when do you get rid of your car / call it quits?
 

In another thread, I talked of having a 1998 Honda accord i sild in 2005 and a 2005 accord I sold in 2012. Both had 130K miles and both had axle / CV joint issues.

When do you call it quits on a car? I hear how people have hondas for over 200K miles. But there is (a fair amount) money being spent to get it to those high miles, right? Tires, oil, radiator flush, trans service, brakes, spark plugs, air filters, etc. those are consumable / wear issues you can plan for. But CV joints / axles? What else? and at what point when you have a big bill for service needed do you say it's time to move on? I looked up some old cars of ours on carfax that I sold and it's interesting to see where they are now and that they are still going (strong? some are still being registered, so they are in use at least, I guess).

All I have the time / skill for is engine and cabin air filter changes. so I'd have to pay dealer / garage pricing for things. any rules of thumb? I know my dad has a 20 year old lincoln town car. the car needs a new trans and he really wonders if he should spend the $1,200 on the transmission. I say that there's loads of other things that could go wrong at that age. but he is thinking hard about putting that much into a car that old.

any advice on any of that?

Well I do a lot of the maintenance myself, and I think you will find people that do this keep cars longer because its a lot cheaper to maintain a paid off car then pay for a new car.

To me a 05 Accord with 130k miles is barely broken in. I for instance bought a 15 year old Accord with 169,000 miles on it. Sold it a couple years later with over 200k on it and I still see it around town.

Brakes, axles, tires are things that are going to go bad on any car. To me I would get rid of a car when it seems like things are constantly breaking, more than normal wear for the year/mileage, rust takes over the car, or something major like an engine or transmission goes and it would cost more than the car is worth to replace.

I say when your tired of putting in more money than you think it's worth...

WheelBrokerAng :)

Bing, Bing, winner.

I just bought a '92 and paid a premium because of how well it was maintained (dealer records).
Only car I've bought without any / zilch money to bring up to par. No drips, no tears = new car w/ 201,000 miles.

Over the life of my 96 accord its gotten new brakes, rotors, battery, timing belt, compressor, exhaust, about $20 in seals and gaskets in various locations. I suspect the maintenance costs have been around $500=$750 (excluding tires). That being said Ive asked myself the same question I think a fuel pump or fuel line may make me consider if its worth fixing or not. Now everything is a pain to fix its pretty much fussed together with rust, every other bolt snaps.

You will hit some periods when it seems your fixing something every week on the car then go a couple years when you just change the oil. The money isnt always the issue if your doing the repairs yourself its the time, often the parts your fixing are only a couple bucks.

Some people get more attached to a car than others. My brother's 92 Lincoln Town Car doesn't seem great to me, but he loves it. If your father likes his car that much, he should fix it, and keep it. When I consider that I could only get at best $10,000 for my current car, and a new car would cost at least another $15,000 over that, it just doesn't seem worth it, to me, at this point. I do all my own maintenance and most repairs myself, so I know this car pretty well, and there have been very few problems with it. You never know when you are going to pick a LEMON, so if I have a good reliable car, I don't want to give it up.

We have a '91 Accord. We bought it in 2001 with 139k miles on it. My son is now driving it and it just turned over 290k. We only got a newer Accord ('99) because the '91 is getting ugly with rust. It still runs great a we have put very little in it over the years besides just the regular maintenance stuff. So I guess for me I get rid of something when either I can afford something newer or the old one is not fixable. I do all my own repairs though, because I don't trust anyone else to work on my stuff.

when it costs more to fix than its worth keeping.
funny thing is i had a 91 accord i traded in with 287000 miles on it and i wished i had kept it. 4 sets of tires, 2 mufflers, 1 cat converter, 1 alternator, timing belt/water pump and 3 distributors over its lifespan.
try to get that out of any other car made
Honda Accord, best damn car on the planet.
get another one dude

Honda Accord, best damn car on the planet.

would you say the same for the civic or other cars made by honda?

I think all of Hondas vehicles are pretty reliable. I have heard some mixed reviews about the newest generation civic, but Honda announced they are already redesigning. The only major flaw they have ever made was the automatic transmission in the 98-02 Accords.