We say it's time to get another car when we spend $2000 in a year on repairs (not including oil changes and regular maintenance.) We're half way there this year on a 2000 sedan 108,000K and it goes in again on Monday. I'm starting to wonder if it's time...

How do you decide when it's time for another car?

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I get antsy the second time in a short period that I have to pay for a repair. I usually wait for the third time before I actually try to replace it. These would have to be in a 3 or 4 month period. If 6 or more months go by, I settle down and the clock would start over at the next repair.

Cathleen

We decided when it became more expensive to reapair the vehicle than not. Plus, when my vehicle got to where I could not trust it to be reliable, we had to replace it. (our mechanic even told us that if he fixed it, likely something else would go wrong soon). Being stranded is not an option for me. I do think that 108,000 miles is still pretty low mileage though!

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~Happiness is a large family~

well we replace ours once ther reapairs cost more than we paid for the car.. that said we get our used cars at the auto auctions because fil is a used car dealer so we pay a fraction of retail plus we can get our fixed for auto busines parts cost so we can keep ours and repair them a little longer than if we did not have these perks... like our 1997 grandvoyager i paid 1600 bucks for it and we are now approaching that mark in repairs(i got my tranny fixed for a few hundred bucks do to a favor fil was owed) so we are now parking the van and in the fall will buy another used car part this one out to the junk yard for cash.

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Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money.

I generally start getting antsy if the mileage is reaching 90,000+ as that is considered really high mileage around here. My current car is paid for and the plan is 10 years, unless it gets totalled. So far so good - it's 5.5 years old w/ 64K on it. I also go with the concept that if the repairs are cheaper than a new car payment, you're still running ahead, assuming the car is safe to drive.

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When filling up the tank doubles the market value. Um, considering gas prices, maybe not.

I like to have one decent car that I can take on longer drives without worrying about breaking down. Our second car is always older. I try to alternate them like that.

I try to get rid of our older car when it is starting to need what is normally a 'once in the life of the car repair' like a timing belt replacement or engine / transmission rebuild. I try to replace a car when it is no longer recognizable as a running vehicle. When people are surprised you still have the keys or the engine turns over, it might be time.

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"Poor people work for their money. Rich people make their money work for them."

We had a vehicle (financed) that we got rid of at 80K miles. It was a complete dud when we bought it, and we kept it less than 2 years. When the transmission started slipping, we traded it off.
Now, we do have a 12 YO car (which we've had for 12 years) with over 110K miles and that still runs well. I plan to keep it, because it's worth more to us than it would be to someone else.

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Michele
Member of the Welcome Wagon
http://mommysavers.com/boards/how-navigate-mommysavers/

For us it is when repairs exceed the value of the vehicle. My husband is able to do most of the work on our vehicles so it makes it a little less expensive. He takes them to the shop for all the big stuff.

My husband has a '01 Jetta and I would love to sell my '99 Suburban and get a older Jetta. We should be able to get enough for the Suburban to pay for the Jetta but I doubt anyone will want the big ole gas hog I like driving the car and it is so much easier on the pocketbook.

We drive our cars until they die. I guess it just depends on our situation at the time, if it's worth fixing one more time or just finding a new (used) one. Now that I have kids, I think I would think of their safety first and if it was safe enough to drive with them in it.

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Wendy~Self-proclaimed hippie momma to Bob and Jamie

Until it dies, is unsafe to drive or has been costing too much to repair.