Reply to When is the "tipping point" to getting a new car?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think the part you're missing is that when you are making car payments, you are investing in something that (hopefully) will last for years.  When you invest in car repairs (as you have seen) you are paying for one or two years at best.  The tipping point is when you would have purchased a lot more time without worrying for the same price.[/quote]

This doesn't make sense.  A car is not an investment.  Say you have the choice between a $1200 repair and getting a new $20,000 car for $400 a month.  Say the repair gets you a year and then you buy a new car.  The comparison of where you are after 3 years is:

(if you did the $1200 repair) -- You've spent $10,800 over three years and now have a 2-year-old car.
(if you didn't do the repair and got a new car instead) -- You've spent $14,400 over three years and have a 3-year-old car.

If repairs can get you one more years, it should be worth it to you if the repairs are less than a year of car payments, discounted by how much you hate your car and want a new car.  It isn't really a science.[/quote]

But every dollar you put into an old car is just prolonging the inevitable, but money spent on a new car is spent getting you to the sweet spot:  a car you own outright that isn't in need of major repairs yet.  So if you fix the car for any amount, you will still have to pay a certain amount on a new car at some point, and if you are clos to the life-span of your car, you may be paying twice as much:  the equivalent of a down payment one year on repairs and an actual down payment the next year on a new car.[/quote]

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