@kr43002 wrote:Last december I had to make a choice that I really hated making. My first car I ever got without the help of my parents was having re-occuring mechanical issues, where the TCM/Transmission/Clutch (on an automatic) would have an issue and require a hefty repair bill where $500 was the cheapest and was normally above a grand. I bought it on thanksgiving in 2019 for around 7k with a 4 year warranty included, which the denied every claim, waist of time and money). The car was in the shop 7 of the 12 months I owned it.
When is it time to throw in the towel with cars like this? Would have giving up on it earlier, been better? The following monday after purchasing this car I went to a dealership to try and trade her in and I was told I could buy a new car but I couldn't trade her in. (the transmission blew after a 30 minute freeway drive of doing the speedlimit). I could have just gotten a new car then and did a self repossesion and just taken the hit to my credit, but at the time I also was able to afford repairing this car (All be it taking all my savings and excess income).
What would you have done?
Here in California that would fall under the 'lemon law' for cars. What you've described is absolutely unacceptable, to say nothing of unethical--what's up with denying all the warranty claims?!
I don't know where you're located, but I'd at least find out if there's a lemon law that covers issues like this; since it's coming up on two years since you bought it...ugh, that may not be good. I don't have any idea what time-frame is usually covered.
I would have just fixed it and Sold it to someone who has experience in cars. Sometimes mechanics by cars and usually fix it. If you were to look for another car, make sure you have it fully inspected. It's hard to find reliable cars for cheap, there is always a problem hidden somewhere.
Starting Score: 661
@SUPERSQUID wrote:I bought my vehicle in 2007 , its a 2003. before this one i had a 94 with 225,000 miles, still running great just got old. I used to do my own mechanic work and when i was younger worked in a few auto junk yards. In general regular maintenance is the key to a long lasting vehicle but i have a rule that if the transmission or major engine component fails i get another vehicle. tranny and major engine problems can turn into a recurring bottomless pit of spent money and aggrivation.
Smaller item replacement are worth it ie- radiator, power steering pump etc the the 2 biggies eng and trans could put you in an unending financial pit.
I would argue even an engine or transmission failure should be repaired, assuming the rest of the vehicle is in good shape. Why? An anecdotal story to illustrate my point:
Back in 2005 I took a new daily gig some 160 miles round trip from where I lived at the time; due to some minor financial distress at the time I let my lease car go and opted to enlist our long since paid for "Home Depot" minivan as my daily driver. The van itself had about 90,000 miles on it and was super uncool and uber "Soccer-Mom(ish)", but otherwise in good shape, and very comfortable to drive. The miles started piling up, and about ten seconds (literally) after the odometer flipped over to 109,000 miles, I felt a shudder ripple through the entire van, and when I came to a stop at the end of an offramp, that was all she wrote; the tranny was toast.
Stepping back for a moment, I had a vehicle worth maybe $500 to an auto recycler and not much more than that as a resale. I reasoned it would probably cost me an easy four or five thousand dollars to find something used which was as nice and comfortable for my daily 3-hour commute, and that is assuming whatever I found was as reliable as the old minivan had been. I also reasoned the $2,600 it cost me to replace the transmission with a remanufactured unit was going to cost me a heck of a lot less than replacing the van.
It turns out I made a good choice; other than two burned out headlight bulbs, a starter, and one window regulator, that van had no other unscheduled maintenance events up to the point where I traded it in with over 200,000 miles on the clock.
@iced wrote:My personal rule of thumb is if I spend more than 50% of the car's value in maintenance in a single year, it's probably time to scrap it and get another. That cost would include a rental car if needed for an extended maintenance, but not include consumables like gas/tires/filters/brakes.
I'd have to read the warranty to really give an answer on what I'd do. I guess that's a way of saying that I'd have read the warranty top to bottom in the dealership before buying it, and would be bringing that copy with me to the service counter if they denied a claim. I actually had to do that once with my tire protection plan, after which they relented and replaced my tires as agreed. If the warranty isn't ironclad about my coverage in each specific case that was denied, I'd pay the bill and re-assess per my rule above.
That's certainly one way of assessing when to buy new; another would be to look it from a true cost perspective.
In 2016 and 2017 my wife and I both bought cars; in 2016 hers was a brand spanking new Mazda3 s GT 5-door and she paid right about $25,000 for the car; I went "used", well used actually, in that in 2017 I purchased a 2006 Acura TL Sport (i.e. upgraded suspension, Brembo brakes, and a 6-Speed manual transmission) with 114,000 miles on the clock for $10,000.
Since her purchase the only expenses have been for consumables like tires, wiper blades, brakes, and of course the obligatory oil and filters. My purchase was a different story, a year after buying the car I dropped $4,000 in required and preventative maintenance, plus another $1,200 in consumables like tires, brakes, and axles, and since then I've dropped probably another $2,000 in maintenance (both preventative and required).
Both cars have been driven roughly 70,000 miles by us, and if we were to sell them today, her car would probably fetch enough extra to offset my lower cash outlay, but not by much. Which is the better financial deal? Hard to say, yeah, there was one year where my maintenance expenditures were well over the cost of her monthly car payments, but for the other three years since I purchased the TL, my annual costs have been a fraction of hers.