Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: MrCoffee on October 28, 2002, 03:08:57 PM
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When do you know if its time to buy a new car or continue to fix and make due with the car you have now. Mine is falling apart. Upgrade or make do with what I now have. Im driving an old VW jetta at the moment. Its what I know and I love it :) but parhaps a new car is in order at some point in time. Hondas, Fords, beemers?
:(
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Budget dictates that for me, always has...if I couldn't afford payments in my younger years, I poured money into the car I had at the time.
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when repair costs equal 50% of replacment costs, well thats the way the military does it .
cars have no life span, they can be repaired forever , when a part wears out replace it.
i had a 74 ( bought new) it went through 3 paint jobs, 2 timeing belts , 3 water pumps, 1 valve job , 1 trans overhaul, replaced the interior once, finely sold it because i just got bored with it
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When the car ceases to be reliable, its time for it to go. Minor repairs and maintenance are one thing... but not being able to trust it to get you from point a to b is another.
AKDejaVu
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2nd what DJV said. if it needs work fine. but if it lets you down with one thing after the other get a new one.
it doesn't take to many days of not making it to work before a car is more trouble than it's worth.
btw- if you work on your own car don't buy a ford. every ford car I've had newer than 80(mostly cars not so much trucks) have had one 'special', 'buy it from the dealer' tool required for just about any repair job. the price of these tools is usually about 5% more than the price of shop labor to perform the job. it doesn't seem to mater how complicated the tool is the price has more to do with how much you could pay them to do the work than how much it costs to make the tool.
maybe other brands have this too. but my experiences have shown ford to be the worst for it.
on the other hand my old volvo seems to be the easiest car I've ever worked on. they actually design things to be easy to fix. instead of throwing roadblocks in your way to get money out of you in shop fee's
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Originally posted by AKDejaVu
When the car ceases to be reliable, its time for it to go. Minor repairs and maintenance are one thing... but not being able to trust it to get you from point a to b is another.
AKDejaVu
Three strikes of $300 or more and its outta here. Dead batteries are excluded, since they typically cost less than $300, but if you're spending $300 a month in repairs, heck, that's a car payment.
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I agree. Reliability is the issue.
I have a paid off '95 Camero and the ignition switch gave out last week. Tow and repair cost $280. This is the only non-scheduled expense this year, but The Woman still wants me to get a new car. (Actually, she just wants me to get an SUV so she has more room for her shopping.)
She pays a $300/month lease, I have paid $280 ALL YEAR. I will never buy/lease a new car again. If your car is reliable, drive it.
Of course, that's easy for us non-single guys to say. :D
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I'd say go for the Honda except for their popularity to car thieves.
I've bought two new vehicles in the past four years.
I like the following:
Honda
Nissan
Mazda
Volkswagen
I'm okay with:
Toyota
Dodge
I'll never purchase:
Another Ford
GM (except Cadillac)
Any vehicle manufactured in Korea
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btw- my 87 volvo turbo wagon, not just affordable and easy to work on. it's a nice respectabe 125mph family car
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Ohh... you're talking upscale...
Hell, I love Volvo... and Audi... and Acura... :)
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I'm in a similar situation. Currently, I drive a 1991 Plymouth Grand Voyager LE (FWD, 3.3L V6). I can't complain too much, she was a hand-me-down gifted to me from the 'rents, she's come in handy moving from state to state, and she's still working, but she has her quirks. But, with repairs/maintenance sometimes it feels like I'm making monthly payments on her - ~$150-$300+ every other month or so. :( Plus, I'm single, 26 years old, and I make decent money, so the minivan puts a crimp in the mojo. :)
I've been looking at purchasing a new car, myself. It's tough. The single young dude in me wants to get something relatively snazzy, like a VW GTI or an Acura RSX. However, the tightwad engineer in me wants to get something economical with a good reputation for reliability, like a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. :)
Based on my own experience and observations, I would stay away from Fords. Honda and Toyota (and corresponding Acura and Lexus) are good buys, depending on what you're looking for. Don't know a whole lot about VW (just how old is your Jetta?), but I do know they recently beefed up their warranties. However, I suspect that has something to do with the QA/QC issues from their Central and South American assembly facilities (which is why I'm a bit reluctant to buy a GTI - I want a car that won't be making regular visits to the shop after 10000 miles - warranty or not). I dunno much about other makes to comment.
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actually you can get a decent used volvo for about 3-4k. they run forever. and it's saved me a fortune in missed work. (the $1500 pos I'd been buying most of my life left me on the side of the road to much. and the brand new ford escort I bought in 86 wasn't much better)
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Well...
You can get a "reliable" car thats no fun...
or a completely unreliable car thats loads of fun!
There is no substitute! :D
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At least you guys can get a car if you wanted...I can't get one cause I'm 17 and the one person I wanted to have co-sign wih me has already co-signed with my brother...
I've been very angry for the past hour or so over that...at this rate I'll never get rid of my car...
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buy an old car and restore/hot rod it. breakdowns are an adventure. There is no adventure in cars anymore. If you are a particularly helpless woman get a KIA with the 10 year warrenty and throw it away every so often.
mini vans and volvos.... man am I out of touch...
lazs
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i have an 82 gmc pickup with 189,000 miles on it ive had to have the tranny rebuilt no biggie, my wife drives a 92 saturn with 165,000 plus miles on it no major repairs, the key is proper pm of the vehicle a vw jetta with proper pm should get you into the 200,000 plus mile range easily
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texace,
I know this will sound completely crazy and off the wall (by todays standards). but you could do what I've always done. earn the money to pay for it before you buy it.
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I've already done that with the car I drive. I saved $1,500 for this car, and I've driven it for over a year. Now I want to get out of it...but because of my age I can't get one...and I seriously doubt my car'll last until my birthday.
That's why...
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Hey texace-
I know you probably don't want to hear this answer, but that's the way life is. I have to put up with my '91 Honda civic that has become unreliable, because my life situation right now (yours is that you are 17) won't allow for me to buy a new one. So, I decided that the best thing for me was to learn how to fix my car. Still costs money, but now I know that next year or so (or when you turn 18) my life situation will be different then, and I'll be able to get the Toyota highlander I have been eyeing for my wife. Life will change and get better for you, don't fight it though, just go with it.
just my very humble $.02, I hope everything works out for you.
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Thx Greese, and IU know that's how life is. I accept that, but it's getting too much of a hassle to keep it running good.
My job right now isn't giving me enough hours...I can barly pull 8 hours a week. Getting a new job has been like balancing a sword on your nose while juggling flaming batons while walking to New York from Los Angeles. I can barely afford to pay for the insurence (I pay half with parents) much less keep the car running.
New things crop up every week. I need to get the bumper replaced...the fuel pump replaced...the engine tuned...the tires replaced...the list goes on. With this latest revelation from the world of life...I can't even bail out of this wreck.
If it dies on the road...I'm leaving it and walking home. Maybe the wrecking yard can take better car of this POS...
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like a VW GTI or an Acura RSX. However, the tightwad engineer in me wants to get something economical
I bought a Golf and reallly like it , sounds cool when you get on it and gets 30 mph to boot and the ins prem. is nice too .
Plus the upside I live in a small town and NO one sees these cars , they ow and ah over it , lol .
oh ya , http://www.kbb.com will tell you how much your car is worth . If you keep putting good money to keep a mostly worthless car on the road it really ain't worth it IMO .