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Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars


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billy245Q
Novice

Sep 20, 2014, 12:16 PM

Post #1 of 8 (1548 views)
Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars Sign In

2003 Hyundai Sonata paid $2300- 2 1/2 years ago // 1996 Buick Park Avenue just bought one month ago for $2000- I lived in New York City so I never needed a car. When I moved here I thought it would be cheaper to buy 2 used cars from my mechanic rather than have a new car with a big down payment and big monthly payment for 6 years. Also, if one car was in the shop, I would never be w/out a car. However I'm finding the repair bills are adding up and it almost seems like it might be cheaper to just sell these 2 cars and use the $ for a down payment. I saw at least six well rated 2012-13 cars priced in the 13K range with only 10,000 miles on them getting 26/39 mpg. A 5 year loan would be approx. $175/mo. My 1996 Buick will probably need a lot of repairs moving forward. Maybe my mechanic is not my "friend" -- he sells me cheap cars knowing he'll make $ as well as the regular $300 repair bills. Right now the Sonata has a pending $400 front axle repair needed. The Buick which I just bought already has a temp. programmer control problem which will run at least $300. If this were you, what would you do? My question is should I keep these 2 cars or just buy a new car?


(This post was edited by billy245Q on Sep 20, 2014, 12:45 PM)


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Sep 20, 2014, 12:30 PM

Post #2 of 8 (1541 views)
Re: Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars Sign In

Sounds like he's not too friendly with the pricing either. You can get axles installed for under $200 in many places. You always want to get a used car checked out by an impartial mechanic, not the guy you are buying them from.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



billy245Q
Novice

Sep 20, 2014, 12:47 PM

Post #3 of 8 (1535 views)
Re: Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars Sign In

Thank you but what I'm trying to determine is whether to keep these 2 cars or just buy a new one. You may say this is a repair site...


billy245Q
Novice

Sep 20, 2014, 12:48 PM

Post #4 of 8 (1533 views)
Re: Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars Sign In

Thank you. What I'm trying to determine is whether I should sell these 2 cars and just buy a new one. You may say this is just a repair site...


kev2
Veteran
kev2 profile image

Sep 20, 2014, 1:04 PM

Post #5 of 8 (1528 views)
Re: Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars Sign In

2012-2013 are used vehicles, I would ask what is the transfer warranty- would check with MANUFACTURER not the seller unless that is the authorized dealer of the brand in question.... ie an authorized ford dealer selling a used ford.

What is your yearly mileage you put on a vehicle- maybe a lease ?

Neither of those current 2 vehicles- are what I would call desirable especially without DIYer skills as they are OLD.
300$ is NOT a very high repair......... labor and parts adds up fast, think this its a bargain - a visit to your physician a blood test and a prescription - 300$ sounds good after that thought

Not NYC anymore - where are you now , might helo us understand what you need- vermont vs florida situation.


PS - put NO faith or creditability in the MPG ratings. NONE


billy245Q
Novice

Sep 20, 2014, 1:28 PM

Post #6 of 8 (1525 views)
Re: Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars Sign In

Yes, an authorized dealer. I considered leasing but ran the numbers and over the longer period, owning would be cheaper. I live in a suburb of Cleveland,Ohio - putting well under 10k a year, retired. Last year I had a 1996 Geo prism and it died, That's why I bought the Buick - to replace it. I paid out at least $1500 in repair bills last year That $300 was one of several repair jobs - 2 brake jobs, struts,mufflers,tires etc., Remember, I'm paying out repairs on 2 older cars.What I'm getting at is the multiple repair bills vs. a lower monthly new car payment and not worrying about what will go next...and my cars sitting on my mechanics lot for a week at a time. I wouldn't put any faith in my current mpg either - the Buick is something like 17/24mpg at best.


(This post was edited by billy245Q on Sep 20, 2014, 1:29 PM)


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Sep 20, 2014, 1:39 PM

Post #7 of 8 (1522 views)
Re: Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars Sign In


Quote
Thank you. What I'm trying to determine is whether I should sell these 2 cars and just buy a new one. You may say this is just a repair site...


My answer would still be that you need to have the car checked out by an impartial mechanic. You need to know what kind of shape these cars are in now. All cars will requires some maintenance. The question is, would it be cheaper to pay all the new car expenses or maintain the old ones.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



billy245Q
Novice

Sep 20, 2014, 1:55 PM

Post #8 of 8 (1519 views)
Re: Mounting repair bills on my 2 older cars Sign In

Ok - I think I'm half way there in terms of an answer. I left out a useful piece of info. The Sonata has 129k miles on it and the Buick has 119k miles. I can easily figure out the total cost of the new car for say 6 years. I have another well respected mechanic that I can have check out both cars. However the Buick is almost 20 years old. Even if he said its in ok shape, it still would start to fall apart because of its age and I would encounter one repair bill after the next hoping it wouldn't be $5-6-700- or more. Same with the Sonata. he could say its in ok shape but no mechanic would say , hey in the next 5 years your repair bills should be minimal, you know what I'm saying. They can't predict a major repair won't pop up.Like you said, these are old cars and they aren't good ones either.






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