AP car replacement tips

Ok AP wizards it's probably time to look at replacing my vehicle! What kind of AP moves do you all suggest? I have had my current vehicle since 2007 and have over 260k miles on it. It's getting to the point of one thing after another recently. So do I continue to spend maybe $1000 a year on repairs/maintenance until it completely dies or upgrade? Any tips out there on purchase vs lease? What is the honey-spot as far as how old and how many miles to purchase a used vehicle? Toyotas and Hondas still considered the best targets for lasting the longest? Any and all tips, ideas, thoughts are welcome!

Thanks in advance

RD

Quote: RisingDough

Ok AP wizards it's probably time to look at replacing my vehicle! What kind of AP moves do you all suggest? I have had my current vehicle since 2007 and have over 260k miles on it. It's getting to the point of one thing after another recently. So do I continue to spend maybe $1000 a year on repairs/maintenance until it completely dies or upgrade? Any tips out there on purchase vs lease? What is the honey-spot as far as how old and how many miles to purchase a used vehicle? Toyotas and Hondas still considered the best targets for lasting the longest? Any and all tips, ideas, thoughts are welcome!

Thanks in advance

RD

My father is/was(he's retired now and only works on his own vehicles if absolutely necessary) a very good mechanic who's an import specialist at a dealership with many awards I'm just home shop and all that kind of stuff.
For most of his life he was a Ford and Chevy guy and of course, a lover of all cars, especially the older classics.

He's a very frugal and practical. To this day he still gets on my case when it comes to buying cars. He's always claiming I only care about the looks and style of a car. He actually talked me out of buying a DeLorean they had for sale at the Riverside in Laughlin 11k in the late 90s. Dad " sounds like a good deal, BUT where the hell you going to get parts for that when it breaks down, and Who the hell's going to know how to work on it properly?" Yeah, I hadn't really thought about that.

He even hates to admit it, but he keeps telling me for the price, reliability, and a car that will last forever when maintained, and if it does happen to break down it's fairly inexpensive to fix. He says go for a KIA. My dad's rarely ever bought a brand new car but, that's the one new car he did buy. He also says the Toyotas are good. Of course, I ignored all that and went with with an expensive car to fix and maintain. However, I did lots of searching for vehicles that had really good value and worth more than I've purchased them for. After him seeing them I'm telling them what I paid for them he approved.

Quote: AxelWolf

He even hates to admit it, but he keeps telling me for the price, reliability, and a car that will last forever when maintained, and if it does happen to break down it's fairly inexpensive to fix. He says go for a KIA. My dad's rarely ever bought a brand new car but, that's the one new car he did buy. He also says the Toyotas are good. Of course, I ignored all that and went with with an expensive car to fix and maintain. However, I did lots of searching for vehicles that had really good value and worth more than I've purchased them for. After him seeing them I'm telling them what I paid for them he approved.

I loved my Kia Optima and had planned to get another one. Sadly, I couldn't get the price to where I thought it should be so I ended up with a small boring American SUV because the deal was right.

my only comment is that I used the site cars.com to purchase my last car and it was new and I got a deal that beat MSRP by several thousand

all the dealers know about that site and know they must show their very sharpest price because they know that's what the customers on that site are looking for

they also offer a used car search if that's the way you decide to go - probably also very, very competitive

Three year old cars are coming off lease. Look for something with 20-30k miles. Too low or too many and it might not have been as well cared for.

Quote: RisingDough

Ok AP wizards it's probably time to look at replacing my vehicle! What kind of AP moves do you all suggest? I have had my current vehicle since 2007 and have over 260k miles on it. It's getting to the point of one thing after another recently. So do I continue to spend maybe $1000 a year on repairs/maintenance until it completely dies or upgrade? Any tips out there on purchase vs lease? What is the honey-spot as far as how old and how many miles to purchase a used vehicle? Toyotas and Hondas still considered the best targets for lasting the longest? Any and all tips, ideas, thoughts are welcome!

Thanks in advance

RD

Putting 1k a year into maintenance/ repairs is plus ev imo.
You also can save on insurance because u dont need collision coverage.My car has 350k and its still going.

