Hello all,
I have a 1992 Honda Accord LX with almost 200,000 miles on it. I’ve had it for 6 years and it’s been a great car!! However, every time I bring it in for repairs, I wind up spending at least $300. My question is when does it stop making sense to money into a car an to buy a new(or less used) car?
My answer is that you should wait until you can pay cash for your next car.
Yes, this will means nursing the current car along for a bit more time, but you will pay much less for a car in the long run by paying cash, as opposed to financing it, or (God forbid…) leasing it.
When it leaves you stranded more than once, even after spending money on it or when you repair bills per month get close to a car loan payment.
If you still like the Honda and it’s still safe then fix it and keep driving it. It will be cheaper than a new car even with repairs. With no money down figure payments on a new Accord would be in the range of $500. However, if you want a new car then buy one. We Americans love our cars and the decision is usually not 100% financial.
Much could depend upon how often you’re spending that 300 dollars and what it’s being spent on.
Maintenance items, belt, brakes, etc. are the routine cost of driving and not a reflection upon the car itself.
What types of repairs have been needed? What type of shop is doing the work?
Is the occasional breakdown a major issue for you or can you deal with that?
You obviously have more patience than I do. I would sell your Honda while it’s running good and put the money on a new vehicle. It will certainly be far more dependable and safer to drive. When I say new…I mean new to you. I stopped buying brand new vehicles 20 years ago.
It depends…
Are $300 in repairs for actual repairs or nor maintenance items like (brakes, struts, battery…etc)??
Also how often is this occurring??? Once a month…once a year??
If happening only a 2-3 times a year…then keep driving. If you’re bringing it for “REPAIRS” every month…then it might be worth getting rid of it.
I dunno, there is no good answer. The last car I had for my 100 mile daily commute was an 89 Riviera. I bought it with 100K on it, four years old, for a song and it looked like brand new and not a spot on it. I really liked it and it was economical, safe and comfortable. I got rid of it with 530K on it because it was stalling on me and no one could correct it. I just kept rolling up the miles on it where I would have depreciated several new cars. Becoming undependable was the death of it.
From a cost per mile basis though, when I look back on my meticulous records, I would have been better off to junk it at about 350K instead. That would have been before I OH the trans, put in several fuel pumps, and other problem repairs. I was also starting to get some rust which is not acceptable to me. My cars need to look good.
When I finally traded for a car with 30K instead of 530K, I realized what a joy it was to have a car you didn’t need to worry about, that all the buttons worked, had air bags, and even OnStar. I never looked back but its an individual decision and no right or wrong answer.
Unless you’re bringing it in every month, you’re ahead of where you’d be with a car payment.
If you have to take it in every month then you might think about upgrading to something newer, but if it’s more like twice a year then keep going with what you have
What do YOU want to do? Is a car a part of your identity like the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, the friends you have? Or is it just another part of the background, nothing more than transport from A to B.
If it’s just transportation and you find that the maintenance and repairs you do keep it reliable enough, then fix it.
On the other hand, it’s a 20+ year old car. Would you like something more modern? Are you tired of it?
This is a personal question not easily answered by judging repair costs.