How do you decide it's time for a new car?

[LuxLiving]

Re: How do you decide it's time for a new car?

Aleta - we did it your way on one of Hubster's old cars about 10 years back. We'd gotten it from his SIL's grandfather's estate for $500.00. In two years time we'd done $500 give or take a dollar or two of repairs or $20.84 a month. MUCH cheaper than a car payment!

We voted to keep ol'Nelly a few more years after that. Egads but the upholstery was a horrid pimp stripe U.G.L.Y. stuff that would not wear out no matter how hard I prayed!

[Broken Arrow]

Re: How do you decide it's time for a new car?

When I read the title, I thought this was going to be one of those one-liners.

"You know it's time for a new car when"

...

10. "The AAA tow guy refuses to tow it anywhere else but the junkyard."

9. "My redneck in-law asks if they could keep it as a lawn ornament."

8. "The mechanic cancels the rest of his afternoon appointments."

7. "The scrapyard manager hands you his card and a coupon."

6. "You decide the tow hitch might be more useful on the front than on the back."

5. "The state inspector dusts off their radiocarbon dating device."

4. "The only thing that's still working is the fuzzy dice."

3. "The Smithsonian rep is on line 2."

2. "Your grandfather complains that, when he was young, he had to drive uphill, both ways... in that car!"

1. "Two words: Amish carriage!"

[PrincessPerky]

Re: How do you decide it's time for a new car?

when you run out of room to buckle up the kids.....

[Aleta]

Re: How do you decide it's time for a new car?

To Steve: I mentioned a timing belt because I just replaced one on my car which only has over 35,000 miles. The car will be 8 years old in April. It wasn't because of miles but because of wear . I do all the maintenance that my car needs which I know helps with the car breaking down less often. By the way, my civic's timing belt cost me $306. with tax and I don't consider that cheap. Sometimes repairs cost that much, but I would rather pay for a timing chain or belt than for one to break on you. I have had cars in the past where I have had major repairs.

[tgavin71]

Re: How do you decide it's time for a new car?

At 200,000 kms.

[Snoopy2645]

Re: How do you decide it's time for a new car?

Well I only buy used if its great I keep it 2 yrs & if its not I keep it for about 1 yr & right now I have a van thats not so hot & its got 130k on it & I come april I have had it for 1 yr I will probably off it as soon as I can thats if I can find a buyer its really a piece!!! I hope the next vechile is a newer used car.

[asmom]

Re: How do you decide it's time for a new car?

I decided to replace my 1996 Camry with 180,000+ miles on after I realized that I did not feel safe leaving the house in it. Every time I went somewhere I realized I was waiting for the next breakdown and on Atlanta freeways and with two children, that was a very, very bad feeling. I was very lucky for a long time as my BIL is an auto mechanic and as it slowly began to break down with minor and major repairs, he was available to fix it relatively cheaply (parts only) and I never stopped traffic or felt my life was in danger on the several occasions I broke down towards the end, but I felt my luck was bound to run out.

[scfr]

Re: How do you decide it's time for a new car?

A big factor for us is what the replacement car would be (what type and how much it would cost). Both of our cars are getting up there in mileage (one of them WAAAY up there) and so we have gone through the "should we fix it or replace it" drill a couple times. If you do a little car shopping and look at what your options are, bearing in mind that any car you buy is going to need repairs sooner or later, you may decide it makes sense to just go ahead and fix the current cars.

disneysteve, it sounds like your household tends towards "sensible sedans" (or minivans) like we do in our house. One thing we found when looking around at cars this summer is that it has gotten MUCH harder to find great deals on the "sensible sedan" types of cars. My personal opinion on this is that, because of higher gas prices, the American love affair with gas-guzzlers is over. Everyone wants the kind of cars we have always bought, and that increased demand has raised prices and made it harder to scout out the great deal. [Wasn't it easy to score a fabulous deal on a Camry when everyone wanted SUVs???]

FYI - We just happened across a pretty great deal (I think) so look for my blog entry in about a week on our "new car."