Gotta question to ask...but first, a little background...
Bought my 1993 Corolla last August for $800, knowing it needed brakes, a tune-up and a couple of struts. The rest of the car was pretty decent. It had 154K miles on it and ran great.
It is now almost a year later, and here's what I've done to the car:
Four new struts, strut mounts, 4 wheel alignment, 12/04 (this was a biggie @ $700)
New front caliper, other side 1/05
Exhaust gasket 1/05
New brake lines 2/05
Power steering return hose (leaking from rack) 6/05
New starter 6/05
Yesterday, while driving to dinner, the center exhaust pipe between the converter and muffler rusted through a fell off. I've already ordered the parts, $90.
Not needed yet, but soon...two front tires, half-shaft (trying to save w/split boot...so far, no noise), ball joints. Fuel lines look awfully crusty, but no leaks yet.
Despite all of the above (about $1700 total so far), this car runs and drives great. You could drive this car with its 171,000 miles and drive a 2001 Corolla w/ 50K miles on it and I swear there's no difference (I've actually done this).
QUESTION: Where's the cut-off for a car like this? When do I say, "enough is enough! call the junkyard or Volunteers of America!" Again, there have absolutely no problems with the engine or transmission. No repair job, other than the struts, was more than a couple hundred bucks by itself, labor included. I've been getting mixed reviews from friends who are mechanics...some say to keep it as long as nothing major goes; others say to cut my losses and let it go. I do have another vehicle to drive, so the inconvenience of the repairs have been minor. On the other hand, I've got $2500, including the purchase price, into this 13 year old car.
WHAT DO YOU THINK??? Thank you so much in advance for helping me make this decision.
Chris
Last edited by 93corollaCN; 07-25-2005 at 09:03 PM.
I reached the point of no return..and lowered it instead of selling it..so mines a keeper now and like VooDoo said, it's about whether or not you really like the car. :P
__________________ Kyle's 1990 Corolla SR5 - 2001 Protege ES
Mine was a donor/tax write off to the American Cancer Fund til my inlaws stopped their friends kids and bought it for my wife an I cause my Camry got totaled.
The pass side wheel almost fell off on my way home xmas morning among other problems.
After $1800usd of repairs (which I did myself for a lot less) due to the previous owners neglect + titling fees and insurance my car will run for ever.
I've decided rather than buying a new car in a few years I'm just gonna go 20v or 3S-GTE.
__________________ 06 NB tC - OG Team HAMSTER - SUPERCHARGED
Averaging it out, are you putting in more than you would for the payment and upkeep of a different car? What's the long term cost of owning a car (not including insurance or gas)? Say you buy a new car. By the time you finish making your payments on a new car which needs fewer repairs you're starting to spend the same amount in increased repairs on that car. Either way you're paying out a certain amount per year. Look at it this way. If you buy a new Corolla for $16,000 and never put a penny into repairs or maintenance (not realistic) and it lasts 20 years then your long-term cost is $800 per year base. So I figure if I spend US $800 per year or less in repairs on the car I currently own outright then I'm ahead of things. Currently I think it's closer to $500 per year but If I had to fork out maybe $1300 for any one repair then I might think it's going too far because that would be way over the average. Also, in theory I could buy another car like mine for that amount.
So, what's your long term car care budget, and don't let any single item exceed what it would cost to simply buy the same car but in operating order.
Another factor is that you know this car, and what's been repaired and what hasn't. The closest you'll come to that is if you buy new because then you'll be the only owner. For me that's the big thing that makes me hesitate to buy one just like mine (even if I could find one) as a replacement. That's why I'd go to the $1300 limit single repair rather than the $1000 blue-book value of the car limit before considering just buying a replacement car.
Another factor for me is reliability. Even though they have the same long-term cost, I'd prefer a car that only broke down maybe once every 4 years and cost me $1000 to repair than one that only cost $125 for the same repair but broke down every 6 months. That's why I'm sticking with my Toyotas.
__________________
1981 Corolla Wagon, 5-speed, 159k miles-- my winter wheels
1981 Corolla Wagon, AT, 125k miles-- my summer wheels
Limnos - thanks for your $.02. Using your reasoning, I should keep the car. Including the purchase price, I've got about $2700 in this car. What would I get for $2700? a 96 or 97 Corolla with 100K on it probably. It's likely that car would need some repairs, certainly maintenance, so what advantage is there to that? Most of the things the '93 has needed are maintenance. The car has never (*crossing fingers*) broken down on me...it's just that many parts are old and worn out.
As long as nothing HUGE goes wrong, I will keep it for the forseeable future. The struts were $688 last December, that was by far the biggest investment. The car runs great, gets 38 mpg, and I don't feel like removing my satellite radio from it anyway, so it's staying. Even with all of the $$$ that's gone into it, I don't know of any car I could've bought that would've cost less overall, including purchase and repairs/maintenance.
On the spent money thing, don't forget that spending $2700 on car repairs doesn't makes the car worth $2700 more. It only puts it back in the running as far as being of average value for that car in running condition. This is why insurance companies total cars. I don't know what one of these would cost in running condition. I'm assuming you adjusted for what the known repairs were going to cost you when you decided on the $800 (and I guess we're talking Canadian $ here). Some things, like the exhaust pipe, were probably about to go at the time of purchase and might have been a negotiable item. I got $100 off one of my cars once on a bad looking exhaust system.
