Rule of thumb, when to buy new car?

[Anonymous]

My 2012 Fusion with 120,000 miles is starting to spend more time at the mechanic. Some issues are simply maintenance related (tires, brakes) but I'm beginning to see more components failing (rack and pinion, stuck caliper). At what point, financially, do I buy a new car?

[Anonymous]

My totally unscientific approach is to keep a car at least a decade so long as its operating costs are lower than a car payment. After that I try to keep it until about 140k miles if the same holds true in terms of operating costs. I get all regular service on time, invest in anything needed to keep it roadworthy, and get it properly detailed once per year. I drive safely, and get new batteries and tires at Costco (rotating the tires with them for free there regularly) and purchase all other needed parts for fixes from autozone. I do not use the dealer for service after I am past warranty. I use a reputable mechanic instead but still buy needed parts from autozone when occasional repairs are needed. Who wants to pay a markup on parts?

I drive a luxury car (purchased below market value either gently used or at the end of the year when you can get deals on “last year” models) and do all of the above, using only 87 for fuel. I have never had a vehicle need replacing before 10-15 years doing all of this. And my vehicles never look or drive more than 4-5 years old due to the care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My totally unscientific approach is to keep a car at least a decade so long as its operating costs are lower than a car payment. After that I try to keep it until about 140k miles if the same holds true in terms of operating costs. I get all regular service on time, invest in anything needed to keep it roadworthy, and get it properly detailed once per year. I drive safely, and get new batteries and tires at Costco (rotating the tires with them for free there regularly) and purchase all other needed parts for fixes from autozone. I do not use the dealer for service after I am past warranty. I use a reputable mechanic instead but still buy needed parts from autozone when occasional repairs are needed. Who wants to pay a markup on parts?

I drive a luxury car (purchased below market value either gently used or at the end of the year when you can get deals on “last year” models) and do all of the above, using only 87 for fuel. I have never had a vehicle need replacing before 10-15 years doing all of this. And my vehicles never look or drive more than 4-5 years old due to the care.

Thank you. I've heard the costs vs. car payment approach. Overall, I'm pretty easy on my car, but I could do a lot better in terms of detailing and being more consistent with maintenance.

[Anonymous]

The fact that its a Ford and has made it so far is to be commended. I think its time has come though.

I buy Honda's 2-3 years old and aim to keep them at least 10 years.

When you are spending more on repairs each month than a payment, its time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous[b wrote:]The fact that its a Ford and has made it so far is to be commended[/b]. I think its time has come though.

I buy Honda's 2-3 years old and aim to keep them at least 10 years.

When you are spending more on repairs each month than a payment, its time.

Our family has four Fords.

#1 is a 1993 with 300K miles on it.
#2 is a 2008 with 150K miles on it.
#3 is a 2009 with 270K miles on it.
#4 is a 2018 with 70K miles on it.

All start up every morning.

OP, my breaking point has been unreliability. When my car becomes a PITA, is in the shop too frequently for my convenience, or leaves me stranded more than once, I'm over it and ready to move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that its a Ford and has made it so far is to be commended. I think its time has come though.

I buy Honda's 2-3 years old and aim to keep them at least 10 years.

When you are spending more on repairs each month than a payment, its time.

This is the worst advice. A new Honda is almost always better financially than a 2-3 year old one, because there's a bunch of people like the PP who think so highly of their car knowledge that they way overpay for a used Honda. It's rare for me to keep a Honda or Toyota for more than 2-3 years because of this reason, taking very little depreciation in the meantime.

[Anonymous]

When it's about to cost you an annoying amount of money to fix your old one.

I have a 15 year old Toyota Corolla and so far this has not happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]The fact that its a Ford and has made it so far is to be commended[/b]. I think its time has come though.

I buy Honda's 2-3 years old and aim to keep them at least 10 years.

When you are spending more on repairs each month than a payment, its time.

Our family has four Fords.

#1 is a 1993 with 300K miles on it.
#2 is a 2008 with 150K miles on it.
#3 is a 2009 with 270K miles on it.
#4 is a 2018 with 70K miles on it.

All start up every morning.

OP, my breaking point has been unreliability. When my car becomes a PITA, is in the shop too frequently for my convenience, or leaves me stranded more than once, I'm over it and ready to move on.

Same here. But I also balance safety improvements, too.

[Anonymous]

It's always cheaper to fix what you have vs buy a new car. You can limp along for years - or even just 2 or 3 more years - with what you've got, which will forestall spending major bucks on a new car. (I'm assuming you are NOT using the dealer for service any more - and if so, stop it right now.) You will never get to the point where it makes financial sense to drop $20k or more on a new car vs spending $3k the next 3 years on repairs.

But it's ok to but a new or used car if you're just done with your current car. We finally got rid of our 20-year-old car because it was approaching "death from a thousand cuts." The alignment was terrible and needed major work, the seats were torn, the gas door didn't always open, the the body rust was getting ridiculous...etc. I think we still could have kept it another 2-3 years, but we were just done.

If you develop an awareness about the truly necessary repairs vs the "optional" ones (check online forums if you're unsure), then that will help you decide how to move forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that its a Ford and has made it so far is to be commended. I think its time has come though.

I buy Honda's 2-3 years old and aim to keep them at least 10 years.

When you are spending more on repairs each month than a payment, its time.

We have a 20+ year old ford running strong and barely put any money into it beyond brakes, oil changes and tires.

[Anonymous]

For our family toyotas, maintenance isn't an issue until about 175K miles. (this is going back to the early 90s) We've always bought mid-end models new.

Are fords that different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that its a Ford and has made it so far is to be commended. I think its time has come though.

I buy Honda's 2-3 years old and aim to keep them at least 10 years.

When you are spending more on repairs each month than a payment, its time.

We have a 20+ year old ford running strong and barely put any money into it beyond brakes, oil changes and tires.

+1. While I don’t drive a Ford due to my style preferences they are certainly reliable and inexpensive to fix.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, everyone.

[Anonymous]

A Ford Model T tow truck made the world record for commercial longevity as it is use commercially for over 90 years. Ford pick up trucks often make it to 500k and several have passed one million miles. I had a Ford Taurus station wagon got tbone by a Lexus suv going 50. Car was technically totaled but I drove home. The cops were amazed it started. Ford pretty much stopped making cars so just mustang and suvs, cheap cars that last long not profitable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]The fact that its a Ford and has made it so far is to be commended[/b]. I think its time has come though.

I buy Honda's 2-3 years old and aim to keep them at least 10 years.

When you are spending more on repairs each month than a payment, its time.

Our family has four Fords.

#1 is a 1993 with 300K miles on it.
#2 is a 2008 with 150K miles on it.
#3 is a 2009 with 270K miles on it.
#4 is a 2018 with 70K miles on it.

All start up every morning.

OP, my breaking point has been unreliability. When my car becomes a PITA, is in the shop too frequently for my convenience, or leaves me stranded more than once, I'm over it and ready to move on.

My 2012 ford lasted about 270k miles. I also change my car when it becomes unreliable.