Quote: Hunterhill

Putting 1k a year into maintenance/ repairs is plus ev imo.
You also can save on insurance because u dont need collision coverage.My car has 350k and its still going.

Preach.

Payment for a new truck is around $500. Mine is less than $200. That's $3k I save every year. New truck requires collision. My s#$%box is liability only. That's another (almost) grand.

First year I had to do some joint work. CV's and a U, I believe. ~$1,000. Big bill, but still saved ~$3k. This year was full brakes and a bed. That's $1,500. Big bill, but saved ~$2k. It's a W/T, so no dash disasters for entertainment fixes means the most expensive fix possible would be trans/engine. Swap the whole shootin' match and I'd still be even for the year, and that's if I shop it. Turn your own wrenches and it's almost impossible for repairs to make up the difference.

Financially, it's not a question. The only question is can you afford the time and stress of shop time. One of those types that has his hand in everything and places he needs to be, maybe like GWAE starting a new business? Maybe get a new Civic. Grunt that DGAF? We ain't spending $4k a yr just to ensure boss man has his labor.

Mosca has it. And he's in the business, so he knows what he's talking about.

Also, the luxury model of large American cars and trucks take the biggest depeciation hit on resale. Think they're 9 of worst 10 resale value, in article I just read.

So take advantage of that. Get a big, gorgeous, tricked-out used GM or Ford vehicle and offer bottom dollar. Even better if it's still under warranty or that's transferrable. Worst thing about deluxe models is more tricky and expensive things to repair.

However, I also think Hyundai (though their prices are climbing) and Kia are exceptional values. Have owned 3 Hyundais now over 10 years, and had very few mechanical issues. They also hold their value on resale.

But since you're willing to drive something for 260k miles, resale is not an issue for you. So I'm back to big, gorgeous luxury used, where the new car buyer took the depeciation hit and you get a great car for a fair price. Much easier to get service and parts than some foreign stuff. And the bigger car wins in an accident.

Win a new car at the casino and figure out how much tax you owe and what resale value you can get for it so you can buy what you want.

Yeah, I'd have a $100/month car repair savings account. Cars probably should be replaced at 10 years old unless you're scraping by and can't afford a 3-5 year old car at the moment. The door seals start leaking rainwater into the ceiling. The brakes get rusted out, the fuel line needs to be replaced. The wheels & tires need to be replaced. The battery needs to be replaced. Seems like a regular wheel of fortune about what repairs need to be made and when.

I seem to run the cars I get into the junkyard at around 15 years old. That leaves me 2 years left on my current car.

I went looking for cars about 8 years ago and virtually all of them have floor shifts, which I can't abide by. Winters here will freeze the doors shut, so I might be able to get in the passenger door instead of the driver door to start the engine. So I need to be able to slide across the seat to get to the driver's seat, and these floor shifts will block me. Also the back seats had no leg room whatsoever. Makes me think GM, Ford, and the rest should have gone bankrupt in 2009. What the hell have they been making? Cars are being recalled on a weekly basis in large numbers for safety hazards. There might be one car model out there out of thousands that will fit the bill, but how will you ever find it?

Another item is gas mileage. California is going towards $6/gallon gas for some reason, and getting 35 mpg might be a minimum.

I think you have to ignore the most common advice if your driving habits are unlike most people.

Quote: onenickelmiracle

I think you have to ignore the most common advice if your driving habits are unlike most people.

This is golden. The worst advice I read about buying cars is when the writer assumes that everyone wants the same thing that he/she does. As someone in the business, the biggest insult I can deal my customer is to treat him/her as a data point instead of as a person with specific needs and desires. Everyone is different.

I lease a nice car. I do this because it makes me feel good. I work in the business so people notice if I drive a clunker. It has to be nice, but not too nice.

Mrs Mosca drives a 2012 Kia Optima. It’s a decent car, it’s reliable and gets good gas mileage, and it’s paid for. She will drive it until it dies. that’s going to be a while. We will probably do some major repairs on it, eventually.

