My car’s been making a noise when I drive it. I hoped it wasn’t a big deal, but we finally took it in and it is a big deal. A $4K deal.
It needs two new front axles and four new struts. Evidently this will cost us $4K (parts + labor). It is also over due for its 150K mile tune up, which will cost another $1-1.5K. Oh, and the bad axles/struts mean it needs new tires (which I just replaced!) – another $500. And the windshield is cracked, so that’s another $250 deductible to get it replaced. So we’re talking $5.5-6K to get it where it needs to be to keep driving it.
It’s a 2007 Honda Accord. It has a 160K miles on it – most of them highway miles. We expected to put another 100K miles on it in the next 4-5 years and then get something new. We planned to start putting away money for a new car this month. Now we’re not sure what to do.
What would you do? We have the money to get another car, but it will eat into our emergency fund (not demolish it, but cut it in half). We could replenish that emergency fund in the next 1-2 years using the money we were going to save for a new car.
We had been planning on getting an electric vehicle, possible a Nissan Leaf. I spend about $200 a month on gas (I have to fill up my car once a week and it’s about $50 here to get 13.5 gallons of gas), so there is that to consider.
I don’t know what to do. Is it worth putting $5-6K into a car that already has 160K miles on it and will only last me another 4-5 years at best (with my current 20K a year mileage)? I’m especially worried because the mechanic can’t determine why my front axles are bent – I was not in an accident – maybe something on the car is off and this will happen again?
Ugh. This was very much not on my radar and I’m not sure what to do. The good news is that while the bent axles and busted struts are ruining my tires, it’s not unsafe to drive the car as is, at least not for now. So we have some time to think about it. We need to make a decision in the next month.
What would you do?
2 things to consider.
1) what’s the blue book on your Honda? I imagine that the repairs would cost more than what the car is worth, correct?
2) how much driving are you doing on the freeway? The electric vehicles get special access to the carpool lanes in CA, so if you are doing a lot of freeway driving that sticker may be worth the car payment.
All that said, it’s a matter of what works best for your family.
Also, here’s the rules about electric vehicles and HOV lanes in CA (all this is new to me, but had a long conversation about it during a commute into SF).
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1117837_everything-you-need-to-know-about-californias-new-hov-stickers
On that note, my boss LOVES her Chevy Bolt. And there are charging stations popping up all over the Bay Area, usually in premium parking spots.
New car. For sure. That’s a lot of miles and a major expense.
I’d sell it and start fresh, for sure. The mental energy and time and to mess around with repairs isn’t with it to me.
new (or new to you) car. used leaf? used prius (obviously not all electric but quite reliable and good mileage)?
I would get an opinion from another mechanic and make sure a man is there with you because they always lie to women.
Do you trust your mechanic? Even if you do, it wouldn’t hurt to get another quote or two, especially if you can go to someone outside the city for it, that might help the price a lot. Their quote of $1-$1.5K just for a tune-up seems high.
What’s the breakdown on parts vs. labor? Can you buy the parts yourself? RockAuto.com is where my husband orders a ton of his parts from (he does most of the work on our vehicles himself).
And unfortunately, agree with the above comment that it might be worth it to have your husband come with or be the one to deal with the mechanic (which is bullshit, but better than getting ripped off).
The 150k tune-up usually costs this much – that’s accurate, and on the low side, if you ask me (we do all of our scheduled maintenance and it’s always so expensive).
Factor in the current tariff war issues on expected price increases on new cars. clothing, etc. Look also at 2017/2018 models as 2019 will be out soon; check dates on 2019 arrivals. I absolutely believe having a car fail at the wrong time and place can cost lives, this impacts my thinking. I think you are getting a new car soon than you hoped but your current cost estimates, value on the car as is, possibility of repeat, need to be driving daily without fail, …….. I am not, however, part-owner of your pocketbook situation. Check the loan situation and ability to pay off early without penalties.
While not all mechanics are honest, you can’t paint a broad brush and assume most/all/yours are shady. (Married to one. Most places are not gonna let you bring your own parts, btw.) That’s a pretty old car with a lot of miles.
By no means are all mechanics shady, but hard to know if you’re getting a good deal/the correct info until you compare what a few say.
I also disagree that a 2007 car w/160,000 miles is super old or a ton of miles. We just ticked over 300,00 miles on a ’97 Toyota Rav 4 and our newest car is a 2008 Toyota Prius with almost 170,00 miles. And I know we tend to the far side of the spectrum due to my husband’s ability to work on vehicles, but I feel not having a car payment for several years has been very positive for our financial situation so just wanted to share another perspective.
Up until May, our second car was a high-mileage 2005 Toyota Prius that I loved. Over the last two years we owned the car, I had a few times where an expensive repair was needed — simply because of the wear-and-tear that is inherent with an older, high-mileage vehicle — and in each case I looked up the current Kelley Blue Book value of the car and compared that to (1) the cost of the repair, and (2) the cost of taking on a monthly car payment. If the repair cost less than what the vehicle was worth and/or less than 6 months of car payments, then it seemed worthwhile and we did it.
This calculation worked for us and enabled me to keep the car on the road, and avoid a car payment, for a couple of years. (The math finally broke down earlier this year, when the car’s value had dropped below $1K and it needed a new air conditioner in May in Phoenix. Then I had to break down and buy another car.)
I’m a huge fan of keeping cars for a long time. We seriously have a car in the family that is from the year I was born. LOL I kept my last car for 13 years and sold it when moved back home to California so we wouldn’t have to move a second car- it was time, it didn’t even have power steering! But, with all that said, I personally would not put that kind of money into an 11 year old car with that many miles on it. But, I would get a second opinion- preferably with a man. The number of times I’ve been burned (or almost burned) by a mechanic trying to pull one over on a woman is just sad. They aren’t all dishonest but there are plenty of shady ones sadly.
We were in a similar situation with our 2008 Acura (Honda) MDX. We were getting to the point of needing to buy 4 new tires, replace some expensive things, get the 150k service maintenance, etc. We added it all up, then got a quote from CarMax to buy our car from us. They gave us $7,000 – the total in maintenance we added up was $7,500. It was a no-brainer. We got offers from other dealerships but CarMax was the best, and it was when we sold my husband’s 2008 Acura RL (old man’s car – we were expecting a total low-ball offer but they bested everyone else by $700). Go to CarMax and see if they’ll but it from you. Their offers are good for a week.
Good luck!!!
We just replaced our old van by an electric one… same reason the maintenance was getting too expensive… other thing to consider is some states are doing a tax credit for plug in vehicles… i think for our car it’s a 7000 dollars tax credit… not negligible at all!
https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicles-tax-credits-and-other-incentives
In SF yesterday, hearing year end sale ads for 2018 cars….. check pricing carefully.
Hope school year is going well for the 3 of you and for all your readers involved also.
Check your voter registrations and be sure everyone you know is registered!!!!
I would get a new car. I would simply feel better and safer that I wasn’t going to break down with my kids in the back.