I’ve got a 1999 Corolla with just a hair under 200,000 miles on it. I bought it in 2004, and hadn’t put any money into it at all (other than oil changes, head lamps, tires, a battery, and one set of brake pads) until about a year and a half ago, when I got the serpentine belt replaced. Since then I’ve also had to get both front calipers replaced, a new set of front brake pads, the wiring into the door repaired (for the windows and electric locks), and have a few other things that are non-mission-critical, so I’ve been not doing just to save the money.
The car starts and goes reliably, the undercarriage is rust-free, and I don’t mind driving an old car. The clutch is probably going to be the first big-ticket item that goes on it, as it’s gotten quite soft.
Anyway, while it’s kind of a hit to have all these repairs in the last year (as well as having to get two new sets of tires), I’m still spending less than $100 a month on maintenance, which is definitely cheaper than a car loan. For a while I was ready to sell it and get something new(er), but I figure it just doesn’t make sense money-wise. And, I drive a lot, so miles add up quick. Every year I keep this car is 18-20k miles I don’t put on another car.
What’s your cut-off point? I think if I had to spend over $1,000 in one go, I’d have to think hard about just replacing the car, but $300 every six months is fine for me, as long as the car is reliable.
How much would a new car payment be (plus the extra insurance)? If you repair the car, how long do you think it will likely last until the next major repair?
Lets say the first number is 300 a month. Lets say the repair is 600 but 3 months of no trouble seems likely and it could well be longer than that. In that case, money says keep the old car. Of course that ignores things like a new car is nicer to drive than a clunker. And is transportation CRITICAL to your job/life or can you live without being able to drive it once in awhile while it is in the shop?
Upon reading the details in your post more carefully, I’d say keep it till you can’t stand it. Though you need to be putting some money aside and bugeting for either the BIG repair or gettting a newer car or both.
New cars are deceptively expensive even moreso than people think. You have to look quite carefully at both sides of the equation. I have a 2010 Toyota RAV4 Sport with 50,000 miles on it that I bought new. It cost about $30,000 or about $500 a month over 5 years with 0% financing. That is a lot of repair money every single month. Even though it is fairly new, I still have repair bills. In fact, I have already had to replace two tires for about $700 and I still have to do the scheduled maintenance which has run about $1000 over two years. I need to replace two more tires for about $700 in a few months. I just spent $200 this weekend on routine maintenance as a matter of fact and this is for a fairly new car with no other issues.
You don’t get a free pass on repair bills by getting a new car plus you have to make the monthly payments and have good insurance. It costs money every step of the way.
On the positive side, my vehicle is valued at $3000 more than I owe on it today so those repair bills would be about a wash if I sold it carefully and kept the money but I couldn’t do that since I need a car and would have to pay significant taxes on the transaction.
Bottom line: You won’t save any money by buying a newer car even if you have to put a couple of thousand dollars into your current one. It doesn’t work that way once you honestly look at all the costs. You will need to get a newer car eventually but the best thing you can do financially is to keep yours in decent condition as long as possible. 200,000 miles isn’t very high for a Corolla as long as you maintain it. 300,000 or more miles isn’t unheard of.
The general rule of thumb is to drive it until the wheels fall off. And you’ve got a good one to keep. (We’ve got two Corollas ourselves.)
I also have an '87 Mazda 323 that FtGKid2 is currently using. To say that it has been cheap to keep is an understatement. Ad valorem taxes are trivial, haven’t paid collision insurance in a long time, etc.
Many people, even here, say that if a repair is more than the value of the car, ditch it.
But this ignores several factors. If you know your car is basically in good shape, then a fixed version is worth more than taking a chance on buying a used replacement. (And forget buying new if $ means anything to you.) Bird in the hand and all that.
I used to figure that I could pay $1000 a year on keeping the Mazda going and still come out ahead compared to replacing it. But now getting parts is getting harder, etc. so I figure a couple hundred here and there is about right.
And of course I’ve never regularly spent anything like that.