On Sat, 5 Jul 2008 16:15:08 -0500, Bhoot Nath wrote:

> My wife and I are planner, saver types; we also had good fortune of
> being born to families who stressed hard work and education and as a
> result, we both have good careers, and have become financially
> comfortable, without any inheritance :) Spouse was able to switch to
> 1/2 time, as one child started kindergarten last year, and seocnd will
> start next year.
>
> One of the elements of frugal planning is that, until we got quite
> secure, we only buy what we needed, not what is advertised. So we
> stayed, 1 car family, from 1996 thorugh 2004. During this time, the
> 1996 model Honda civic was driven an average of 25K miles/year. In
> 2004 we got another car (smallest SUV), and since then the 1996 civic
> has been driven about 4K/year.
>
> I have done every scheduled maintenance, without fail, and oil changes
> all along, so the car runs (and has always run) without any issues,
> and the emissions are very low, always only 2% to 5% of the levels
> required for SMOG. So that's not at issue.
>
> Now the civic paint is peeling, and a cheap repainting at Maaco is
> estimated at $800. The car will hit 180K miles in a few weeks, and is
> due for the major maintenance + the timing belt + water pump stuff
> that is done at every 90K miles. All of this is estimated to be about
> $1500. I estimate tires and brakes also, probably within a year, for
> another $700 or more. So, within a year, it will add up to
> $800+1500+700 = about $3000.
>
> The car is probbaly worth 3500 due to mileage + usual wear and tear
> after 14 years (& some dings), but no mechanical problem. We would
> like to keep this car (we are not itching for a new car smell), but
> does it make sense to put $3000 into a $3500 car? How critical is to
> replace timing belt and water pump stuff every 90K?
>
> We can afford a new car, without loan, and it won't impact our other
> savings, yada, yada, but I feel crummey having to "throw-away" a
> perfectly good car...
>
> I would appreciate how prudent people who post on this newsgroup make
> such decisions...

Another reason I heard recently for hanging on to an old car, or buying a
*used* one, is that it takes the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gas/petrol
to make a new car.

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