Anonymous wrote:Another cost factor is insurance: we pay very low rates on my 12 year old car and don't have collision coverage anymore. With a new car, liability rates + collision would be much much higher.

We have a 2010 car and actually got a lower rate because our car has lots of safety features. So, it works both ways.

Also, if you're considering a tradein, go to carmax to get it appraised. You'd be surprised how much money they'll give you for your piece of s@$#

Anonymous wrote:OP: I have a 16 yr old volvo that did not require any repairs other than the usual maintenance. We purchased a second car b/c I don't trust it and the AC doesn't work when it's over 90 outside.

If it had cost me what you are investing in yours, the decision to replace it would have been much easier...we still have it BTW...but now have something shiny, new, and ACed

You are really styling in that old wreck.

Anonymous wrote:In our experience, the sweet spot is at about 7 or 8 years. That is because the repairs haven't started yet and the price you can get for the car favorably reflects that. Once you get to 9 or 10 years, no one who needs a reliable car will touch it. Even if low miles, all the hoses and seals in the car are at risk just from age.

This is what we do, too. I like getting a decent sum as a trade-in, but most importantly, I don't want to be stranded on the side of the road with my kids. Or potentially even worse, not able to pick them up from school or day care on time. But I have broken down several times in rush hour over my driving lifetime. I'm very risk-averse when it comes to that.

We just bought a new van replacing a 12 year old one bought new. What drove us to it was reliability and safety not cost. I think if cost was the only factor we would have kept it until it needed a new engine. We put little down and got a $500 a month payment (.9% financing difficult to turn down). Every month we could have delayed saved $500 - that is a lot of repairs!


BTW the new van was such a good value compared to the one bought 12 years earlier. We got $6000 off MSRP vs paying msrp before. And so many better features so it was worth for us.

Another cost factor is insurance: we pay very low rates on my 12 year old car and don't have collision coverage anymore. With a new car, liability rates + collision would be much much higher.

I have done it both ways...and I can't stand repair shops and mechanics. I don't want to deal with any of it. I have great credit so i get 2% interest on a 1 to 2 year old used car with low miles, still under warranty. I make larger payments and trade in when I feel like a big repair is coming. I try to keep the mileage low. I am used to making the car payment. My cars last about 6 years and then I trade up. i always have a car payment, but I can manage that better than a $1000 all at once shit that needs to be done to the car payment.

Two other factors to consider--

If you have a really old car, you can save on insurance by converting to a liability-only insurance policy. You're insured for the damage you do to someone else, but they won't pay to replace your car--which will be no big deal since the blue book value is probably squat anyway.

Second, if you live in a jurisdiction that charges personal property taxes based on the value of your car, the new car will cost you a lot more in taxes.

You can probably save several hundred bucks in insurance/taxes each year by hanging on to the old car.

All right- we drove both our cars to the ground. They were 1992 and 1993. We got a brand new minivan in 2011, then had to get another new car less than a year later. Yes it bites, and it is not an investment, it's an expense, but like a previous poster I wished I had done it sooner.
Also, if you have children you should consider how much safer cars are now than they were 10 years ago. You can drive a hoopty yourself, but not with the babies...