When to repair versus replace car

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people keeping thee really old cars, they are very dangerous, cars get outdated every 5-7 years and should be replaced

So untrue!! I drove a MDX for 14 years, got rid of it at 130K. Acura basically rebuilt the engine when it was 5 years old/60K (the oil leak issue) for free. Only got rid of it when it had 2 electrical issues (alarm system and Bluetooth not working)---figured I wanted a car alarm that actually worked and handsfree for calls, So I sold it. Mainly because A) once you start with electrical issues, it's never 1 or 2 things, more starts to go and those can get expensive, as it's labor intensive and difficult to find the exact issues at times and B) because I got 25% of what I had paid for it 14 years before when I sold. But if the issues had not happened, I'd still be driving it 3 years later. It was a great, safe vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people keeping thee really old cars, they are very dangerous, cars get outdated every 5-7 years and should be replaced

So untrue!! I drove a MDX for 14 years, got rid of it at 130K. Acura basically rebuilt the engine when it was 5 years old/60K (the oil leak issue) for free. Only got rid of it when it had 2 electrical issues (alarm system and Bluetooth not working)---figured I wanted a car alarm that actually worked and handsfree for calls, So I sold it. Mainly because A) once you start with electrical issues, it's never 1 or 2 things, more starts to go and those can get expensive, as it's labor intensive and difficult to find the exact issues at times and B) because I got 25% of what I had paid for it 14 years before when I sold. But if the issues had not happened, I'd still be driving it 3 years later. It was a great, safe vehicle.

I also think the new safety features are overrated and deliver immaaterial increases in safety. Does it have airbags, crumple zones and seatbelts? Good to go.

[Anonymous]

2010 Toyota Corollas have had 17 different safety recalls !!! Seventeen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While Toyota Corollas do well on safety crash tests, in the real world most vehicles are much larger than the tiny Corolla.

Google Consumer reports The Problems with the 2010 Toyota Corolla.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just looking for a pulse check (and no judgement please, I know I drive an old car!)

I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. Fully paid off, relatively low mileage (130K) and I know these cars can run well into 200K. I'm looking at a ~$2000-3000 repair, and I sort of hate putting this amount of $$$$ into an old car. At the same time, I really like the car and it's nice having no car payment.

Buying a new car is not really a financial strain, but would have a low car payment (~$200 a month).

WWYD?

It's a Toyota Corolla w/ 130k and you actually like it -- I would almost certainly repair, particularly if we are talking all or mostly consumables.

If you list what is/needs to be done, that would provide a more complete picture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looking for a pulse check (and no judgement please, I know I drive an old car!)

I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. Fully paid off, relatively low mileage (130K) and I know these cars can run well into 200K. I'm looking at a ~$2000-3000 repair, and I sort of hate putting this amount of $$$$ into an old car. At the same time, I really like the car and it's nice having no car payment.

Buying a new car is not really a financial strain, but would have a low car payment (~$200 a month).

WWYD?

It's a Toyota Corolla w/ 130k and you actually like it -- I would almost certainly repair, particularly if we are talking all or mostly consumables.

If you list what is/needs to be done, that would provide a more complete picture.

Agree if the only "repair" is an empty gas tank. But, the car is 15 years old and tiny in a world of speeding SUVs. Safety & future reliability would be my concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just looking for a pulse check (and no judgement please, I know I drive an old car!)

I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. Fully paid off, relatively low mileage (130K) and I know these cars can run well into 200K. I'm looking at a ~$2000-3000 repair, and I sort of hate putting this amount of $$$$ into an old car. At the same time, I really like the car and it's nice having no car payment.

Buying a new car is not really a financial strain, but would have a low car payment (~$200 a month).

WWYD?

Depends on the repair. What needs fixing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people keeping thee really old cars, they are very dangerous, cars get outdated every 5-7 years and should be replaced

So untrue!! I drove a MDX for 14 years, got rid of it at 130K. Acura basically rebuilt the engine when it was 5 years old/60K (the oil leak issue) for free. Only got rid of it when it had 2 electrical issues (alarm system and Bluetooth not working)---figured I wanted a car alarm that actually worked and handsfree for calls, So I sold it. Mainly because A) once you start with electrical issues, it's never 1 or 2 things, more starts to go and those can get expensive, as it's labor intensive and difficult to find the exact issues at times and B) because I got 25% of what I had paid for it 14 years before when I sold. But if the issues had not happened, I'd still be driving it 3 years later. It was a great, safe vehicle.

That car was a lemon from the start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I'm looking at a ~$2000-3000 repair, and I sort of hate putting this amount of $$$$ into an old car. At the same time, I really like the car and it's nice having no car payment.

If you spend $2400 to $3600 on repairs then you have a $200 to $300 a month car payment.

Considering you would probably pay $700 to $1000 a month for a new car, this is not a bad deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people keeping thee really old cars, they are very dangerous, cars get outdated every 5-7 years and should be replaced

So untrue!! I drove a MDX for 14 years, got rid of it at 130K. Acura basically rebuilt the engine when it was 5 years old/60K (the oil leak issue) for free. Only got rid of it when it had 2 electrical issues (alarm system and Bluetooth not working)---figured I wanted a car alarm that actually worked and handsfree for calls, So I sold it. Mainly because A) once you start with electrical issues, it's never 1 or 2 things, more starts to go and those can get expensive, as it's labor intensive and difficult to find the exact issues at times and B) because I got 25% of what I had paid for it 14 years before when I sold. But if the issues had not happened, I'd still be driving it 3 years later. It was a great, safe vehicle.