The #1 reason to keep fixing an older car is that it costs the least. If that is important to you, and the inconvenience of having the car in the shop for an extended period is no big deal, that’s what you should do. But be careful. There will come a repair that will be more than what the car is worth. At that point, the AP play is to junk it and get a different car.

For buying a decent used car, there are two sweet spots: the one I mentioned in a previous post, cars coming off lease; and one year old fleet and rental cars. The off lease cars tend to be better equipped, because they were personal use vehicles. The fleet and ex-rentals are cookie cutter cars, generally. They’ve taken the first-year depreciation, which can be as high as 40%. They will all be equipped the same, pick the color you like. ESPECIALLY with the one year old cars, avoid the ones with absurdly low mileage. There is a reason, and that reason is usually that the car was in an accident and sat. That accident will not show up on a CarFax report. Generally speaking, there is no reason to avoid ex-rentals. Most of them get driven from the theme park or convention center to the hotel and airport and back. They are well maintained, a car that sits isn’t making money.

New cars are the least economical, but people don’t buy new cars for economic reasons. Some people are just new car buyers. If that’s you, and you drive between 10k and 18k a year, look into leasing. It can happen that leasing a new car would be cheaper than paying cash for it. i was leasing new Nissans where the sum of the payments was less than the projected depreciation over the term. That’s an AP play, but it’s on a particular bet that satisfies a different itch than just $$. It’s an AP way to get the best deal on a new car, not an AP way to drive a car.

Quote: Mosca

and one year old fleet and rental cars.

Apparently you haven't seen me drive a rental car.
Wife, "you can't go that way there's a curb/median there." Me, "oh don't worry we will make it over it just fine"

Quote: Mosca

This is golden. The worst advice I read about buying cars is when the writer assumes that everyone wants the same thing that he/she does. As someone in the business, the biggest insult I can deal my customer is to treat him/her as a data point instead of as a person with specific needs and desires. Everyone is different.

I lease a nice car. I do this because it makes me feel good. I work in the business so people notice if I drive a clunker. It has to be nice, but not too nice.

Mrs Mosca drives a 2012 Kia Optima. It’s a decent car, it’s reliable and gets good gas mileage, and it’s paid for. She will drive it until it dies. that’s going to be a while. We will probably do some major repairs on it, eventually.

The #1 reason to keep fixing an older car is that it costs the least. If that is important to you, and the inconvenience of having the car in the shop for an extended period is no big deal, that’s what you should do. But be careful. There will come a repair that will be more than what the car is worth. At that point, the AP play is to junk it and get a different car.

For buying a decent used car, there are two sweet spots: the one I mentioned in a previous post, cars coming off lease; and one year old fleet and rental cars. The off lease cars tend to be better equipped, because they were personal use vehicles. The fleet and ex-rentals are cookie cutter cars, generally. They’ve taken the first-year depreciation, which can be as high as 40%. They will all be equipped the same, pick the color you like. ESPECIALLY with the one year old cars, avoid the ones with absurdly low mileage. There is a reason, and that reason is usually that the car was in an accident and sat. That accident will not show up on a CarFax report. Generally speaking, there is no reason to avoid ex-rentals. Most of them get driven from the theme park or convention center to the hotel and airport and back. They are well maintained, a car that sits isn’t making money.

New cars are the least economical, but people don’t buy new cars for economic reasons. Some people are just new car buyers. If that’s you, and you drive between 10k and 18k a year, look into leasing. It can happen that leasing a new car would be cheaper than paying cash for it. i was leasing new Nissans where the sum of the payments was less than the projected depreciation over the term. That’s an AP play, but it’s on a particular bet that satisfies a different itch than just $$. It’s an AP way to get the best deal on a new car, not an AP way to drive a car.

Good stuff there Mosca! And thanks to everyone that has replied there has been a variety of opinions and some good stuff to think about.

