Need car repair opinions please!

[TheVBs]

I desperately need some objective opinions on this situation. DH and I seem to be coming at this from opposite ends. It's not a problem, it's just making it hard to figure out what makes the most sense.

Ok. So. I have a 2003 Ford Focus with about 100k miles on it. Took it in because the muffler was getting loud and was given this list of ills.

· Flex pipe cracked and leaking, muffler rusting $700

· Trans pan rusted $211

· Looseness in L front wheel bearing $312

· Right front caliper possibly stuck? $?

NOT what I was expecting! I held off on the repairs so we could talk about it. I'm not excited about spending that money. But, it's been a very reliable little car, and I would really like to be able to drive it for a little longer.

By the time I got home, DH was car shopping online!! He thinks it's a waste to put that money (he uses $2k as a rounded up number, maybe because we don't know what the stuck caliper will reveal/cost?) into this car. He points out that's x% of a new car (using a Fiesta as an example, which is not what I would be buying).

I genuinely see his point. However, I am not at all in a good place to wrap my head around a car purchase. I have no idea what I want for starters. And I'm not at all excited about having a car payment again. I know I can't avoid it forever, but it would be really nice to put it off for a bit so that I don't feel so pressured to find something else.

So, my questions are: Do you think the Focus is worth the investment? If we put that money into it, how many more years should we get out of it to make it worth it? If it's not worth that investment, would doing some, but not all of those repairs make sense? And if so, which ones? If I get a new car, I would likely get a used one and a larger one (DD16 and I ride and it would be nice to have a little more room for horse stuff). Any opinions on good used cars to get? Do you think new or used is better? DH was looking at new and used Mazda 3's and 5's.

Any outside input would be most welcome! Thank you so much!

[Basket Mommy]

As a rule we do not buy new cars. It's not worth the hit you take on depreciation. We buy used and we pay cash. We don't do car payments, either. That said, repairs are cheaper than payments. If you're not ready for a new car, get a second opinion on the repairs, maybe even a 3rd opinion. Fix the stuff that is absolutely necessary to drive it until you can save enough for a good used car and in the interim, do the research on a new one. We always buy our cars through CarMax, but you'd have more wiggle room for negotiating price if you went with a dealer. We got a sweet deal on our daughter's 2014 Fiat by taking our time to find the right one. A local dealer got one in a trade from an older couple who'd put less than 1000 miles on it. The dealer was just about to put it on the lot but decided to advertise it on AutoTrader first. Hubby called & negotiated a less than KBB price on it because the dealer liked that he was willing to pay all cash.

[dnickels]

I side with you. If it were me I would probably put the money into the repairs. A new car will depreciate far more in the first year alone than the ~$1,500 worth of repairs that you're looking at. If the car has been reliable to this point for its first 100,000 miles it should still have a lot of useful life left in it.

Of course a lot of that depends on your financial situation*, but one of the biggest things that keeps the average person from getting out of debt and building wealth is their vehicle. Depreciation on a new vehicle is an unseen but very large expense in most households and buying a new vehicle every time something comes up with the previous vehicle traps people in that cycle of owning highly depreciating assets.

* If you're completely debt-free, have ample savings, are fully funding retirement accounts, etc. and can pay cash for the new car then by all means, get something new.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I'd do the repairs, especially if it is the first (or a rare) larger cost. Even $2000 is way less than a car payment. We use that as our gauge ... when repairs start getting up to a monthly car payment, THEN (and only THEN) do we start looking for a "new" car.

[bleen3162]

Did you get a second opinion? Just like medical situations you should get a second opinion when spending that much on repairs. I had a situation once , only needing a muffler. When I went to have it taken care of , I was told I needed a catconverter and other repairs to the tune of $2000. I said no thanks and went somewhere else. All I needed was the muffler. Fixed that and Ten + years later still don't need catconverter!!!

[TheVBs]

Thanks so much for the feedback you guys!! We've sort of gotten other opinions, but only by calling around and inquiring about the cost of the work we were told needed to be done, not by taking it in somewhere else. The price quotes were comparable to the estimate we were given.



1. * If you're completely debt-free,

2. have ample savings,

3. are fully funding retirement accounts, etc. and

4. can pay cash for the new car then by all means, get something new.

