Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any tips on how to compare costs?

what costs?

Anyone have any tips on how to compare costs?

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't get your logic. You got a car for free. All you have to do is fix it as the repairs crop up. If you bought a new car, you'd pay for the car itself, and then still have to pay for the repairs as they crop up, only possibly at a later date. How is buying a new car going to save you money?

It won't. Seems like OP just wants a car. After the car is brought the new post will be...why did I buy a newer car....this car note and the maintenance are killing me...but, I get a better gas mileage...I should of just fixed my old car.

I don't understand the mentality of spending 25,000 or more on a new car vs fixing an old one for a few thousand.
A car declines in value - especially the first few years. You drive it off the lot and thats 3000 or more off the value to begin with! Every year you defer buying a new car saves big $s. We just replaced a 12 year old van and still have a 16 year old car.

Also note that in DC at least every time you buy a car you spend thousands (8%?) on taxes. Another cost avoided if you defer buying a new car.

Everyone I know that has a Volvo wants to get rid of it. If it is in such great shape, someone will love to buy it. Status car.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the responses. I guess it has life left, but it needs a brake job, and timing belt, it has some suspension fluid leak, that could easily be a black hole. Plus it's about $200/m in fuel costs.

I assume I can't sell it in the open market without the leak taken care of.

Any thoughts on where to get the most money for it?

I don't even like cars... I want to buy a horse...

I have had good luck selling through internet like cars.com (?) Can't remember now -- one of the big ones. You get more. Just be sure to set up a Hotmail account for the crazies and only take cash. Go 10-15% below the deal costs that compares to your vehicle. It is not difficult to do. Get the car you want! Volvos are not great cars in the 21st century. (They were the car of the 1970s)

We just sold our minivan since it was going to need $5,000 in repairs and it was the best thing for us. When I called our insurance to have them switch it, the woman said I know you didn't get rid of the Volvo- those things last forever. When I asked her about it, she said they insure many more old Volvo's than other brands.

You could sell it for $8000-10,000. Then you could put a down payment on another car. Not likely to be a Volvo SUV, but maybe something you like better.

A catalytic converter at 106k miles can be considered routine maintenance. They could last longer but often don't.

What else is wrong with it? Anything?

It'll take you many yrs. of Prius mileage to make up the purchase cost v. repair and keeping the Volvo (though they aren't my favorite cars these days).

If you don't have a serious problem with it (a non-maintenance type issue) I'd keep it.

Of the 3 you're looking at I'd say the Subaru Outback is the best choice for long term reliability (though I do know some people who have reliable Priuses long term). The Jetta TDI will be a nice car to drive but I still do not trust VW reliability and early TDIs had a lot of fuel system problems, often right after the warranty expired.

Priuses are interesting but I'm not sure they're worth the price premium for the hybrid technology, and they are also THE most unengaging, uninteresting car that I've ever driven (if you have any interest in enjoying driving as opposed to steering an appliance).

You got a free used car which should have bought you time to save money to put down on a new car. Instead, you spent the last year, spending the money you should have been saving. So, start now. Put that $300 per month into a money market and keep driving the Volvo until such time as the expenses are totalling more than the monthly payment. Then take the money in your car fund and put it down on a new car and you will decrease your monthly payments on the new car. If you have a APR over 1% then you keep paying at the $300 rate, you'll pay it off faster than the loan term and you can go back to saving. If you have a APR below 1%, then pay the minimum and keep it for the term of the loan while putting the rest of the $300 aside. When you have paid off the car, then you can decrease your monthly saving to project out about 5-10 years so that the next time, you'll be able to pay cash for the car.

My situation is reasonably similar. I have a 2007 with 130k miles. It has been paid off for 3 years. Between the 100k and 130k mark (so 2 years, I drive about 15k miles a year like you), I have replaced the water pump, struts, shocks, stab links, throttle body, oil pressure sensor, rehung the exhaust, new performance tires, 4 wheel alignment, 2 wheel bearings, brakes all around, plugs, and wires. The majority of that stuff is good on average 50k-80k miles. 80k miles from now I may consider getting rid of the car, although I may keep it if nothing happens between now and then. My uncle drives the same car and is the service manager at the dealership we purchased them from. He drives a lot more than I do and is at 220k already. He keeps up the maintenance and all is well.

I get 18mpg city and 28-30mpg highway. I make a 1200 mile round trip run every 2 weeks. I would love a different car, but I have no good reason to get rid of this one. If you are really worried about it, start putting the monthly car payment value in a savings account now. You can use the money for repairs or you can use it as the downpayment on your new car down the road.

Thanks all. This is helpful. The gas guzzling does make it expensive to drive, but I'm going to try to convince my husband that we should hang on to it. We're still paying for daycare, and being stretched every month (more than we are) would suck. Btdt.

Sounds like you'll either have to cancel a few of those huge trips up and down the coast in order to save money OR you should just fix the Volvo. I agree with all PPs that it will run for at least 10 more years and really, the maintenance you described is nothing.

That said, my cheapo Sentra that I drive about the same as you (including long trips on the east coast) is only a year newer than your Volvo and has only needed one repair total in its lifetime. Just because a car is "older" or needs a repair or two doesn't mean you need to get a new one.

I always sell my cars just before they reach 100,000. Bit too much
car service

Sounds like the real issue is that you don't like the car you have. From a financial standpoint, you are definitely better off making the repairs and keeping the car than buying something else. The question is whether getting rid of the Volvo for something else is actually worth the additional expense to you.