The thought of having a nice new car of course sounds good but not what I need. I only put about 15,000 miles on per year and it's basically back and forth to casino. I live in Midwest where winters get brutal. I was toying with the idea of going back to an SUV basically for the idea of having something a bit heavier and better in snow (is that even logical thinking?) But in reality the snow isn't a MAJOR hurdle and my Acura TL has done me just fine and why go with something with worse gas mileage (SUV)? That doesn't make any sense so I'll probably just either continue with repairs on the current vehicle or get something like a Camry or a Civic. Any thoughts on either of these or anything comparable?

Has anyone dealt with CARVANA? Had a friend recently buy through them and he said it was extremely easy and saved a bunch of money vs what dealerships wanted for same car.

Thanks again everyone!

RD

Quote: RisingDough

Has anyone dealt with CARVANA? Had a friend recently buy through them and he said it was extremely easy and saved a bunch of money vs what dealerships wanted for same car.

Thanks again everyone!

RD

I have heard good things about both Carvana and Vroom. I think that will be the future of used car sales.

Camrys and Civics are fine cars.

I haven’t dealt with Carvana, obviously, but they lost $86 mil last quarter, so get it while you can.

Quote: Mosca

Camrys and Civics are fine cars.

I haven’t dealt with Carvana, obviously, but they lost $86 mil last quarter, so get it while you can.

Those giant car vending machines must be expensive. Customers can’t lift the oversized quarters, and no bubblegum included.

Quote: rxwine

Those giant car vending machines must be expensive. Customers can’t lift the oversized quarters, and no bubblegum included.

There's one of those by me. I keep watching for someone to try to buy one only to have the vending machine leave it dangling over the edge. Then I could swoop in and buy the one right behind it. 2 for 1 baby!

The key to maintaining a high mileage car is finding a quality mechanic, or doing the work yourself.

My guy is a small independent shop and he will actually talk me out of repairing things. I had some wear on my rotors that was causing some shaking when braking hard, and when I took it in he was like “yea it’s safe to drive, so we can just fix it during your next inspection or whenever” and he didn’t charge me for his time test driving/inspecting it.

When my inspection came up, he passed it and said we still didn’t need to fix the brakes unless it was bothering me.

The way he was talking I thought it would be an expensive repair, so I looked into doing it myself and the parts would have been like $400 plus a bunch of tools I don’t own.

The problem started bothering me enough to where I just had him fix it, didn’t care about the cost.

The bill to replace 2 rotors and brake pads, with labor, came to a whopping $360. After that, I have no inclination to do my own repairs as long as my mechanic is still around.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=scotty+kilmer

The youtube channel Scotty Kilmer spent his whole life fixing cars and gives alot of videos on recommendations on buying cars.

I've tried using waste vegitable oil as fuel. I succeeded. In the process of doing so I bought an old diesel pickup and van with ~200k miles. I found out that dealers will refuse to work on old cars. Even if you are willing to pay someone alot of money to fix, they may not be willing to.

My brakes went out on me just a week after the car inspection. They said it wasn't leaking on inspection day. They were certainly rusted out, just not busted out. Almost took out 30 cars on a steep hill but for stopping a quarter mile before the hill.

I saw a car with "carvana" on the license plate. I read that Carvana claims that their used cars are cheaper because there is no brick and mortar dealers. Carvana has low mileage cars 15K to 50K. They ship the car and provide payment plan too. They post blemishes on website. IDK if it really is worthwhile.

I couldn't believe it when they introduced a car called KIA.

Anyone who was in the military knows what KIA stands for.

I don't care how great you say they are. I would never buy one.

Quote: jjjoooggg

I saw a car with "carvana" on the license plate. I read that Carvana claims that their used cars are cheaper because there is no brick and mortar dealers. Carvana has low mileage cars 15K to 50K. They ship the car and provide payment plan too. They post blemishes on website. IDK if it really is worthwhile.

Do they come with any type of warranties or 3-day return policy? Does anybody inspect the mechanics of the car? Even a mechanic inspection a can't really tell you if a car is going to last. They CAN tell you you if you shouldn't buy a particular car. However, there certain things you should look for yourself, things that mechanics don't often look for when you have them check out a car, like if they have been in a flood. I think it's really important to know if the car has been in a flood you should take lots of extra time to figure that out (there's lots of those being sold on the market, even as new). I have a feeling the people on carvana aren't looking for that type of stuff very well.

