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One thing that keeps me driving an older car (2002 Honda Accord) is the greatly increased total cost of ownership of newer vehicles. Whenever something needs re
by simmons 5y ago
One thing that keeps me driving an older car (2002 Honda Accord) is the greatly increased total cost of ownership of newer vehicles. Whenever something needs replaced -- windshield, tires, whatever -- it's often dirt cheap, and the car itself is extremely reliable. On the other hand, my wife's newer Mazda seems to be a perpetual money sink. Everything is so much more expensive to replace. The windshield has special sensors, so it was super expensive to replace. Tires are a lot more expensive. (A nail impact that was just right to destroy the tire cost us close to $1000, but I guess a lot of that is admittedly due to the AWD requiring replacement of all tires.) For these newer cars, the initial cost seems to be a much smaller part of the TCO.
I agree with the safety concerns others have mentioned about older cars, and I would gladly pay more for safety. But I do feel a bit frustrated when getting the safety also requires a huge TCO increase for frivolous features. (E.g., are the automatic windshield wipers really worth the 4x cost bump at the glass shop?)
- kayodelycaon 5y agoIt depends what car you get. I have a 2014 Toyota Prius and it’s hit over 150,000k miles without more than basic maintenance. Not one part has broken. Fluids aside, it’s only needed one pair of brakes, two sets of tires, and five sets of wiper blades replaced in its lifetime. This is a pretty common experience of Prius owners. There’s also a huge modding community for them, so it’s easy to find information about any part of them. There are even tutorials on how to replace bad cells in the battery pack. (Just don’t drop a wrench and cause a short.)
- skybrian 5y agoIf you’re parking it outside, I hope you’ve protected the catalytic converter.
- kayodelycaon 5y agoTheft of catalytic converters isn’t a major issue in my area.
- theshrike79 5y agoI thought so too, but a neighbour had theirs stolen 3 nights ago. I looked it up, it's 500-1000€ just for the metals. It's a wonder people aren't stealing them more.
- asdff 5y agoMight as well get a garage to weld on a cage driving such a notorious car. It might not be a major issue in your area, but you might one day park somewhere where this does become a major issue.
- ffggvv 5y agosomeone lives in a city lol
- academonia 5y agoThat might be more of a Honda/Mazda thing than an old/new one. Hondas have a reputation for being fairly bulletproof and cheap to maintain. Mazdas have a reputation for being fun to drive and occasionally going "bang". You might be pleasantly surprised by the TCO of a new Civic or Accord.
- kcb 5y agoIf you replaced all 4 tires because of one nail then you got had by the dealer/tire shop.
- tamaharbor 5y agoIsn’t it funny that more often than not, the nail impact requires tire replacement rather than tire repair. Luckily not for all four.
- asdff 5y agoIt's because you don't notice you ran over a nail until after you've destroyed your sidewalls
- nradov 5y agoAWD vehicles need to have the same tread depth on all four tires to avoid differential damage but if the other three are still in good condition you can get the replacement shaved down to match. I have used that service from Tire Rack before and they do a good job. https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/motorsport-messages-from-marshall/tire-shaving-available-at-tire-rack-v2 https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/motorsport-messages-from-mars...
- fomine3 5y agoI hate unnecessary equipped bigger wheels. It just adds replacement cost and it's not comfortable if rubber is thinner.