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Buy a car or fix the one I have...?
I have a 2009 Ford.
Its completely paid for. Big positive.
But it needs mechanical work. Big negative.
Big leak in the transmission (estimate of $1500 - $3000).
Needs new tires (2 x $125).
Minor body work (estimate $500).
And the car gets awful gas mileage, 14- 16 miles per gallon, $50 every 5 days in gasoline.
82,000 miles. Estimated appraisal of car would be $8500-12,000.
Despite these negatives, I love this car.
Very comfortable - fun to drive - roomy - large trunk - excellent leg and head room - great heat / air - great sound system.
My options are to make bare basic repairs to the car in order to sell / trade it in, OR make full repairs and keep the car for a 5+ years.
Would the money spent on the car repairs be better spent on a deposit for a new car...? Then I will have a car payment, which I don't have now.
Would a basic repair job on the cars transmission and light body work improve my trade in value...? Trade in's are based on the cars value at auction, right?
I'd like to make a decision within a month. I welcome everyones point of view.
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Want to answer more questions in the Technology category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Cars?
There are a lot of things to take into consideration here.
Spending $3,750 to repair your car is not a lot of money. TO expect to get another 5 years out of the car spending only this sum is unreasonable. As cars get older they need more maintenance to keep on the road. You still have preventative maintenance plus maintenance of those parts that just wear out.
If you use the Federal Government reimbursement standard for mileage, based on your annual mileage. You cost to operator you car for the next 5 years will be $$38,750. This includes all costs including insurance to operate a vehicle.
Now one could say and rightfully so that this is the cost to operate any car. One also has to understand that the amount allotted is a medium number between the cost of operating a newer car and an older car. Older cars cost far more to operate than newer ones. Newer cars get better gas mileage, come with warranties lasting from 3 to 10 years depending manufacturer so maintenance cost are lower. Insurance cost are a bit higher for new cars but offset by the lower cost of the other items.
Now what is the true market value of your present car. Of course if you put the money into it to fix the body and other items it will fetch a higher cost at trade in. Is it worth it. I don't think so. First of all the dealer is not going to pay top dollar for any used car. Then there is the fact that the car has over 7,000 miles of excess mileage. They will want to see 4 not 2 good tires on the car and nobody rust, dents or huge scratches. Everything is about appearance. They may not even notice the leaking transmission and if they do it doesn't cost them what they charge you to repair.
A good dealership will work the numbers on the trade to let you cover the down payment for the best financing which they make up by not discounting as heavily on the pricing. Remember the dealership is a for profit company. They will work the numbers as best they can to give you a payment you are happy with but they have to meet certain criteria in order to make the sale and finance your new car.
All I've done here is align a thought process for you to use in making a decision. Given these thoughts if you are trying to work with in a budget my advice is to go for the new car at a payment you can afford. Yes the old car is free and clear though at any time you could be hit with a repair bill you don't have the funds to pay for.
If this were to happen and you had to go for some type of high cost credit loan to pay for the repair you could be in deeper trouble than something like budgeting for a new car.
There is another option if purchasing a car is too costly. Look at leasing the car for 3 years. At the end of the lease you can; A) walk away from it; B: Purchase it at a price fixed at the time of leasing or C) Lease another car.
I've done the leasing thing in my younger days and it worked out very well. At the end of the lease I went back to the dealer, picked out a new car, the swapped the plates and I drove off without spending any additional money. My entire investment was the upfront cash on the first lease which hopefully your trade will cover.
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ok, ive gone through five cars in my time, and we have to really take this situation apart and examine it. first off you need to ask yourself, "is loving your car that doesnt even get what my 1998 mini van gets worth having to spend what looks like adds up to quite a bit of cash?
(i have a 6 passenger mini van getting 17 on roads and 23 highway!), what kinda ford is it??
Is the estimated value of the car from a website? or did you actually take it to a car place to have it inspected to see what it could be worth personally?
next: do you know your car well enough to do any of the maintenance yourself?? cause that would save you a TON because of labor. By this i mean basic and preventive maintenance I.E. oil changing, and fluids? can you change parts yourself? battery, alternator, fan belt? because if you plan on keeping a car that has not only the issues yours has, but that is as old as yours IS, you will need to be prepared for anything. youll need to keep and eye on all fluids, and when its time to change THOSE and your tires. If you are prepared to become "REALLL CLOSE" with your car then i'd say go ahead and keep it and good luck with everything, but when it comes to major issues like the tranny slipping, leaking, thats going to cost you ALL AT ONCE what a newer cars payment per month would cost you over time.
if you love the car and are determined to keep it, i'd say start buying USED tires so that you can replace them all at once (not retreads but slightly used tires) buy a fuel additive to the gas tank to keep the car burning gas properly so that you get EVERY PENNY out of what you put in the tank, always keep an eye on the fluids under the hood, like oil coolant, etc. watch your belts, make sure you change your OWN oil because youll need to make sure you buy a higher quality then what most oil changers offer, and just be as observant as you can so you can catch any problems before they get really bad. start changing your own brake pads so you can choose which ones you want. and use this car to LEARN how to fix cars basically. theres gonna be alot of "first time i ever changed this or that" with this car. so get ready. ive been through this more times then i can count now. good luck.
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