This weekend one of my teen aged sons let the back end of my car slide out and hit a curb and ruined one of the wheels (the metal part, not the rubber tire).
My dilemma is that that the car in question is “my baby” and I always am looking for a good reason to upgrade a bit. It has the stock wheels which are nice, but I got an estimate and it will be almost $600 to replace the one broken wheel and a little more for the alignment. There is no question… I need to do at least this.
The car is a '06 Mustang GT and it takes special speed rated tires that cost about $200 each (Pirelli P-Zero Nero currently) and I have about 40,000 miles on the set I have. I could probably get another 10k or so before replacing, but it will have to happen before too long.
My struggle is that I can get it back up and running for a little over $600. But I can also get 4 new custom wheels and a new set of tires for around $1,500. The new ones would be 19" versus the current 17" which will allow me to add better brakes at a later date if I choose. I would still do the alignment which will run me around $90.
I’m ready to get the full package but my wife doesn’t love my car like I do and seems to think I find every excuse to pump more money into it (I may be a bit guilty here).
So, should I spend the $600 to get it back to the status quo or should I drop about $1k more and have new tires and upgraded wheels? I’d like to justify that I’m being frugal by getting the full package but I need some support here.
And before anyone jumps on him… the first thing my son said is that he would pay for the new wheel. I doubt that I will make him do so but it is nice that he volunteered up front.
Get your son to pay for at least half what the standard repair will be, so $300. For the upgrade, it depends - do you have a birthday or anniversary coming up? Do you have the funds to spare for this without taking out debt or siphoning from anything else?
If both are go, then spin the extra as a present to yourself, and then try to find something that your wife wants/likes, and spend some money on her to reassure her that you don’t just want to spend on your ‘baby.’
If you can afford the upgrade, do it. It is clearly important to you and you’ll regret it if you don’t.
If there’s a low-impact way for your son to make good on this, go ahead and good on him for being willing to step up. But honestly? It is mostly on you, for allowing your teenager to drive your baby.
I know that… but part of the reason I bought the car was to share it with my sons when they could enjoy it the most (I had to wait until I was almost 50). It has been driven to proms and in homecoming parades. The money is not an issue… it is explaining to my wife that I’m saving money in the long run by spending more now.
The question for me is what do the rest of your finances look like?
Credit cards maxed out, underwater mortgage, no college fund, no retirement fund, raising a family of six on $40,000? Bare minimum even if it is your baby.
No debt, mortgage paid off, college funded, retiring early, family of three on a quarter million a year income? Go nuts.
Somewhere between those extremes… well, if you can pay for it out of savings and still have a rainy day fund, you’re probably ok.
Regardless of the situation, congrats on raising your son right (since he offered to pay up for his own mistake).
Give some consideration to the other aspects of a larger wheel size. A lot of the larger wheels out there end up being disproportionately heavier than the set you’d be upgrading from. Heavier wheels take more power to accelerate, increase unsparing mass to the detriment of ride quality, and with lower profile tires, surrender some compliance there too. If you’re not tracking the car and cooking the brakes, then bigger brakes don’t really provide any advantage and also increase unsprung mass.
Yes, yes, absolutely, what you’re saying makes total sense. Go for it.
…but, y’know, the [paste]’06 Mustang GT[/paste]'s are at an excellent selling point in their lifecycle - recent enough to still be in high demand for both well-tended in-service vehicles and even moreso for all kinds of parts. Good sellling value. And, really, there’s never been a better time to buy a new Mustang - the 2016’s are on their way, and the dealers are desperate to move 2015’s - you can get a spectacular deal! Such savings. That whole line holds their value so well. Good buying value. When you crunch the numbers - not just with the mathematics, but also with guts and vigor and a clear vision of the true future of the world - it just makes sense, financial and otherwise, to get a new Mustang. You know it’s so - I feel silly for even pointing it out.
Safety! Safety too. Safe sons and such. The new stuff is so much safer than before. Try that on her.
Difference of about $900. $800 of that is the cost of new tires (but it makes sense to discount that by the 20 percent of usable life you are giving up on the still serviceable tires); call it a 640 cost towards the tires that you save in the package.
So about $260 is what you are paying for completely discretionary cost of new rims that you like because …“Oooh shiny!!!”. All that assumes you won’t be paying interest for spending extra now. I also assume no time cost for spending the money now versus later (interest rates are low afterall and if you’re not financing that cost is minimal). It all comes down to can you afford to spend $260 on something that’s not really functional but would make you happy without sacrificing something more important. Since your wife doesn’t seem to value the new rims is it an amount of discretionary spending that won’t limit her discretionary spending on things she values as much?
Extra power isn’t a problem… it is a V8 with over 300 HP. Finances aren’t an issue. The car can easily handle 20 inch rims so the 19s are not an issue either. The issue is convincing my wife that this is a frugal decision and not just that it happens to get me the new wheels I’ve been wanting.
You guys are supposed to be giving me ammo here. So far the ability to add better brakes equates to safer is the best one I can use. Even though the current brakes are great… and the upgrade to racing brakes may be hard to sell to her as well, but SAFETY… that just may work. If I spend more now to get the upgrade I could save our children’s lives in the long run… how can that argument fail?
I like the way you think. I do want to get a 2015 Mustang, but I don’t want to sell my current one. I’ll probably wait a few years or so and pick a good one up that is a few years old and do what I did last time and bring it home and beg forgiveness.
The current one is a bit of a tribute to my Dad’s '70 that the '06 is somewhat based on (same color as his as well) and I have promised it to be passed down. I plan for it to be in the family for a long time.
Anyway… yes, SAFETY!! That’s the ticket! Cool new wheels is just a side effect.
[ul]
[li][del]With larger rims, animals that are caught under the wheels will be more quickly and humanely killed[/del][/li][li][del]Larger rims allow the sons to pick up more respectable girls, preventing unplanned pregnancies[/del][/li][li]It saves money in the long term by preventing wear to other parts of the car (it probably doesn’t, but you’ve already made your mind, haven’t you?)[/li][/ul]
Perfect! Applying my advance physics GED… the larger wheels will take me further on each rotation than those tiny skateboard sized wheels I currently have. Therefore I will be saving mileage on my daily trips. A trip that currently is 12 miles should only be about 10 now so think how much longer my car should last. I think this along with the safety is a slam dunk!
Now… how do I justify the cold air intake and the new exhaust?
I don’t think you should get the 19" inch wheels, since tires are more expensive for them, and it makes it more likely that you’ll damage both the rims and tires. Plus, it’ll make it ride more harsh and potentially handle worse (really, extra unsprung mass sucks).
You can justify the cold air intake and new exhaust (or a 2015) because any punk with a WRX will eat your lunch in a drag race
Did you earn the money? Then do it. If your woman doesn’t want you spending money on the wheels she will be seen riding in or driving, well, explain to your sons that one of their ex-girlfriends is going to be their new mom and your new wife while she starts a frickin’ book club. If she earns the money, make puppy eyes at her until she gives you the money.
Say, ladies. Did I mention I was single?
The Second Stone, owner of any frickin’ power tool he wants.
You understand that racing brakes will not stop your car faster, right? Bigger brakes are about heat dissipation, and slowing down repeatedly without fade, as at the track. Otherwise, you’ll find that you stop in the same distance as tire grip previously allowed. UNLESS you buy some barely-DOT legal ultra sticky gumballs. Now that I heartily approve of!
If you’re buying bigger wheels without watching the weight (getting cast wheels instead of forged) you’re just laying out money to make your car worse.