I also think the new safety features are overrated and deliver immaaterial increases in safety. Does it have airbags, crumple zones and seatbelts? Good to go.

Sure the "newer cars" have more safety features. But my 2010 MDX had all the airbags, crumple zones, etc. And in reality, it's a mid to large vehicle, so will do well in a collision with most of the vehicles on the road. And also, 95% of safety on the road comes down to the driver---don't do dumb shit. Slow down when it's snowing/raining so hard your tires are barely connecting with the road/foggy/etc. Defensive driving does a lot more than a brand new car driven by an idiot driver

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looking for a pulse check (and no judgement please, I know I drive an old car!)

I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. Fully paid off, relatively low mileage (130K) and I know these cars can run well into 200K. I'm looking at a ~$2000-3000 repair, and I sort of hate putting this amount of $$$$ into an old car. At the same time, I really like the car and it's nice having no car payment.

Buying a new car is not really a financial strain, but would have a low car payment (~$200 a month).

WWYD?

It's a Toyota Corolla w/ 130k and you actually like it -- I would almost certainly repair, particularly if we are talking all or mostly consumables.

If you list what is/needs to be done, that would provide a more complete picture.

Agree if the only "repair" is an empty gas tank. But, the car is 15 years old and tiny in a world of speeding SUVs. Safety & future reliability would be my concerns.

Yep, you should definitely join the race to the bottom and get a giant SUV to keep you safer in case another giant SUV decides to crash into you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people keeping thee really old cars, they are very dangerous, cars get outdated every 5-7 years and should be replaced

So untrue!! I drove a MDX for 14 years, got rid of it at 130K. Acura basically rebuilt the engine when it was 5 years old/60K (the oil leak issue) for free. Only got rid of it when it had 2 electrical issues (alarm system and Bluetooth not working)---figured I wanted a car alarm that actually worked and handsfree for calls, So I sold it. Mainly because A) once you start with electrical issues, it's never 1 or 2 things, more starts to go and those can get expensive, as it's labor intensive and difficult to find the exact issues at times and B) because I got 25% of what I had paid for it 14 years before when I sold. But if the issues had not happened, I'd still be driving it 3 years later. It was a great, safe vehicle.

That car was a lemon from the start.

Google is your friend. Honda/Acura had tons of vehicles in a range around that with Major Oil issue. I was aware of that and got my engine rebuilt for free as soon as the first sign of issues---told the manager, "I know the issues, what do I need to document so Acura fixes this sooner rather than later." 3 weeks later, I had a rental car for 3 weeks while they waited for parts to fix it. Had there been engine damage, I would have gotten an entirely new engine.

Other than that, the car was 14+ years old before I had any issues. Electrical issues at 14+ years is not unusual---shit happens with older cars. Hardly a lemon.
I'll take an Acura/honda anyday over a Kia/Ford/etc. Honda actually recalls/fixes problems much sooner than most manufacturers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looking for a pulse check (and no judgement please, I know I drive an old car!)

I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. Fully paid off, relatively low mileage (130K) and I know these cars can run well into 200K. I'm looking at a ~$2000-3000 repair, and I sort of hate putting this amount of $$$$ into an old car. At the same time, I really like the car and it's nice having no car payment.

Buying a new car is not really a financial strain, but would have a low car payment (~$200 a month).

WWYD?

It's a Toyota Corolla w/ 130k and you actually like it -- I would almost certainly repair, particularly if we are talking all or mostly consumables.

If you list what is/needs to be done, that would provide a more complete picture.

Agree if the only "repair" is an empty gas tank. But, the car is 15 years old and tiny in a world of speeding SUVs. Safety & future reliability would be my concerns.

The car was tiny in a world of speeding SUVs when it was new. There isn't much you can do about bad drivers in big cars unless you decide to join them in another irresponsibly large car.

OP, are you worried about your car's reliability? The last time I had to make a repair/replace decision, I replaced it because I didn't think my car was reliable enough for what I needed (driving kids to and from events, going out of town). I didn't mind sitting around waiting for the guy from AAA, but I didn't want to do it with a car full of kids.

Going on only what you've said, I'd replace and step up my savings for a new car. And if I needed a loan, I'd make sure it was a short one so the car got paid off quickly. You don't want to owe more than the car is worth.

[Anonymous]

When the warranty runs out is when it is time to replace car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are they death traps? I’m on my 4th Corolla and never had any issues with any of them. Ever. I was in an accident in one of them and was perfectly fine after being hit from the side right behind me on the driver’s side. The car was a total loss and I was fine.

I think PP is referring to the fact that the driver of a small car is more likely to die in a two vehicle collision than the driver of a big SUV

Which is how we end up with the big cars arms race, can’t afford to be the smaller car. Now with electric SUV like Rivian weighing 8k pounds, time to roll out my Wayne Tumbler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2010 Toyota Corollas have had 17 different safety recalls !!! Seventeen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While Toyota Corollas do well on safety crash tests, in the real world most vehicles are much larger than the tiny Corolla.

Google Consumer reports The Problems with the 2010 Toyota Corolla.

That was probably because they were focused on standing up production in Mississippi.

OP do you have a J VIN?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Motor_Manufacturing_Mississippi