I'd rather buy from a private seller over a used car lot ,that way you can get some type of story about the car and the person who drove it. People who tend to take care of the inside and outside of their car well oftentimes take care of the mechanical maintenance and are easier on the paddle. Lots of door dings is a bad sign.

Obviously you might not be getting the full story but I think it's better than nothing so you can at least make your own judgment if you think they're telling the truth or not.

I have a few obd2 readers and an app that I use.

Quote: FatGeezus

I couldn't believe it when they introduced a car called KIA.

Anyone who was in the military knows what KIA stands for.

I don't care how great you say they are. I would never buy one.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124494788

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5325069

"Rising from the East" is a bad motto. I wonder what you'd think of the Bible scriptures from the 7 minute NPR audio link above.

Someone said that USA had to start a war with Japan before Pearl Harbor because they invaded IndoChina aka Vietnam. Japan was fighting the French invaders who enslaved the Vietnamese since 1858. Roosevelt criticized the French for occupying IndoChina. But after Japan fought the French, Roosevelt changed his mind.

If you look at world history. The most imperialist expansionist countries were Spain, Britian, and France. Much of Africa, Asia, South and Central America, and the middle east is conquered by western countries for natural resources, like Chile for copper. The main people to benefit from these covert wars are heads of corporations, not the common American. Because the wars are more expensive than the resources

Quote: AxelWolf

Do they come with any type of warranties or 3-day return policy? Does anybody inspect the mechanics of the car? Even a mechanic inspection a can't really tell you if a car is going to last. They CAN tell you you if you shouldn't buy a particular car. However, there certain things you should look for yourself, things that mechanics don't often look for when you have them check out a car, like if they have been in a flood. I think it's really important to know if the car has been in a flood you should take lots of extra time to figure that out (there's lots of those being sold on the market, even as new). I have a feeling the people on carvana aren't looking for that type of stuff very well.

I'd rather buy from a private seller over a used car lot ,that way you can get some type of story about the car and the person who drove it. People who tend to take care of the inside and outside of their car well oftentimes take care of the mechanical maintenance and are easier on the paddle. Lots of door dings is a bad sign.

Obviously you might not be getting the full story but I think it's better than nothing so you can at least make your own judgment if you think they're telling the truth or not.

I have a few obd2 readers and an app that I use.

they do have a 7 day money back guarantee, these are low mileage cars, i always do carfax for salvage detection,

I bought 6 used cars. I almost always buy new now. I travel alot for code enf issues and repair service. Getting broke down on the interstate gets expensive.

Quote: RisingDough

...I only put about 15,000 miles on per year and it's basically back and forth to casino. I live in Midwest where winters get brutal. I was toying with the idea of going back to an SUV basically for the idea of having something a bit heavier and better in snow (is that even logical thinking?) But in reality the snow isn't a MAJOR hurdle and my Acura TL has done me just fine and why go with something with worse gas mileage (SUV)? That doesn't make any sense so I'll probably just either continue with repairs on the current vehicle or get something like a Camry or a Civic. Any thoughts on either of these or anything comparable?...

I've been very pleased with my Camry's and Civic's. The only knock I would have is with factory paint fading in the sun. However, I don't think it is especially bad compared to domestic brands, just noticeable. I'm sure your Acura is the same.

Have you considered a Rav4 or CRV? They are built on sedan frames so the ride and handling are better than a pickup, and all wheel drive is available for wintertime. The only problem is finding one that a first owner was willing to part with, since most are happy to keep them for a long time.

Same with Toyota pick-up trucks. I loved my truck. If not for the need to trade it in for a baby friendly Accord, I would still be driving it today.

Quote: Ayecarumba

I've been very pleased with my Camry's and Civic's. The only knock I would have is with factory paint fading in the sun. However, I don't think it is especially bad compared to domestic brands, just noticeable. I'm sure your Acura is the same.

Have you considered a Rav4 or CRV? They are built on sedan frames so the ride and handling are better than a pickup, and all wheel drive is available for wintertime. The only problem is finding one that a first owner was willing to part with, since most are happy to keep them for a long time.

