When Is It Time To Buy A New Car? | brokeGIRLrich
There aren’t too many things I’m emotionally attached to, but my car is definitely one of them.
Mona.
AKA – the Speed De”Mona”
…because maybe I have a few speeding tickets in my past.
Here’s the deal, Mona and I have been through a lot together.
Mona was an early graduation gift from grad school. A brand, new 2008 Toyota Matrix (yes, yes, I know I’m spoiled rotten and I’m also very, very grateful).
She safely got me from Virginia to New Jersey and back again more times than I could count during my last year of grad school.
When my world fell apart a little bit at the end of grad school and something in my brain snapped and I thought it would be a good idea to just up and move to San Francisco, she took the journey with me.
She took me to the World’s Largest Twine Ball!!
After the San Francisco adventure ended, she made the journey back to New Jersey, where she sat at my parents house, waiting for me to get home from cruise ship contracts. While I was away, she was my brother’s first car after he got his driver’s license (because I am the. Best. Sister. In. The. World.).
When I joined the circus, she came with me and braved thousand miles of road and train yards all around America (seriously ya’ll, if you haven’t ever driven through a train yard, you don’t even know – most of them are muddy cesspits).
This one was more a dust bowl than a cesspit.
We have had adventures. We even drove off the road and into the desert once in search of a ghost town in Nevada when the GPS went insane. And we eventually found the ghost town.
We have been to Area 51. Sort of. Turns out the military will not let you actually get all that far into it.
You can’t get much further than this – they yell at you to turn around.
Anyway, I tell all these stories because Mona is getting up there. She’s a little over 8 years old and has about 120,000 miles on her. Last year, I opened a savings account called “New Car Fund” and felt a little bit like a traitor. But, I do like to be prepared and cars don’t last forever.
Especially not cars my little brother learned how to drive in – that was 5 years ago and I’m just now starting to hear stories from his friends about what a lunatic he was the first few years he was driving.
….to be fair, they are the exact same stories my own friends have, but ignorance was bliss, ya know?
I had a little say in which car I got – my parents sent me information on three options and I went with the Toyota because everything I heard about them was that they last a really long time. I have an uncle with one that has nearly 300,000 miles on it. And I’m hopeful that Mona can make that number too (which is sort of crazy to think I’d be 45 the next time I get a new car – but I’m also ok with that).
That being said, as her odometer crossed 100,000 I thought, how much money am I willing to put into you to keep you happy? I figured that sometime between 100,000 and 150,000 I’ll get her over to the Toyota offices for a proper check up and put $1,000 of maintenance into her.
Assuming she makes it, I’m more than happy to do the same between 200,000 and 250,000.
But I’m aware that when I get emotionally attached, I don’t always make rational decisions, and how much would I throw into Mona to keep her running? Possibly a lot, especially if it happened slightly spread out , I might not notice the slow drain so much.
Which makes me think, I need to decide on a hard number of money that I’m willing to pour into Mona over the next decade or so to keep her running. Last week, Gary over at Super Saving Tips wrote a great post on whether to repair or replace that helped me decide on that number.
His rule of thumb is:
Never spend more than 50% of the cost of an item for a repair, and if it’s a second repair and out of warranty, it pays to just replace that item.
With that in mind, the Kelley Blue Book value of my car is $6095.00 and honestly, it might be a little lower, since the rear window windshield wiper broke off 3 years ago and I never got around to getting it fixed. So let’s say $6000.
If repairs on Mona cost more than $3000, it’s time to look at getting a new car.
How did you decide it was time?
At any rate, I’ll report back in a few years on how the plan pans out! ;o)
My baby is the Corey the Corolla and he’ll be turning 10 with 128k miles on him this year. I am in relatively the same boat as you, except Corey has some cosmetic damage (I ran into a pole with my front bumper, he has a rusted roof and sad paint). I, too, feel like I’m cheating on him by saving to replace him behind his back. I think because of the body damage, I’m beyond the point of pouring more than $300 in repairs unless I can be convinced that a) he will be A-ok after the repair or that b) I don’t have the cash free to replace him with a comparable car. It’s definitely going to come down to a numbers vs. emotional attachment decision. Harrumph!
