clothing is so soaked with sweat that he has to change his clothes. And, his face is so red that it looks like it will explode.
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And cars need a/c no matter where they are, for cooling, for defogging, or both.
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And you really hurt yourself by not getting a car with A/C nowadays, assuming you can even find one anymore.
Because while YOU may not “want” A/C…the next person that buys your car probably will. And you’ll quickly find that not many people “don’t want” A/C in their cars.
You may “save” money not paying for A/C…but it’s going to cost you later in resale value. What’s the saying, “Penny wise, but pound foolish”?
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Like I said, back in 76 we didn’t put ac in our new house. A little while later the in laws were going to visit and it was hot. The local hvac guys had an ad for $1000 for ac and near instant install. Wife decided I should make the call or I could sleep in a tent. Had ac by the weekend. Never went back. So I’ve had the same company since 1977.
I think the last car my folks had without the $400 air option, was when we were driving through Wyoming at maybe 100 degrees. We had wet towels on our laps to stay cool. Used to wrap a wet towel around my neck working over a hot grill at the restaurant. Before the army discovered the trick.
One branch of one side of my family is notorious for penny-pinching. Back in the 80’s, one of my cousins got married and his honeymoon trip was a road trip through the West, from the Grand Canyon to Mt Rushmore. In July. In a Renault LeCar with no A/C. And he and his equally financially conscious bride decided to see if they got better MPG with the windows up or down.
Some people won’t spend money on anything.