Should I sell my car or get a new one?
Posted by Sygygy_of_Zzyzx@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 34 comments
I have a 2014 Subaru Impreza Sport Limited with the cold weather package. Only 73,000 miles. I’ve always taken care of it.
At this point I’ve arrived at a moment where I need to get:
1) completely new brakes/pads/rotors all around
2) new tires
3) A/C recharge or rebuild (not sure how bad it is but it’s about to get hot and it’s not blowing cold anymore)
4) repair either a cv joint or wheel bearing in the front suspension (loud crunching noise when driving/turning/stopping.
5) anything else to pass inspection (?)
The car is 12 years old at this point and still worth $10k-ish that I could use for a down payment on a new or slightly used model.
Is it worth dumping $4k+ into repairs or parts on a car this old? I have spent a ton of money over the years keeping it up and I’ve never owned a car this long. At what point do repairs get too pricey to keep the thing?
Thanks for any advice.
Bulocoo@reddit
If your car is paid for and worth $10k with the current problems you have a $14k budget.
If you can get a better car for $14k then go for it.
Consider that your fixed car could go to 150k before next big thing.
Can your replacement car get to 150k or will it need $4k at 100k?
Bottom line for me is keep your car. $4k for 60-70k is cheap.
Equana@reddit
Hard to check that $4000 bill in one sitting.... but if you had kept up with maintenance it would not have hit at the same time.
Think of it this way... That $4000 maintennce payment is 4 to 6 monthly new car payments that will continue for 4 to 7 years. Does that give you the answer?
SevroAuShitTalker@reddit
A new car does not need a monthly payment of $675-1000
I have a 4 year loan and its $400/mo
Equana@reddit
Your math isn't mathing..... $400 a month for 48 months is $19,200. The cheapest "new" car in the US is a Hyundai Venue for $20,550 without tax or registration fees or the interest on the loan. If the OP's car is worth $10K trade-in (it isn't!) that would get the payment down to $400 a month.
BUT, you are paying $4800 each year for your new car, or more than this $4000 repair cost. He's broken even in 10 months while you still have $800 due for the year. Even if the car eats up $2000 a year in maintenance costs, it is till lower than your $4800 a year in car payments.
SevroAuShitTalker@reddit
Its called a down payment...
It is stupid to buy a car without one, and usually you get a low rate if you do.
Equana@reddit
Yes, down payment, like the mythical $10K trade-in value the OP thinks they'd get which I pointed out is the only way the payment hits $400 a month. The rest of the math still shows keeping the old car is cheaper.
SevroAuShitTalker@reddit
No one said it wasnt cheaper.
The point is not everyone is making $1000/mo payments. The people who do are making a lot of money or suck at managing money.
SafetyGuy1963@reddit
You’re not wrong. These are pretty much all wear items.
Let’s see…spend $35,000 to make up for ignoring regular maintenance?
Sygygy_of_Zzyzx@reddit (OP)
I’ve been up with regular maintenance. It is just this time it all has hit at once. I have the bread. Just wondering if the consensus is fix it or save the money on the repairs to put into the next ride. This one is 12 years old
AskThis7790@reddit
My vehicle is 22 years old… I’ve probably put 5 sets of tires, 6 batteries, only 2 break jobs, etc….
And let’s be honest, a set tires and brakes don’t just fail suddenly, they ware over time and replace intervals are fairly predictable.
It sounds like you want to buy another car, so just do that.
B5_S4@reddit
It's a you decision. I've got a 300k mile BMW that I've spent 4x the purchase price on over the years doing maintenance and repairs. That cost over time is 1/10th of what some new car payments are these days.
Human-Purchase-1246@reddit
That’s a solid car, and 73k on an Impreza is not “done,” tbh. What you’re listing is mostly wear stuff, not some death sentence, and the big question is whether you want to own a paid-off car with a known history or reset into 4 to 6 years of payments.
If the trans, engine, and rust are clean, I’d fix it and run it. Brakes, tires, and a front end bearing/CV are normal 100k-ish car expenses, and even $4k hurts a lot less than taking on a $400 to $800 payment plus insurance jump.
Sygygy_of_Zzyzx@reddit (OP)
Agreed. I’ve decided to fix and keep
Early_Apple_4142@reddit
Fix it. All of those things are wear items.
Vegetable-Drive-2686@reddit
You check how much a new car costs? 4k to keep it running another 50k ain’t shit.
IcySalt1504@reddit
As I get older, I think I am getting wiser. I do know I am smarter with money. For regular wear and tear items, I’d just fix this car. Subaru makes a decent car and 73k miles is really not many miles for a modern car. That car will be like new when you pump a few grand into her. New cars are ridiculously priced. I’d fix her and drive her for at least a few more years. That’s a good idea to start saving what your monthly payment might be for your next car. You’ll get used to that “payment” and you’ll have a good chunk for your next car, when it’s really time to upgrade in 3-4 years. Good luck!