So, to the above that would be:

1. Nope. We have no credit card debt, but we still have student loans and a mortgage.

2. Not nearly ample enough - in fact, I feel like it's bare minimum right now. We will be able to add a fair amount to it soon, but still won't feel like we can call it ample.

3. Big, fat YES! And very grateful we can.

4. Big, fat NO!

I just feel like doing at least whatever the minimum in repairs is necessary. I am not at all comfortable with just jumping into a purchase that big right now. I don't feel ready to add another payment to our budget at the moment. And, I have no idea what I want to replace it with! So, not a fun way to spend the money, but I'm more than happy to do it if it keeps my little Focus running for a year or two longer.

[CanadianWDWFan]

Another way to look at it is how much is the car worth? I needed similar work done ($2500) on my car that was worth only $1500. So I decided to keep the $2500 and used it towards the purchase of a "new" car and still got the $1500 for my old car.

[joonyer]

Maintaining an older car is almost always less expensive than purchasing a new one, or even a newer used one, especially when you factor in depreciation. Even though it might take regular repairs and maintenance, you will spend far less on repairs than you will on new car payments. Others have stated how to factor that very well. My daily driver is a 2002 Ford F-150, its now 14 years old. It "only" has 189,000 miles, and I plan on driving it until it reaches at least 300,000 miles. Yes, it will take a significant amount of repairs, including a transmission replacement on the horizon, which will cost me about $2,000. Normally i spend about 500.00 per year on repairs and maintenance, but I can do a lot of the work myself. If you are not mechanically inclined, the trick is finding a mechanic you can trust and who will not gouge you. Ask around, and get a second and third opinion. That's good advice. My friends and colleagues ask me all the time "Why don't you get yourself an new truck". My answer: "Because this one is paid for! No car payments!". A new one would run me $800-$1000 per month when financed for 5 years. That's $12,000 a year in monthly payments. I could replace the transmission in my old one every year for less than one-fourth that much, not too mention the other minor repairs needed. Your Ford Focus will easily last another 100,000 miles if it is taken care of. You'll save a ton of money versus the cost of a new car, no matter what you have to do to it. Yeah it might be a big chunk all at once. but you won't have those big bills every month like a car payment rolls around. If you don't have a ego that requires new shiny wheels, I'd keep the old one.

[TheVBs]

Okay, here's the plan. We're going to see about getting the flex pipe, the stuck caliper and wheel bearing fixed (have I even got that last one right?). Down the road we'll fix the muffler and the transmission pan. I would rather give up the cash to pay for the repairs than feel pressured into a new purchase. Because until those repairs are done it's not safe to drive. I'm in no rush for new wheels. In fact, one of the reasons I wanted to bounce this off you guys is because I love that little car so much I was wondering if I was being unreasonable about holding on to it. In the meantime, we'll take a serious look at the budget to figure out what we can afford when the time comes, and give ourselves plenty of time to look around. Whew! It feels so much better to have a plan! Thank you everyone for your input! I really, really appreciate it!

[John]

I think it's a great plan. Even at 2 grand, if you were to buy a car with a 400 payment, that's 5 months. All our Cars run 150-200 miles before we think about buying. Even then, I just traded up being a 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse. Since 1998, we have not owned a "new car". We buy good condition used and keep them in top condition.

So you can probably tell... I say fix it. Better to deal with what you know than what you don't...


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[1DisneyNut]

First off, since your husband is looking at it from a monetary loss standpoint; if you were to buy a new car it would depreciate at least $4000-$5000 as soon as you signed the paperwork. So spending less than $2000 sounds a little better right?

You must be up North where cars get eat up with salt in the winter to have that many issues. Don't worry about the transmission pan. The odds of it being anywhere near rusted all the way through are slim and besides you can watch for it to start seeping fluid and replace it at that point. The wheel bearing definitely needs to be addressed because bad things happen when they come apart or lock up. The sticking brake caliper needs to be addressed and can be one of two things: either the piston is sticking which would require replacing the caliper or the slide pins have a little rust on them and need to be cleaned up and regreased which is a no cost repair if you do it yourself and cheap if done by a shop. On the exhaust, I would just replace what is necessary because more than likely, more of the pipe is going to go soon if the muffler is rusting out.