To what extent is fixing an old car worth it?

Submitted by Pixie__Pink t3_z7f869 in personalfinance

I have a 20 year old Camry I bought from a dishonest dealer (shocker) with a faulty part that costed almost 2k to fix. Her engine is smooth, thank God, so that’s why I didn’t anticipate the repairs. Regardless, I realize I paid more than the car is worth but the car market a year ago was heavily inflated and old used cars still have as high a demand as newer used cars.

It’s been almost a year since the big replacement I had to do and nothing major happened (I’ve had to change tires and smaller parts here and there but nothing crazy). Today, though, something happened and I googled it and it might be transmission issues.

If I’m to sell it to a dealership she’s not bringing me more than 1.8k. I can try to sell it for like 4k-5k privately (compared prices with competition) but I’m back at square one again trying to buy a used car.

I’ve been seeing car prices for similar type of 20 year old reliable cars with higher but functional mileage (around 150k) and they’ve gone up from last year. That’s not even including what surprises await for me when I get it checked up at the mechanic.

I prefer older cars because I don’t consider cars to be an asset, rather they’re an essential commodity. Cars will never appreciate in value and if you crash one, it’ll dramatically depreciate it’s value. I also don’t want to pay extra each month to finance a car since I don’t see the point in having a newer car.

However, I’m starting to think, could a 10 year old car have lesser problems and save me money in the long run? For some reason I doubt they won’t run into problems because it’s also dependent on how well the previous owner took care of it. The parts may also be more expensive.

Any advice is much appreciated.

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theoriginalharbinger t1_iy6b8rd wrote

Age is far less important than people think. Maintenance and proper diagnosis matter more.

I'd take a 20-year-old Corolla before a 10-year-old VW. I'd take a 300,000 mile Corolla driven by Grandma Mae and dealer-serviced every 3k over a 150,000-mile Corolla driven by Big Steve the 16yo and hooned in the high school parking lot.

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the_whole_arsenal t1_iy6fs7j wrote

Yeah, pretty much this. Maintenance can add 10 years to a car or lack of can remove 5 years from a car. Stuff like a $50 oil change is a small insurance policy. Honda says I can go 8k miles, but I do 5k. Over 150k miles the difference would be 19 vs 30 oil changes, or $550. But I'll get 300k miles, and the guy that goes 8k will likely only hit 200k before forking out $3,500 on rebuilding the lower engine (oil pump, piston rings, pickup tube and bearings).

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mistermephist0 t1_iy6inz1 wrote

Is this the case for newer cars though? Maybe the same idea, but the timeline different. i.e. 8 vs 12 years. Just feels like cars these days are not made the same

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ScipioAfricanvs t1_iy6mzt0 wrote

I don’t think it’s wise to completely be dismissive of age as you suggest. Wear items go based on both time or mileage (or a combination of both). Rubbers, seals, electrical components, etc. are all more likely to fail as a function of age regardless of how well maintained the car is.

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JordanRPE t1_iy6e9z0 wrote

How important is your car? If it breaks down can't you get to work etc.? If not that important drive it till it dies but start putting money away for replacement.

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racf599 t1_iy6zl3h wrote

I think you'd be better off taking it to a reputable mechanic and having it checked out before you start making any plans. It could be nothing, or it could be easily and cheaply fixed now before a major failure, or there might be a stop gap repair that will postpone the inevitable major repair long enough to allow you to be on better footing.

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