Time for a new car?

[Tom Lane]

I don't plan on moving and I hope to keep playing music, maybe more so. This is a great car to hual my equiment in. I also take it on longer trips sometimes. Usiing it to haul three of us and all our to Lake Tahoe soon.
I also thought about the retirement thing. I hope to retire in about three years. For me that means working even more but probably for no pay but doing the things I love. I might be on a fixed income.
Recently my wife told me to buy any musical equipment I need now (Man I love that woman) because we might not be able to afford it after we retire. What does that mean about a car? If I need a new car then will I be able to afford it? My logic for that is that if I spend less money now and get as much mileage as possible out of this car withoug major expendetures I will have more money when if I need a new care. Makes sense to me.

I think the smart way to think about your finances is as a pool of resources. More may be coming in now than later, but, it's just one pool until your demise, so in a way, if you can't afford it later, you probably can't afford it now. IMO.

Not to be morbid, but, a male born when you were will likely live to around 78. You seem physically active with no current health issues so then you're likely to die quickly from something comparatively sudden like cancer or an aneurysm in which case you won't linger and need a big nest egg for your Alzheimer's care. That means as long as you budget for your wife to outlive you and need hospice care, you can work out a reasonable budget. If you have doubts, it's wise to consult a certified financial planner who will have the expertise to guide you with all of the obstacles in view.

 

[ReneB]

To me, with the added info and other posts, it really sounds more and more like you should keep it: first, it's relatively 'young' for a Honda. You also have a trustworthy mechanic who will no doubt keep you aware of whether the car is no longer worth keeping. Those facts plus all the money you'll save by not buying a newer one now when you don't really need it, seem to be a strong argument to keep on truckin' with your current CRV. Maybe by the time it's no longer serviceable you'll have different needs anyway and you may get a different type of car.

 

[MJ5150]

Keep it. If you go out and buy another used car, you're buying someone elses problems that you don't know about yet. At least with the Honda, you know what is on the horizon for repairs.

As others said, 80,000 miles on a Honda is nothing. You got twice that left as long as you care for it.

-Mike

 

[Immigrant]

I know it's bad manners to not read an entire thread before posting, but I couldn't resist.

I suggest, since you said you can afford to buy a used car without payments, to do so and sell your car to someone who really needs cheap transportation and can fix some of the stuff themselves or know someone who can.

People with little money usually buy a used car that needs a ton of expensive work, or from a vulture dealership, or both, for payments they can't afford. You are in a position to help someone out by selling them a car you know the history of and most of what needs to be done to fix it.

2¢

 

[slobake]

The garage called me yesterday and said I had a small crack in my radiator. I had them replace that as well. When I got to the shop I asked them "You wouldn't gaffle me would you?" My contact laughed and said "No, we only do that on Wednesdays." Then he called me out into the shop and showed me my old radiatior. It did have a small crack. I had noticed my coolant was getting low occaconasionaly but not often. Plus I would sometimes see a little coolant in the street. I though "Why doesn't my darn neighbor take care of his car?"
The people at the garage explained that a leak will get worse when it gets hot and the pressure builds up. I am driving through Sacramento soon on my way to Tahoe and it gets hot there. Plus it is a good climb up to where we are staying at South Lake Tahoe. About 6,000 feet up.
I am glad I got things fixed.

 

[slobake]

I think the smart way to think about your finances is as a pool of resources. More may be coming in now than later, but, it's just one pool until your demise, so in a way, if you can't afford it later, you probably can't afford it now. IMO.

Not to be morbid, but, a male born when you were will likely live to around 78. You seem physically active with no current health issues so then you're likely to die quickly from something comparatively sudden like cancer or an aneurysm in which case you won't linger and need a big nest egg for your Alzheimer's care. That means as long as you budget for your wife to outlive you and need hospice care, you can work out a reasonable budget. If you have doubts, it's wise to consult a certified financial planner who will have the expertise to guide you with all of the obstacles in view.

Yup, good advice. We are all over this. We have spoke to people. Some of them had products to sell and we took their advice with a grain of salt. My wife is also a bookeeper and is very good with finances.
Neither of us are big spenders and we don't owe money to anyone. We like living debt-free. That alone is huge for us.

 

[David Jayne]

Yeah radiators fail. They can almost be considered a 'consumable' part, like hoses. They take a beating. Once the engine warms up, the pressure inside normally gets up to around 15 PSI and is held there. This is necessary as coolant temps can go over 250 degrees in extreme conditions- this is obviously well above the boiling point of water but the pressure prevents boiling (science!). So it gets hot, under pressure, then cools down and relaxes every time you use the car. And it has to made of very thin metal to allow efficient heat transfer to the air. 80,000 miles is a bit early for failure but they all go eventually.