Thanks for the food for thought and the painful reminder that my first car is about to kick the bucket! :-/
I hope Mona keeps on chuggin’!
Miss Thrifty recently posted…Lessons learned from my millionaire parents
I actually hit a deer about 3 years ago on my way to Las Vegas. My best friend’s husband recommended the sketchiest repair place I’ve ever been to where no one spoke English, but $300 later I had the entire front of my car repaired – although it was the wrong color (the plastic just wasn’t painted to match). I lent Mona to a friend a week later and she ran into a pole in exactly the same spot. And when she paid to get that spot repaired (at a reputable car repair place), they threw in a coat of paint for free – so I kind of lucked out there.
I think you have a great plan, but I would suggest one minor tweak. Dealerships can be some of the worst offenders for “upsizing” your maintenance needs, and Toyotas aren’t rare cars that most mechanics aren’t used to working on. Consider getting some recommendations for a reliable trustworthy mechanic outside the dealership, since it’s not like your car is under warranty.
Emily @ JohnJaneDoe recently posted…Walking Up the Big Darn Hill and Out of the Comfort Zone
I hadn’t though of that! Thanks, Emily!
I love the name Mona!
We have a 2006 SUV that I love dearly, but know won’t last forever. I really like the 50% repair rule. That makes a lot of sense!
Kara @ Money Saving Maven recently posted…Frugal Facts Friday (3.18.16)
I need to figure out my “number” too. My car is 16 years old, but it only has about 110,000 miles on it (I’ve always had short commutes to work). So far the most I’ve spent on a single repair is $1,000. Not sure if I’d be willing to go much higher than that.
Jen @ Frugal Millennial recently posted…How to Ditch Your Student Loans with the Debt Snowball
I don’t have a name for my car but mine is a Pontiac G6 that’s from 2006. I have a short commute so it’s only got 70k miles on it, which is nice. That’s a good rule of thumb about the threshold at which to decide it’s time to replace.
Money Beagle recently posted…Reminder: Money Should Never Be Top Priority
Well my car died and was pretty much unrecoverable. lol! I totally get car attachment though! There are a lot of memories wrapped up in that inanimate object. It’s tough to say, but if it becomes unsafe, unreliable, or you are just dumping money in repairs eventually, that might be your sign.
Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…The One Thing I Sold That I Regret
For me, is was that dreaded point where the repairs would amount to almost twice the value of the vehicle. I decided it was time to call it quits and move onto my next used car :-).
Derek @ MoneyAhoy recently posted…Is Renting a Luxury Apartment Worth the Extra Cost?
Sounds like a smart decision!
That is an awesome tip and I’m so happy you shared. My husband is about to get rid of his 94 Nissan that he has had since 2002. It came down to us getting tired of putting $400 to $500 in it every year and the mechanic said it’s time for a new motor. Gotta let ole Maxine go.
Aw. Well 14 years is a pretty solid run!!
We thought about getting a new(er) car last year when ours kept giving us trouble and stranded me on the side of the road more than once. In the end though, we decided to repair it and keep driving it instead of paying a monthly car payment for years.
Catherine Alford recently posted…This Is What Happened When I Spent $1,500 on Food
Oh man, getting stranded on the side of the road is a major pain. I hope the kiddos weren’t with you!!
Thanks for the mention, Mel! It sounds like Mona has served you well. I think it’s a good strategy to save money for a day that will certainly come down the road (pardon the pun). A factor to consider since your car is still working is how much driving you’re going to do in the future. Will it be similar to your driving habits of the past years? If not, Mona may still have significant miles left in her with proper maintenance. We bought a new Honda Civic about 3 years ago and since I no longer commute (being retired) we’ve only been averaging about 7,000 miles per year. At that rate, Hank may be celebrating a 20th birthday before he retires. At least I hope so!
Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…How to Avoid Those Annoying Fees