The economics of running an older car

Netwizard

Ultrasonic wrote: »

The way I look at running older cars is that you are balancing the risk of possible repair bills againts guaranteed depreciation losses on new cars. It is of course true though that depreciation is purely a financial loss compared to the additional inconvenience of getting an older car repaired.

Even fairly large repairs are worth it on an older car. As I said earlier, To replace my car with a good one of the same make would be about £800.

A recon gearbox for my car would be about £120. a recon engine about the £200 etc.

and for all things like service parts websites like carparts4less are dirt cheap.

I think the secret to keeping repair costs low is finding a good independent garage or mechanic to fix things for you.

A mobile mechanic comes round to service my car (he's coming round tomorrow actually to do it) and generally just charges me £40 odd to service it. Job done for 12 months

YORKSHIRELASS

Ultrasonic wrote: »

The way I look at running older cars is that you are balancing the risk of possible repair bills againts guaranteed depreciation losses on new cars.

This is a good way of putting it. Its interesting how a lot of people assume that an older car is simply not reliable though, and I dont believe that is necessarily true.

Anyhow as my husband puts it to buy similar car to the one we have now is going to cost us £1500. To keep the existing one running has costs us £500 - so there is no argument really!

motorguy

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

This is a good way of putting it. Its interesting how a lot of people assume that an older car is simply not reliable though, and I dont believe that is necessarily true.

Anyhow as my husband puts it to buy similar car to the one we have now is going to cost us £1500. To keep the existing one running has costs us £500 - so there is no argument really!

And theres no guarantees the one at £1500 wont need £500 spent anyway.

alastairq

motorguy wrote: »

And theres no guarantees the one at £1500 wont need £500 spent anyway.

did you buy the peugeot off your mate for peanuts, then?

jimjames

Ultrasonic wrote: »

What people like your friends usually forget is the much higher depreciation on newer cars. You've spent £500 getting useful things done to your car, whereas newer cars will easily depreciated by over £500 more than your car in a year, without even driving anywhere.

The way I look at running older cars is that you are balancing the risk of possible repair bills againts guaranteed depreciation losses on new cars. It is of course true though that depreciation is purely a financial loss compared to the additional inconvenience of getting an older car repaired.

The thing is even new cars are not guaranteed to be fault free. Threads like this remind us there are a lot of faults out there too for newer vehicles and things that the warranty doesn't cover.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4039485

After driving a 10 year old car for 4 years with no major bills other than servicing it really is possible to have a reliable car that is some years old and even ones with high miles. Bought it at 140k miles, sold at 192k and small depreciation in that time.

A good way to think of it is to disregard the value of the car - what matters is the value to you and how reliable it is. Spending money to keep a reliable car that has been regularly serviced going is probably good value for money long term.

racing_blue

Ultrasonic wrote: »

What people like your friends usually forget is the much higher depreciation on newer cars. You've spent £500 getting useful things done to your car, whereas newer cars will easily depreciated by over £500 more than your car in a year, without even driving anywhere.

The way I look at running older cars is that you are balancing the risk of possible repair bills againts guaranteed depreciation losses on new cars. It is of course true though that depreciation is purely a financial loss compared to the additional inconvenience of getting an older car repaired.

Ultrasonic's post rings true with me

I run a 12 year old Volvo. It is a really nice car to drive, with leather seats, a 2.5l turbo petrol engine, great sound system, lots of space, and completely reliable so far. It would have cost £30K new but is worth less than £1000 now.

On the down side, I only average 24 miles per gallon, and have to pay £280 per year vehicle excise duty. And each time the MOT comes around, there is something expensive- often to do with emissions, or worn out bits generally.

racing_blue

The other thing about running an older car which you love, is this kind of paralysis in making the decision about when to let it go. I can identify with that. Right now my Volvo has developed a clunky gear box noise after driving through deep water, bearings are making a noise passenger front wheel, and the exhaust mount has broken. Do I fix or bail!!??