I don't know if you took this by a mechanic before buying it, but you might want to get one to do a general check over. It sounds like you've had a lot of work done on this car in the past year, maybe too much (more than I have ever had done on mine in 3 years). Most of these things were'nt predictible (e.g. starter, calipers) but from a few things you were saying about tires, etc. it might be possible to get an idea of what might be coming up in the future and how much it is going to cost, and frankly, if the car is worth it. If something major is about to let loose and you can spot it now, then the next time something minor goes you might decide it is time to change vehicles rather than spend anything more. My girlfriend's car had a lot of small things that needed doing that cumulatively would have cost $1500 to do to get the car into "proper" running condition (water leaks into the car through rust holes and windshield, bad radiator, iffy carburettor, a few leaky hoses, leak in the hose leading to the gas tank, new shock/springs, etc.). With all the things working the car might then have been valued at $800. The day the radiator gave way she decided that marked the end of the car. Replacing the radiator would only have cost maybe $150 but there was a whole line of things waiting to go wrong and it wasn't worth spending anything more on that car.
__________________
1981 Corolla Wagon, 5-speed, 159k miles-- my winter wheels
1981 Corolla Wagon, AT, 125k miles-- my summer wheels
LImnos - everything I've posted is in American $$. No, the car is definitely not worth $2700, but considering gas prices are $2.35/gal. here, I could probably get $1000-$1200 for it, which is more than I paid for it. Most of the problems that have occurred with the car were unpredictable. The guy was asking $1500 for it, and I gave him $800 because I knew it needed brakes, two struts and an exhaust pipe. I've gotten 16K miles out of the tires. I couldn't tell it needed calipers, brake lines, etc. at the time and neither could my mechanic who looked at it. Fact is, it's a 13 year old car which has seen 12 winters of typically 150+ inches of snow...lots of road salt! The mistake I won't make again is buying such an old car from this area. I believe it's better for me to get a car as new as possible with 100K or slightly over on it in the future.
Next car is going to be a Mazda Miata ...as soon as my van is paid off next year! However, if the Corolla is still going with around 190K on it and not needing a lot of work, I won't send it to the scrapyard yet...
I paid $1400 CDN for my 89 GTS 3yrs ago from the Acura dealership where my cousin works, This is what I put into it to get it running the first year (since I had a hookup on my safety at the time)
-New Tires ($400)
-New Rad ($400)
-New brakes ($90)
-Suspension upgrade, KYB shocks/Apex springs ($900+ with alignment)
2nd year
-New clutch ($500)
-New rear Calipers and rotors ($750 )
-New oil cooler lines ($200)
3rd year
-Used alternator ($80 after putting in)
-New Cat to pass emissions ($150)
The car had 211,000km on the clock at the time and right now it has 344,000km on it and its still going like the day I bought it, next on the list this year includes
-Front Calipers, brakes and rotors
-Parking brake cables
-C56 transmission swap (5th gear syncrho is gone from hwy driving wear & tear)
You bought a used car man, don't expect NOT to have any expenses, that's the only mistake you made. New or newer cars you don't have to worry about many things like this, but after 5yrs old shit starts to go wrong on most cars anyways. I'm still keeping mine till it dies, when it does I can always use a lot of the parts for my other car.
...I could probably get $1000-$1200 for it, which is more than I paid for it.
Ummm.... Well you paid him $800, but you said the struts alone cost $700, and you also had a brake job and tune up which I imagine set you back another couple of hundred. We're up to about $1700 now for what you really knew a working car would cost when you got it. So iin all honesty you really paid more for the car than the $1200 you could get for it now.
Along those lines, I bought my summer car for $350 because it wasn't driveable (wipers would not work) and can now sell for maybe $1000. But in my case I did the repair that Toyota estimated at $600+ (if they could find the part) for about $35 (Toyota repair people don't look in junk yards) so my "real" cost for the car was $385 plus a few hours under the hood.
I'm not trying to belabor the issue, but it illustrates the point, as the other guys posting here have basically said, there's lots of other reasons why we keep the cars and sometimes invest more in them than their financial value. If you have now gotten the car to a reasonnable state then it sounds like you have a reliable vehicle that gets good mileage and that's why people hold onto these old Toyotas.
__________________
1981 Corolla Wagon, 5-speed, 159k miles-- my winter wheels
1981 Corolla Wagon, AT, 125k miles-- my summer wheels
There's no doubt that I have more into it than it's worth, by far. I knew it would take another $500-$700 to get it running well after I bought it, making an anticipated total of $1300-$1500. The brakes, tune-up and two (even though I replaced all 4) struts was $500 including parts/labor, about what I predicted. At that point I had $1300 into what was probably a $1500 car. All the other stuff afterwards is what has added up a lot and caused me to question keeping the car.
However, right now I have an old Toyota that runs great, rides well, and gets superb gas mileage...also with lots of new parts! It's best to keep it and keep going.
I have $2700 total into this car over a year. Where am I going to find a $2700 car that doesn't need any work over the next year to replace it? Pretty tall order.
REN 69...you're right, other than what I knew was wrong with the car, I didn't expect as much as I got in terms of repairs and maintenance. Throughout my 14 years of driving, I've been lucky...both my newer and older cars have been pretty much trouble-free. Turn the key and go! I never put as much money or time into a car as I have this Corolla and it has had me questioning my decision-making. But, I think I realize that I was somewhat unrealistic and my car hasn't been too bad of a deal thus far when all's considered.
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How Much $$$ To Put Into 93 Corolla?
The mistake I won't make again is buying such an old car from this area. I believe it's better for me to get a car as new as possible with 100K or slightly over on it in the future.
...as soon as my van is paid off next year! However, if the Corolla is still going with around 190K on it and not needing a lot of work, I won't send it to the scrapyard yet...
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