 

[Innocuous]

Guess I've changed my outlook on vehicles over the years. In my younger days quite a few cool rides (cars and bikes) resided in my garages. Now both my wife and I have cars that are 14 and 15 years old. They are mechanically perfect. Due to their age and the amount of road salt they've seen, they are starting to show some rust. We really don't care that much as they run great. My philosophy is to take care of problems as they occur. If you start letting even small things go, one day you will have a Junker that no one wants. The last truck I sold was 14 years old and had a bazillion miles on it, but everything worked. I sold it to a guy that asked if I thought the truck would be alright to drive about 200 miles to his home. After a good belly laugh I explained the truck was just in Chicago (800 mile round trip) two days ago. Told him if he had any problems to call me. He bought the truck for well over bluebook. Never heard from him again. He probably realized he got a great deal.

 

[Pilgrim]

The garage called me yesterday and said I had a small crack in my radiator. I had them replace that as well. When I got to the shop I asked them "You wouldn't gaffle me would you?" My contact laughed and said "No, we only do that on Wednesdays." Then he called me out into the shop and showed me my old radiatior. It did have a small crack. I had noticed my coolant was getting low occaconasionaly but not often. Plus I would sometimes see a little coolant in the street. I though "Why doesn't my darn neighbor take care of his car?"
The people at the garage explained that a leak will get worse when it gets hot and the pressure builds up. I am driving through Sacramento soon on my way to Tahoe and it gets hot there. Plus it is a good climb up to where we are staying at South Lake Tahoe. About 6,000 feet up.
I am glad I got things fixed.

Yup, good thing to find to avoid being stuck by the side of the road - or hunting Stop-Leak at a 7-11 during a trip.

My favorite source, radiator.com, shows both a brass and aluminum radiator option for the '99 CR-V. The aluminum version is $99, brass version $188.

Radiator.com | Radiators for Sale and Service Shop

Me being who I am, I'd change it myself.

My philosophy is to take care of problems as they occur. If you start letting even small things go, one day you will have a Junker that no one wants. The last truck I sold was 14 years old and had a bazillion miles on it, but everything worked. I sold it to a guy that asked if I thought the truck would be alright to drive about 200 miles to his home. After a good belly laugh I explained the truck was just in Chicago (800 mile round trip) two days ago. Told him if he had any problems to call me. He bought the truck for well over bluebook. Never heard from him again. He probably realized he got a great deal.

I mentioned this earlier - you have the RIGHT approach. Most people let little things go, then decide one day that their car is a piece of junk and not worth keeping. Well, if so, it's because THEY failed to keep up with it - so it's entirely their fault. However, they will blame the vehicle for their neglect. Something breaks, just fix it and go on with life. When the check engine light comes on fix it, don't ignore it. Much cheaper to keep it running right than to wait until it breaks down.

It's a lot cheaper to keep up with a vehicle and keep it in good shape than it is to neglect it, cause major repairs due to that neglect, and then end up buying another car.

 

[friskinator]

I'm in a similar state of mind with my car. It's a 2004 Accord, and even though it's running well (low miles, body in good shape, well maintenanced, etc.) it's starting to develop little annoyances that are making me think about selling it. For example, all the interior lighting in the HVAC/stereo console stopped working awhile back. That may sound like a minor gripe, but since I drive a lot at night for gigs, it makes using the center console controls really difficult. It's apparently a common problem with that year of Accord. I know that's not an expensive repair (probably around $400-500 with installation if I buy a used or OEM HVAC/stereo unit), but I really don't want to start dumping money into a 11 year old car.

 

[Bassamatic]

I am sort of going through a similar issue. My Acura is an '04 with only 50K miles - it looks and drives like new, but it is getting OLD (like me). I think all the time about this.

There are several issues to consider in such a situation -
1. Age - The engine runs great now,, but regardless of mileage, after about 10 years seals and hoses and other rubber parts will start to go, and it will always be something. If you are ready for that, no problem. My automatic A/C temp controls are now getting a little flakey, and my Bluetooth module failed.
2. Safety - Newer cars are magnitudes safer than decades old ones in many ways.
3. Serviceability - New and used parts will become harder and harder to get.

That being said - my sister just replaced the 2 motor mounts on her little Ford compact. She found aftermarket parts for $68 for BOTH, and her son-in-law did the work. My local body shop replaced mine earlier this year for around $400 for both one was easy and the other more difficult on the V-6.

If you still like the car and are willing to put the time and money into service instead of towards a newer car - then why not? Just keep the above in mind. And - don't forget the hidden cost of buying a new car - your insurance will go up!

 

[bolophonic]

This thread is making me want to vacuum out my truck (for the first time in years).

 

[slobake]

This thread is making me want to vacuum out my truck (for the first time in years).

Any twenties you find are mine.

 

[bolophonic]

Any twenties you find are mine.