Costly Car Repairs – Blogging Away Debt Blogging Away Debt

by Ashley

I bought my new-to-me (used) car in October 2021. I was so proud of myself when I paid off the car loan (originally about a $20,000 note) in two years! It was paid off by October 2023, almost exactly one year ago. And here we are now…. Only 3 short years with this vehicle and I’m considering replacing it. Let’s back up.

My Car History

I am not one to buy a new car every couple of years. I am 40 years old and have only owned 5 cars in my entire lifetime! My last vehicle I had for nearly a decade! I like to buy a car, treat it well, and hold onto it for a long time. I’d rather pay it off and have an older vehicle versus trading in for new and having a car payment.

The Story of This Car

With my last vehicle, I drove it until the metaphorical “wheels fell off.” No, the wheels never actually fell off. But that’s what I consider it when it got to the point of ownership that the car continued to break down and the repeated repairs cost more than what a car payment would cost. I had the car like that (with constant break-downs) for over a year before I finally bit the bullet and bought my current car.

The problem is, this was during the middle of the pandemic. Remember when everything was waaaaaay on backorder at that time? Used cars were selling for more expensive than new (this is not hyperbole! I test drove a used car priced for more than a new one because the new one was months and months on backorder).

I say all this to say that this car was never my favorite. It was the best vehicle available at the time that fit my must-have requirements. I insisted on a small SUV, something with 3^rd row seating so I could taxi around my kids + their friends. But it was older than I liked (2017) with higher in mileage than I would’ve liked. And now it’s starting to cost a lot of money.

Routine Maintenance

For the past two oil changes now, I’ve been asked to do pricey maintenance. This is something I’ve always done in the past because I want my vehicles to last a long time. But this is a “luxury” vehicle (an Acura MDX) and the parts and labor and everything about it is EXPENSIVE!

I agreed to the 100,000 mile fluids flush (not cheap) two oil changes ago. But this most recent oil change, they also recommended replacing front shocks and struts and upper/lower control arms. The to tune of $1800/each. $3600 in routine maintenance!

That was a tough pill to swallow. I declined the work, came home, and started calling around to other shops to do some price comparisons. Turns out, that’s about the going rate. I found I could save a couple hundred going to another mechanic, but even the best price quoted was for $3300.

Decision Point

When I bought this car, my thought was that I wanted it to last long enough to be my girls’ first car. I would drive it until then. When the girls got to driving age, I would get myself a new car and gift this to them. But now with the cost of even routine maintenance, I’m not so sure that’s the best idea.

The girls are only 12 years old. My car now has over 105,000 miles. Is it going to last another 4 years until the girls turn 16? And then another 2 years or so past that, to get the girls through High School? That feels like a stretch.

So if this car isn’t going to last, should I consider making a switch sooner rather than later?

Current Plans

I don’t like car shopping. I don’t want a new car payment. None of this is because of vanity reasons of wanting a new car or anything like that. And my car is perfectly functioning right now, even without the routine maintenance being done (I’ve been advised the maintenance will make for a smoother ride, but it’s not a safety issue). So this is not an emergency. No decisions need to be made right now.

But just forecasting to the future….I don’t think my original plan of having the girls take this vehicle in 4 years is going to be realistic. I do plan on getting a vehicle for the girls to share when the time comes. And I do NOT want to end up needing to purchase TWO new-to-us vehicles at the same time (one for me, one for them).

I’m almost tempted to buy myself a newer vehicle in the next year or so, use this one as a trade-in, and then plan to get the girls something smaller and cheaper when they get to driving age? Another option is to buy myself a newer vehicle in the next year or so, keep this one but quit driving it, and still keep it for the girls to inherit in a few years? BUT that doesn’t solve the issue that this vehicle is very expensive to maintain. Even oil changes are nearly double what my old Explorer used to cost.

I’m crowdsourcing thoughts, opinions, etc. If you were in my position, would you do the expensive maintenance and keep this vehicle, hoping it will continue to last for another 6+ years? Would you start making plans to buy a new vehicle, and either use this one as trade-in or keep it for the kids in the future?