More frugal? Keep car or trade often?

I agree. This jackass hasn't posted anything with a reasonable, coherent
thought. Probably lithium deficient.

CaptainKrunch

 

houses appreciate, generally. cars dont. best you can do is find a car
that doesnt depreciate as much. the place i bought and live in has
appreciated about $100k in the past 2.25 years. course, so has every
other place. if i moved to the midwest, that would put a sweet down
payment on a nice house.

 

If you want a stock car that can perform above spec, it's definitely not going to be
found in the used car market.

Pars

 

what do you mean by "above spec"?

ive been toying with the idea of selling my stock 98 CX hatch. 46k
miles, regular maintenance done by me via the helm manual. everything
maintained by the book. honda filters, mobil1 oil at every change. also
has the optional armrest/cubby, and front ashtray.

 

Well it all depends upon where in the life of the vehicle you hit the
increasing cost of repairs curves. Honda has had many problems with
automatic transmissions in recent years. Who knows if the tranny in a 2002
Honda is going to be reliable out to 300k miles? Replacement could easily
cost $3000 or more.

Electrical parts, suspension parts, etc all wear out, even on Hondas.

Also there is the hassle factor of increasing frequency of repairs. Not
knowing when something is going to break down, etc.

Honda builds a good car, but they are not immune to wearing out.

I don't think there is a "right" answer to your question.

Trading in every two to three years, though, is probably not the best answer
financially. Trading after 5 years or trying to get 10 years out of car
might be a closer question.

John

 

houses appreciate, generally. cars dont. best you can do is find a car

Well I guess maybe that is my question....

Buddy of mine constantly moves. He buys a house, lives
in it, and he sells it and moves after a year or so.
He always makes a profit on each house he
sells.....sometime s small profit, sometimes bigger.

Anyway... this constant "flipping" of homes has
resulted in him buying the last home almost free.....
or having made sizeable asset base anyway

Im just wondering if the same "method" with cars
doesn't make sense for the same reasons? To always
have a vehicle with some value in it by trading every
so often..... vs wearing a vehicle to nothing

 

||I also think the cost of financing is also a factor. With the current
||rates so low, I decided to finance thru Honda Finance instead of
||purchasing outright last year. I'm paying AHFC 3.64% on the $$$ borrowed
||last year and am making well over that by keeping my $$$ in my account,

What kind of account do you have that pays more than 3.64% ?
Texas Parts Guy

 

Your flaw here is in thinking that the car will go up in value, just
like the house goes up in value.

It doesn't. It never will. It's an EXPENSE. (Houses *can* go down in
value, in which case your friend's method will fail him the moment that
happens.)

Minimize your expenses.

 

if i moved to the midwest, that would put a sweet down

We don't want you here.

The case for buying a new car every few years can't even be argued.
It is simply financial craziness most people cannot reasonably
justify.

Better to have some money in the bank when you're old, than be old &
poor and remember those great cars you had a long time ago.

JM

 

It's obscene what's happening in our housing market, huh? Ours has gone
up $100K in ONE YEAR. Our 1263 sq ft house with pool and view on a 6600
sq ft lot can command $450K right now. We refinanced last year and the
appraisal was $350K, which was obscene then! It's tempting, but like you
said, the midwest is where you could make your money work for you. As
crazy a place as L.A. is, I don't want to move. I love our community.
And, with everything being relative (expensive!), we'll stay in our
house.

Are you tempted by the upsurge in price to move?

 

The best pattern IMO is to buy a well reputed car in its 5th year with

This is promoted by some financial people, and may work okay if you
don't drive lots of miles. But, keep in mind that used car dealers
can make more profit per unit than a new car dealer!

When they sell you that 5 year old $10,000 car, they may pocket
$3,000. That is entirely out of proportion to the same profit or less
on a $25,000 car. I'd say that you are better off buying new, putting
the money into mechanical reliability and known service instead of
giving it to a used car dealer every 3 years. You really need to buy
and sell with private parties and shave the price difference down
somewhat to make this work.

I hate negotiating with a private party -- I have seen them tell lies
and sell trash that your average dealer would never try.

My formula: buy a new reputable import. Drive 100,000+ miles.
Repeat.

JM

 

Your flaw here is in thinking that the car will go up in value, just

Yes i realize that

But my intent with upgrading cars was not to make my
money.... but to "minimize" my downside potential of
less equity in the car.

Again.....Im probably not right in my thinking....and
that's why I posted it so i could get debate and other
views for all of you. <G>

 

Vanguard, it's not a savings account, but I did substantially better
than 3.64% the past year.

 

1500$CAD, that is. )

So far in my 6th year (8 months done), I am at 700$CAD, taxes in. A sensor,
a wheel bearing, 2 oil changes and an alignment.

 

You do that by keeping the car. At some point, what you owe on it is
way less than what the car is worth.

Not for the first year of brand new car ownership, but by the third
year, certainly.

 

My formula: buy a new reputable import. Drive 100,000+ miles.

Actually this is what Ive done.

I bought a new Mazda Protege ES in 2000

 

how many miles on it?
do you follow the maintenance schedule?
do you do the work yourself?

if so, i dont see why you cant keep that thing running over 200k miles.
eventually, yeah- youll need tires. and a timing belt. maybe a water
pump. probably a clutch. all are relatively "high dollar" items, but are
still less than a couple car payments.

as for the maintenance schedule... you *can* ignore half the stuff. all
the items the dealer wants you to pay them to "check", like the brakes,
AC, lubing the door hinges, etc.

most important? im going by honda specs here...

oil and filter changes @ 7500k
air filter changes @30k
spark plug changes@30k
coolant changes @30k
brake/clutch fluid changes @30k
(important, because this gets all the water absorbed from the
brake/clutch fluid out of the lines, and makes the brake and clutch
parts last longer)

over 100k... manual tranny fluid, timing belt, water pump.

 

Modern Honda specs are for coolant at 105K, unlike years past when they
specified 30K.

Hondas are *cheap* to operate nowadays, what with no valve adjustments
and long-life coolant and timing belts.

 

i wonder if i could get away with following that on my 98? id have to
use the honda coolant, tho. no biggie. right now, i use the silicate and
phosphate free junk. cant get the block plug out, so i drain, flush,
drain, refill. seems to work. last time i did it, my temp gauge went
down a millimeter or 2.

coolant changes arent hard to do, since you have the hood open for the
plugs and air filter anyway.

true... and some engines are switching to "lifetime" chains.

 

I think what he means is normal maintenance ? like tires, brakes ,boots,
timng belt ,seals ,idler , change fuel filter ,change tranny oil,upper left
ball joint . etc

I have put in $1200.00 this year already plus a new muffler.

Its just the cost of keeping a car in top shape and driving today.

`92 Accord , 245,000 k no rust(under oiled yearly)
ed/ontario