AskThis7790@reddit
I’ve never owned a Subaru, but my understanding is their known to be reliable. With 74k miles I’d expect it to have a lot of life left in it.
Unless you buy a new car, you are likely purchasing a car that someone else didn’t want to do the maintenance on. You also need to be realistic about the trade/sale value considering all the maintenance required.
My perspective is that I’d rather budget a couple grand a year for maintenance and repair than spend $600 a month on a car payment.
My advice would be to fix it, then moving forward budget for repairs and maintenance. If you are paid biweekly and set aside $50 a paycheck for car maintenance, that’s $1300 a year. Some years you might only need minor maintenance (fluid/filter change) others you might need a something’s more expensive like tires, or a repair. The point is just setting aside $50 a paycheck will likely keep your car on the road for the foreseeable future.
RightGuy23@reddit
I’m in the same situation kinda. I have a 2016 vehicle with 125,000 miles on it. It looks good and drives great.
But it’s a 10 year old car so of course the parts and mechanics are starting to wear down day. I would probably need to spend around $3,000 to get things fixed and replaced. But the trade value of the car will be the same regardless if I fix things or not.
Carmax offered $10,000. I see a 2025 at another dealership for $35,000. I’ll probably be upgrading. 😅
themightyteafire@reddit
If trade in value is 12k and it needs 4k worth of work, don't expect to actually get a 12k credit out of it.
I'd go through that repair bill with a fine tooth comb and see if there's anything you can do to reduce it. Brakes for example are very easy to DIY.
Sygygy_of_Zzyzx@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your response. At this point the trade in is only about $7k I’m assuming because of the age of the car.
RightGuy23@reddit
Go to Carmax.com to get a ball park figure. Try KBB too.
el_dukes@reddit
^this
SandwichDIPLOMAT@reddit
You can get the brake parts and axle for around $500. You can also buy the cheapest set of tires and get them installed for about the same price; remember, cheap tires still have to be DOT approved, they're safe but they'll just wear faster. Buy a recharge kit for $40 and see if that gets you through the summer. If you do the labor yourself, you're nowhere close to $4k.
AnyShapeWorker@reddit
I don't consider Subaru to be especially reliable. Age of a car isn't as important as if was a well made model of car.
I'd say get a Toyota, but within that some are better than others.
SevroAuShitTalker@reddit
I was in a similar boat, except my truck was worth less
Traded in for a wrx, no regrets
oIVLIANo@reddit
What have you done to that poor car that it needs so much?
Oh, and tires? 🤣
How's the head gasket?
Cool-Bunch6645@reddit
Unless you plan to drive it into the ground it’s just going to continue depreciating. So maybe while there is some meat on the bone you can get a decent trade in. Otherwise you revisit this in another 30k with the next repair bill and the car is then worth half the value and you’re past the point of return on decent trade value. You kept the car for 10 years. It’s not like you’re trading cars every two years and eating the new car depreciation hits over and over again.
SpaceCat72@reddit
I say repair it. I also say do whatever work you can. It's rewarding and can save you a ton of money. And yes, it can be frustrating at times. But you know this car and you've seen the new car costs. 73000 is nothing, these days.
poutine-eh@reddit
wear and tear items. Are you made money an can sell your car and just buy a new one?
Sygygy_of_Zzyzx@reddit (OP)
Not made of money. Just asking for advice
poutine-eh@reddit
advice is fix your car. you need brakes!! Replace the pads and use your original rotors. use cheap tires, fuck AC!!! who needs it? The CV axle needs to be replaced.
el_dukes@reddit
I've had this question myself and keep coming back to the idea that somebody will happily buy your car and keep it for the next 5 years so it may as well be you.
At today's market prices and finance rates, you'll lose much more in depreciation and interest than you would just maintaining your current car.
Put the brakes, put the tires and hit it with an oil change and you're going to be feeling like you're driving super smooth.
Last thing, if you're not already putting a monthly payment away in savings, this is a great time to start so that when the wheels fall off of this one. You'll damn near be ready to put down or even pay cash on your next one.
Your annual maintenance on average usually won't even hit $500 per year
Sygygy_of_Zzyzx@reddit (OP)
I’m leaning this way. It’s not that I don’t have the $$. Just that I’m at a curve in this car losing value (it’s still worth decent money) and increasing repairs. Tryna figure out the best play. Appreciate your 2¢
el_dukes@reddit
I totally understand because I'm in a similar boat. We have a 2022 civic that we bought new because the used car market at that time was so high that we genuinely received more for our 2017 than we paid in early 2018 when we bought it.
That said, because of all the equity from the 2017 (we had to replace the 2017 due to back order on a seat belt retraction part), the 2022 got paid off so quick because of that equity.
So we considered replacing the 2022 now with 20k equity on a 28K new car but every piece of research I touch points me to keeping this car until the wheels fall off and just do regular maintenance