Same with Toyota pick-up trucks. I loved my truck. If not for the need to trade it in for a baby friendly Accord, I would still be driving it today.

YES exactly those two were the SUV's I was considering. I think I was slightly leaning more towards the RAV4.

Quote: Ayecarumba

I've been very pleased with my Camry's and Civic's. The only knock I would have is with factory paint fading in the sun.

There is a new family of coatings available called polysiloxanes. These actually become glass-like when they cure. I had my black car done last March, and it looks like it was done yesterday. Water beads in small droplets and runs off. The coating protects against acid rain, bird droppings, bug juice, tree sap, fading and loss of gloss, etc. typical warranty for the application is 5-7 years.

Any reputable retailer should be able to apply it. It is not recommended for a backyard retailer without some skill, you should be able to use a rotary buffer and do wet sanding. Not that you need it to apply the product, but that is the skill level you should have. You will need to clay bar the car remove all contaminants and imperfections, etc. and if you mis-apply it, then you will need to wet-sand to remove the mistaken application, so that skill would be useful. (I can do all that stuff, but I didn’t want to be bothered so I paid someone $100 to do it.)

Quote: jjjoooggg

they do have a 7 day money back guarantee, these are low mileage cars, i always do carfax for salvage detection,

I bought 6 used cars. I almost always buy new now. I travel alot for code enf issues and repair service. Getting broke down on the interstate gets expensive.

If they have a 7-Day return policy across all states that's pretty good and I'm all for it especially since there are some used car lots that it's yours once you drive it off the lot, and certainly, that would be the case with a private buyer.

7 days should give you more than enough time to dig a little deeper.

Quote: Mosca

There is a new family of coatings available called polysiloxanes. These actually become glass-like when they cure. I had my black car done last March, and it looks like it was done yesterday. Water beads in small droplets and runs off. The coating protects against acid rain, bird droppings, bug juice, tree sap, fading and loss of gloss, etc. typical warranty for the application is 5-7 years.

Any reputable retailer should be able to apply it. It is not recommended for a backyard retailer without some skill, you should be able to use a rotary buffer and do wet sanding. Not that you need it to apply the product, but that is the skill level you should have. You will need to clay bar the car remove all contaminants and imperfections, etc. and if you mis-apply it, then you will need to wet-sand to remove the mistaken application, so that skill would be useful. (I can do all that stuff, but I didn’t want to be bothered so I paid someone $100 to do it.)

That sounds interesting, is the main application meant for just keeping your car from fading or does it also help with chips, scratches, and other things?

$100 seems awful cheap to have that done, is there any reason one shouldn't do it other than the cost?

Quote: AxelWolf

That sounds interesting, is the main application meant for just keeping your car from fading or does it also help with chips, scratches, and other things?

$100 seems awful cheap to have that done, is there any reason one shouldn't do it other than the cost?

It doesn’t help with chips or scratches, no.

The application is time consuming. You have to wash, strip old wax, clay bar, then apply in panels: do two, wipe two, do two, wipe two. Once you start, you can’t stop. If it sits longer than about 15 minutes it hardens and you have to wet sand the panel.

I had one of the detail guys do it on his day off. He was happy for the work.

More about polysilazanes: https://www.emdgroup.com/en/brands/pm/durazane.html

Where to buy it: https://superiorproducts.com/product/ceramiccoating/ (I didn’t shop price or brand, I just googled and picked one. I myself used Armor All’s product. I got it at work for free.)

I have a Chevy Volt. I like it because I get 35 miles of electric charge every day and then switch to gas. I often drive 300+ miles a day. I also like that it can run ac/heat with the engine only occasionally turning on. If I need to pull over and rest or do something on the computer I can leave the car on and not use much gas.

Thanks for the coating info, Mosca! We have a huge problem twice a year with lovebugs. They swarm, get plastered on the car, and almost immediately damage the finish with corrosive chemical reaction.

If they've come up with a way to defear this issue, where a skilled person could set up shop and just apply this, they would make an absolute fortune here.