Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
The Celiac Kid said that when you purchase a used car, you pay for a new car in repairs. Repairing the Prelude was always cheaper than purchasing another car until the transmission went out, but something happened at the end, and I kept having mechanics tell me...
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Well, there's your problem right there. It's not the repairs that are expensive, it's paying the mechanics. Learn to do the work yourself, and it's not all that expensive. (And rather enjoyable, if you have a couple of vehicles so you're not under time pressure.)
2000 Honda Insight, bought in '03, maybe $500 in repairs so far. EGR valve, O2 sensor, and a rear wheel bearing. Plus a radiator & headlight assembly from when the deer hit me. (Yes, it hit me: ran across the road in front of an SUV coming the other way, was tossed into the air, and came down on my right front quarter.) '88 Toyota pickup, owned maybe 10 years, maybe $200 for an alternator, front shocks, and idler arm bushing. Add about $35 for the new water pump I'm installing today. (I'm leaving out things like batteries, wipers, & brake pads that are maintenance items, and things like stereo upgrades and MIMA installation for the Insight that are really recreation.)
So not all that expensive, really. Maybe $100/year on average? So this century's auto expenses. $8500 Insight, $2800 Toyota (minus $1100 I got for the '84 that wouldn't pass smog), $2700 Miata, $1700 repairs. $14,600 total, not even half that $30K - and I still have 3 running vehicles.