"You have to get a new, dependable car before your old car nickels and dimes you to death!" It is a term commonly used to justify the huge outlay of money, usually in combination with the entry into long-term financial commitments. But is it really necessary? With the cost of "regular " cars run from $ 20,000 - $ 30,000, many find only too late that they themselves overextended simply bending to the conventional wisdom that new automatically equates to better. This decision may be influenced by the immense social pressures that suggest only "losers" would drive an old car, because they can not afford a new one.
Practical experience suggests something very different. I've driven old cars my whole life, and compiles data on vehicle prices on the spreadsheet. These data, including the mileage at which they were needed repairs, the type and cost of repairs, and the average cost per mile, month and year indicate that the old car is actually far cheaper and more economical to drive than buying a new car. Of course it must be stressed that regular vehicle maintenance is the key to longevity, and thus the spreadsheet can also serve as a log required maintenance intervals. It also seems that some models are more capable of accumulating less troublesome, high miles.
My first car was a 1964 Dodge "440", which is similar to Polar. This vehicle was purchased for $ 125 in 1986 to auction the community. Car ran and drove well, with 225 c.i.d. "Slant-6" and 3-speed manual gearbox mounted on the steering column. I had to replace the speedometer cable and thermostat, which is my only maintenance-free, except for oil changes. I drove the car from Wisconsin to California, and owned it for about two years, logging about 10,000 miles for an average ownership / operating cost of 1.2 cents per mile.
My next cheap car is a 1967 Chrysler Newport, which I bought from someone who thinks the car is junk, and undoubtedly believed that he was putting one over on me. I paid $ 150 for it, but before it was drivable, I had to pay $ 25 to have the radiator cap neck brazed on the radiator, had to fix a short circuit in the lights and begins to circle, and had to rebuild the carburetor and give the engine a thorough tune-up. I bought the car in the summer of 1990, and drove more than a year, a couple of 250 miles (one way) trips between college and home, and drove him to work every day. I put about 7,000 miles on the car, priced at $ 450, for an average ownership / operating cost of 6.5 cents per mile. However, I sold the car for $ 200 when no longer needed for transportation, so it has not gotten all the life out of it.
These cheaper cars represent an extreme end member of automotive financial philosophy. I also own two long-term daily driver. I bought a 1973 Dodge Charger in 1987 for $ 750, even though he was in poor condition and barely qualified for a daily driver at that time. Fortunately, I had a chance to pursue automotive technology as a hobby, and was able to overhaul the engine and get it drivable. By 2000, I had put just under 30,000 miles on the car in for repair (plus purchase) cost of about $ 3.300 for the average cost per mile from 11.3 cents. This means that the average monthly cost of $ 21 more than 13 years that I owned. Since 2000, I've driven an additional 30,000 miles for a current total of 59 000 miles and total ownership / operating cost of about $ 7,500, the average price of 12.7 cents per mile.
My other vehicle is a long drive 1985 Dodge Ramcharger, which was purchased for $ 2,500 in 1996 to 163 000 miles on it. During the first 40,000 miles of ownership without the truck needed repairs, yielding an average operating cost of 1.5 cents per mile (not including the initial purchase price). I drove this between Wisconsin and Colorado several times, no problems. After turning 200 000 miles, several repairs were necessary, even though the engine, transfer case and transmission have never needed repair. This car remains my daily driver with 241,000 miles on the repair cost of $ 5,500, the average operating cost of 6.9 cents per mile or $ 46/month.
previous examples, it should be noted that older cars can drive successful if they can not accept that the repair will occasionally be necessary. However, occasionally an outlay of several hundred dollars for repair bills obviously not be a "nickel-and-dimed to death" because they perform occasional repairs is actually much cheaper than the monthly outlay is required for a car payment. In the case of 1985 Dodge Ramcharger, running up to 78,000 miles in 10 years is easily comparable to the service requirements of many new cars to their original owners. But keep in mind Ramcharger ownership / operating cost of only $ 8,000 ($ 2,500 + $ 5,500) on average over 10 years of ownership, "monthly payment" of $ 67. Even the very cheapest new cars in the $ 13,000 range will represent almost double the monthly cost as compared to the same 10-year period simply by averaging out the purchase price. Furthermore, based on a review of such cars, it seems unlikely that there will be 10 years of age without requiring additional repairs, thus driving up the average monthly cost.
So, a used car or even a "beater" should be a very attractive, financially viable alternative for those who may choose to invest the money to spend on their car payments to the pension program, the mortgage principle, or paying off credit card debt . You May have to endure some ridicule from the masses who are still under the influence of advertising tycoon and loan officers, but you'll be laughing all the way to a bank.
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