Keep my car until it dies, or upgrade to a newer model?

Question

I posted another question asking about buying new vs. used Hondas, but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't just run my current car into the ground.

I have a 93 Honda del Sol that I've had since 2003. It's coming up on 124,000 miles. There are currently no issues with it (knock on wood) and the only problems I've had are parts failing because of age. I've replaced the master/slave cylinders, radiator, and some other stuff I can't remember off-hand.

I was thinking of getting a CR-V because I could use more room now that I have a dog, but I don't NEED the room, I just prefer it. Space won't be a pressing issue for a few more years.

I'm wondering if it would be better to just keep on driving the del Sol until it costs more to repair it than the car is worth -- or if I should sell it while I can still get at least some type of return on it.

From a financial standpoint, what's the best option here?

Other stuff that was replaced: CV axles, timing belt, water pump -- all done earlier this year.

Answer 1

run it into the ground.

I've now seen two studies of exactly this issue over the past 2 decades and both concluded that the used car is far cheaper overall. Lots of the difference is the annual insurance cost.

I replace my heap when the quoted cost for the repairs exceeds the value of the car. ['94 Tracer LTS with the Mazda engine and tranny -- 150k miles so far and no power train repairs or replacements at all]

oh 8-)

Answer 2

I would keep the Del Sol until you encounter an issue that would require a lot of money to fix. A faulty part here and there is a lot cheaper if you can get another 100K miles out of your car, then buying brand new.
I have seen many, many Del Sol's, Civics and CRX's (basically all same car) get well over 200-250K miles, some even over 300K.
So keep up on the basic maintenance like oil changes, tire rotations, and sheduled tune ups, and in my opinion it would be cheaper to try to get at least another 50K miles out of your Del Sol.
Another suggestion if the body, suspension and other main components are good and the engine starts to go is this...
In Japan people usually do not drive long distances, they can keep a car 10-15 years and only put 65K miles on a car. So there are many, many JDM engines that are in great condition, garunteed to have under 60K miles on them for relatively cheap. I know many Honda owners who have decided to replace then engine instead of sell the car, and for a 800-2000 bucks they made their car last 5 years more.
Also, when going with the engine swap, it is possible that you could buy a different Honda engine that would fit your car easily that has better performance. My freind has a CRX and just put in a B16a engine in it for added power.
Good Luck

Answer 3

if you need two cars just to run around then fix the old one so that the one with 7K can "hold" its value longer, (lower miles) the problem is that with 3K you will barely buy a better car and you will need to sink money into it eventually but putting 3k into the engine for your old car essentially insures that you will have very few problems with it in the future. never "upgrade" a car that you allready have (unless it is a not too expensive audio system *ususally* no more than $500 and you can take it off when you sell it) "upgrading" the other car will never pay off as cars are always money loosers unless they are clasics the question is why do you need a new engine a car that is less than 10 years old, do you change your oil regularly etc?

Answer 4

upgrade it. if u wait till it dies, u'll end up losing everything, or u will end up spending big bucks fixing it.