Comments on: Reviewing Our Expenses: Do Old Cars Really Save Us Money?

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 19:02:11 +0000

In reply to Aubrey.

@Aubrey — That’s an interesting point, but it’s $3200 for three vehicles, which is more like $88 per month per vehicle. One factor that could save us money is simply getting rid of one of the cars, but my husband really loves driving the jeep in good weather so I don’t think that’ll happen anytime soon.

By: Aubrey

Aubrey — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 22:42:33 +0000

$3,200/12=$266.67/month equivalent to leasing a nice car or a loan payment. That’s how I view maintenance on older cars, it’s what you do instead of having a loan payment. Your insurance and taxes are usually lower on older cars, but not always. My boss swears he went over numbers with someone and came to the conclusion that buying new saves money over the long term. It’s hard to believe a new car is cheaper, but your numbers make a case for it.

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:26:12 +0000

In reply to Ruby Leigh. Good to know that I'm not alone in this one and that the costs are pretty comparative to yours.

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:25:18 +0000

In reply to Michael. Good point Michael. You definitely have to consider insurance costs which rise dramatically with newer cars!

By: Ruby Leigh

Ruby Leigh — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 18:19:56 +0000

Ehh… My back of the envelope math puts me in a similar dollar amount to you if you go by per year (perhaps a little less). I’ve been lucky to avoid lemons, but every car needs something once in a while, and I’ve yet to be in the position to buy new.

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 16:52:10 +0000

I don’t keep your kind of records but I think that’s better than what we have spent maintaining a 2005 Kia Sorento (which has been fairly expensive to maintain) and a 2006 Honda CRV (which has been cheaper, but I suspect it needs air conditioning work). I just discussed this with my wife, who has a better head for finance than I do, and we concluded that anything under several hundred dollars per vehicle is money in the bank. It’s not only a matter of what the car payment would be on a replacement, but also the increased cost of insurance and registration for a new car. That’s just our over-morning-coffee estimate though, I’ll be interested to see if others have a different view.