Thoughts on old car vs new car!

Post date: 2018-04-27 05:58:12

Financially speaking, keeping my current car is possibly the best idea, but I'd like a new car for reasons inside. Would you keep an older, still functional car or upgrade to a newer one? If you've made a similar decision, why did you make the decision you did and are you happy you made that decision? And if you haven't had the make the decision, what would you do in theory?

This is prompted by my question about searching for a hatchback. I drive a 2004 Nissan Sentra with 77k miles. It has overall been a steadfast commuter until just last month. It stopped running in the middle of driving at about 45 mph on a fairly busy road. Of course I was in the far left lane. It was towed, the crank shaft sensor was replaced, and I'm back to driving it. But it has definitely shaken my sense of reliable Point A to Point B driving and my sense of safety. I have been entertaining the thoughts of a new car over the past two years anyway (for the fun/enjoyment of driving a new car, sense of reliability/safety), but the recent breakdown has prompted me to be more active in thinking about it. I'm looking at pre-owned cars in the 2013 and newer range.

My thoughts:

I recognize that keeping an old car is financially more responsible at this time. But part of my reasoning of pursuing a new car now is the idea that my current car still has worth as a trade-in, even if it only a couple thousand. Where, in more time, more mileage, too high cost of a repair, or in a accident, that worth becomes whatever scrap metal is worth. That doesn't really outweight the cost of a new car.

I'd also have increased safety in a newer car in case of an accident, and would have more peace of mind in terms of reliable from getting to Point A to Point B.

On the other hand, my car may not be as unreliable as my anxiety is portraying the situation right now... and may run for years. If it maintains the course, it will have one or two reasonable repairs per year plus maintenance... but I know aging parts, etc. always has potential to throw a surprise.

The cars I have looked at and have done test driving have primarily been pre-owned cars in the 2014 to 2016 range, and I'd probably be spending between 13 to 18k depending on make/model. I've been looking at cars in the < 30k mileage range with exceptions made to that rule for older years. I have a rough plan to have a down payment of 5 to 7.5k, finance the rest, and sell my current car privately. I tend to keep cars for long periods of time and would keep any upgrade for at least a decade.

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