I am wondering whether to continue to maintain or buy a newer Toyota Avalon Hybrid.
What I have is a 2014 model well maintained with about 95k on it. The driver seat is a bit
worn and I believe it will need a rear wheel bearing soon.
Contrast that with a 2018 model, with 29k on it. I am an old guy and this may be my last car.
Any wisdom on the better choice??
well, if you like the car you have now, you can use the money you would spend to purchase the 2018 and fix the car you have. there is no guarantee the 2018 won’t have any problems.
Now if money is not a concern, why not treat yourself to a new one. it will have a warranty, so you won’t have to worry about repairs. I think the new ones are 10 years/150,000 miles on the hybrid battery.
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Your current car probably has good value and upgrading to a newer used car seems like a fairly low cost effort. I’d do it. Unless ur going to trade it in.
The Avalon is no longer available. Its replacement is the Crown, only available as a hybrid.
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The well-maintained 2014 should remain quite reliable for some time. But every part on the 2014 is 9 years old. If your objective is a car needing fewer repair and maintenance jobs, and you have more money than patience for car repairs, the 2018 is a better choice. I have more patience for repairs than money, enjoy diy’ering car repairs as a sort of hobby, so my choice might be different.
Lets see , just fix the minor things with the vehicle you have or buy a used vehicle that may have even more problems .Somehow that seems like an easy decision .
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As another frequent forum participant has said, you can’t take it with you. @weekend-warrior, if you decide to buy a used Avalon, it would be great if you can avoid a loan. I just read in CNN online that the average used care loan rate is over 11%. New car loans average about 7%.
Another vote for “keep the car you already own”. You could spend a lot of money buying another used car, and discover that it has much worse problems, for example maybe the engine was overheated or run low on oil in the past. A 2014 is not that old, and should be reliable for a long time to come, assuming proper maintenance.
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You could look into having the seat redone with new foam if that’s all it needs, if and when it comes to that point you put a new or reman hybrid battery in and keep going. I’m advising my mother to do basically the same with her 2010 Prius with 98K on the odo which is a backup camera away from being all she really needs and wants.
As usual, it all depends on what kind of deal you can make, the condition of the other car, and how flush you feel. Consider new instead? I don’t know what the average rates are but I just got my credit union statement and their flyer said 4.5% on car loans and reduced further with points. I don’t think things have settled out yet though.
To me, the decision would be made by the condition of the 2014 as far as rust goes. If you are truly an old guy,you probably don’t put on a lot of miles a year.
I think it depends on where you live. If you live down south then it is probably in good shape . If you live up north and it has been thru 9 years of snow and salt then if you have the money I would think about getting a new one . I was looking at the Crowns and they are nice looking cars and they were over $40000 . that being said my wife has 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan and it has almost 140000 miles and it is still running pretty good with just the beginning of a couple of paint bublles on it and we live where the heavily salt everything .
You can get new wheel bearing for as $13 and up to $50 for your car. So let’s just call it $30 for new wheel bearing.
So options are spend $30 on something that will eventually become near worthless OR trade in your current car and add a few thousand dollars. $30 or Thousands on something that will become near worthless/the worth of it as scrap metal
I don’t know it’s a tough decision. Would you rather turn $30 or thousands of dollars into what you would get to scrap the car. Have to think long and hard about that one.
When you buy a used car, there could be hidden problems. What if the oil was changed once in 29k miles?
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Odds favor a newer car with fewer miles as being in better shape. Less wear, less rust, nicer interior.
There are 2 fundamental reasons to get a new or newer car. Either you need a newer car because this one doesn’t provide you with what YOU need from a car (size, speed, reliability, technology, makes no difference why) or you want a newer car because that’s what you want. From your description you don’t need a new car, but you seem to want one. If that’s the case we can’t help. No one but you requires you to explain why you should get a newer car just because you want one.
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I saw a 2018 BMW 3 series last year in 2022 which had as much rust as a typical 10 year old car. It seemed to actually have more rust than a 2002 BMW that I looked at locally as well.
OK, well thanks everyone for the input.
Just to clarify what I have said before. You are not saving money by delaying the purchase of a car or any other needed product. You are only delaying the expense for a period of time but will eventually have to do it. Now in the meantime you could make a little interest or gain on the money not spent, or in these days lose a good portion of it. Now there is also the chance that a person will die first, and in that case saved the saved spending the money.
For myself though, I’m still waiting a little bit yet, not happy with the current products or pricing or potential $1000 payments. Just putting off the inevitable.
Consider the cost of labor, or just throw it in the glove compartment?