Drive it ’til the Wheels Fall Off
October 20, 2010 7 Comments
Goal #17 on the list is to drive a car until it breaks down.
By “break down”, I mean until it literally won’t go any further. I don’t mean until it runs out of gas, or needs a new transmission. I want it to dissolve into a bucket of rust with brand new wheels. “Brand new wheels?” That’s right. I don’t want to accomplish this goal simply by neglecting to care for my car. No. I plan on doing everything I can to keep my car on the road for as long as possible. I’ll use duct tape to keep the bumper on if I must.
Why?
Most people wouldn’t be caught dead driving an old beater and the benefits of a new car are many. If something were to happen to a new car, it would be covered under warranty. A new car is typically reliable and you don’t have to worry if it’s going to leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. Heated leather seats, DVD players, wiper blades for your headlights, GPS navigation systems, self-parking, back-up assistance, keyless ignition, traction control…
You get the point.
The number of features and gadgets a new car offers are mind-boggling…and tempting. It’s no wonder the average person only keeps their car for about 3 or 4 years before trading it in for a new one! That’s probably not even enough time to pay off the old loan! And so you trade in your car, get almost nothing of what you paid for it and roll over your old loan into a new one. You sign on the dotted line and walk out with a new set of keys and another 3 or 4 years of car payments. And the cycle continues, again a few years later and then again and again and again.
Think of your car as a savings account (it isn’t but let’s pretend). Would you deposit $20,000 if you knew that in 3 or 4 years the bank would only give you $5,000? Hell no, you wouldn’t! So why should buying a car be any different? After four years of payments, you’ve already put more money into the car than it was worth in the first place and now you’re selling it for pennies on the dollar. That’s not good financial strategy.
What if, instead of trading in your car every few years, you just keep the one you already have, pay it off and drive it until it breaks down on the side of the road? If you didn’t have a car payment each month, what could you do with all that “extra” money? You could save it to buy a new car with cash once the car you have now does fall apart. Doing that would save you a bunch of money you’d otherwise waste on interest if you had to take out another loan. Or you could use it to pay down other debts or open a retirement account.
Or, if you’re already debt-free and saving for the future, why not use that money to have a bit of fun? I’m sure there are better things that you can think of to spend your money on than a car payment each month…the heated leather seats aren’t really that cool anyway.
About Steven
This is actually something I can agree with you on. My 1991 Ford Explorer, which I bought in 1998, lasted for more than 300,000 miles and I literally had to leave it on the side of the road in 2003 after the engine blew (BLEW UP!) on the side of Interstate 40. But that’s not that old, only 12 years. My current car is a 2002 Ford Escape (which I bought in 2004) and has almost 200,000 miles on it. At 8 years old, it still has the original transmission (Fords are bad for blowing transmissions-my first car, a Ford Bronco II was on its 3rd when it died) but the paint is beginning to peel. I don’t understand how people sell their cars after only a few years; I LOVE living life without a car payment and I plan to for a few more years yet! And I REALLY don’t understand buying a brand new car; buy a “program” car that’s stayed on the lot, has been taken care of, but is WAY cheaper than the newest models.
Awesome post and totally agree – I will never have a car payment again. Love your comparison of the car and savings account. It’s great to see it in that perspective.
@Jessica- You make it seem like you don’t often agree with me ;) LOL!
@Mike- Welcome to Hundred Goals! Thanks for commenting and I hope to see you around!
So did you complete Goal 17? Is your car still running?
It seems to be very difficult to save for a better car (or retirement) while driving a piece of shit. They are huge money sinks. I am convinced that there is no end to what you can spend on an old used car. You saved $1000? Guess how much it will cost to keep it running? All in all I’d say cars are just a gamble. If you lose enough times, as I have, you just want a sure thing. I have a new car, with payments it turns out were quite affordable, and I fully intend to drive it until it turns into what I had in high school. The only perks I wanted in a new car were the ones that never worked in my old cars: heat, air conditioning, locking capabilities, a non-broken window, no leaking fluids, and a non-salvage title. The gamble that I am still taking, since all cars have one, is trying to pay it off before its inevitable demise.
While buying a vehicle outright would be ideal (I plan to do this someday!) I wouldn’t trade my current payments for all the headaches and stresses of still having to deal with an awful old car.
No, I haven’t completed #17, just discussing my thought process behind it!
I’m going to have to disagree with you about saving money while driving an old car. Yes, an older car will cost money to keep it in working order but for the most part, I’d wager that it is ultimately less than a regular monthly car payment over the long-term. Sure, some months it might cost you a lot, but others it won’t cost you anything. The months where you end up spending a lot of money to repair something that is wrong feels like the end of the world because it isn’t something you’ve probably planned for. With a car payment, at least you know it’s due and that you have to pay for it.
And when something goes wrong, it’s a pain in the ass and a new car feels like the only alternative since having to fix a beater is, in your words, a huge money sink. Of course, isn’t it also a huge money sink to be throwing hundreds of dollars a month into a new car?
A car is a tool, not an investment. It’s like a hammer. You buy it and use it to perform a job. Vehicles require maintenance and eventually that new car is going to require the same sorts of maintenance. If the cost of keeping an old car on the road is exceeding the cost of a new car, then it would make sense to replace it but I’m not convinced that is always the case. I think it’s the months that it ends up costing us a bunch of money we hadn’t planned for that we begin to take a sour perspective on our used vehicles.
We’ll see how this whole thing turns out for me. I have a paid off, reliable used car that’s about ready to turn over 100,000 miles but I’ve taken care of it and haven’t had any major problems with it at all. I figure if I keep taking care of it, keep up on its maintenance, it’ll probably end up getting another 200,000 miles or so at least. And I haven’t had to put any money into it ever since I paid it off except for oil changes, so I know I’m saving money.
Good idea. I maintain two old cars (1994 Pontiac Grand Prix & 1998 Cheverolet Cavalier), so when one breaks down, I just hop in the other to avoid the stress of imminent repairs. That way I have time to research & shop around for the best repair quote (or do the job myself), and I’m not stressed about hitching a ride to work or the grocery store since I can drive my other vehicle.
When the repair quote is received, I run a simple calculation to see if the repair is justified, or if it is finally time to send the car to the junk yard. Here’s my calculation:
An average mid-sized car costs about $20,000 new. I plan on driving the car for 10 years. Dividing $20,000 by 10 yields a yearly cost of $2,000, a monthly cost of $166.67, and a daily cost of $5.48. If my repair bill is, say, $300, I divide $300 by the daily cost of a new car ($5.48). So a $300 repair will take me about 55 days to “break even”. If I think putting $300 into the old car will make it last LONGER than 55 days, then it makes sense to make the repair.
If your repaired car ends up going another 3, 6, or 9 months without needing repair, you’ve saved a lot of cash!
@Eric: That’s a really great way of analyzing whether the cost of a repair is worth it! Thanks for the tip and I hope others will use this strategy to decide whether or not it’s time for a new car!