So with my job I drive quite a bit and have been putting a ton of miles on the TL. I have only had the car around 3 months and have put all most 10K on it. Because of this I have been thinking about buying a beater to drive and leave the TL at home.

I found a nice little Civic hatch for under a grand that would be really good on gas and reliable. Might need a few small things but over all it is road ready.

There are a few reason I am torn about the decision:

1. Even though the Civic is cheap I would still have to invest the money to buy it and possible have a few small items to repair. As well as a tag and insurance. With the economy the way it is I might be better off with the cash at hand.

2. The miles I am driving will really rack up on the TL and the maintenance is a lot more costly on it. Plus the TL take premium gas and would get about 5-12 mpg less than the Civic.

There are other factors but these are the 2 main ones.

I get paid .55 per mile so I would pay the Civic off in a short period of time.

On the flip side I do spend so much time in the car I will now be in a car that really is a POS compared to the TL even though it will be reliable.


What are your thoughts? Questions?

 

I bought a 95 Maxima beater (135k miles) for the same exact reason - spent 1200 bucks, and then 350 on new tires, a few hundred on brakes, tuneup, various repairs; including insurance, the car was about 2900 on the road.

It runs good up to today - no problems at all since the initial startup.

I have to say - best investment ever. I now have a car that I can be completely stress free with and never have to worry about scratches, dings, dents, etc.

The TL is a nice treat on great days when I know I can take it to places where parking, potholes, etc. aren't an issue.

The lack of stress is priceless in itself. Go for it.

 

How far do you drive, and how much do you drive?

I was talking to some friends and one of them made a point which kinda stands out to me. He said "why have such a nice car sitting at home when you can drive it, espcially since you spend so much time in it?"

If I were local this would not matter, but some weeks I drive 1200 miles in 3-4 days.

I know the TL can handle it, just not sure if I am ready for my car to drop in value like crazy in the next year because of miles. I look at mmade22's ride and it makes me wanna try it with the TL cause he looks brand new and seems to be on the road like I am.

 

I don't do heavy driving - maybe ~1000 a month. I wouldn't worry about resale value on the TL though...it's not like you bought it to appreciate in value. It's going to drop either way - whether or not you drive it.

I only bought my beater because I was more worried about body damage to the car in NYC - and because I want something nice if I need it.

In retrospect, if the TL didn't have so little left to pay off, I would rather save the money for a wiser investment.

Just my opinion though.

 

I do not owe anything on my TL so as of right now other than the maintenance I do not have any car expenses.

I know the car will always loose value, but at the end of 2009 my could would be worth a lot less if I put say another 30K on it this year vs 5-10K.

I may just go for it and drive the TL till the wheels fall off. I already have new tires and the maintenance is up to par. If gas goes back up I might be in trouble thought, which I am pretty sure it is going to.

 

You have a nice road car and someone paying for it so you save it? I would drive it, take care of it and, not worry about it. It's going to get old and go down in value no matter what. In a few years you will probably want something else anyway.

When I had the opportunity and a car allowance, I enjoyed myself.

 

True, I just do not like keeping a car more than a year. I love to trade and drive new cars. Stacking up the mileage will not allow me to upgrade as much when I decide to do it.


They do not pay for it when I am not driving for work though, only when I travel.


If I do not buy the other car there are a few things I wanted for the TL I was waiting one, might order those and drive the piss out of it.

I am going to talk it over with the wife tomorrow, but most likely I will just drive the TL.

 

Looks like you rack up alot of miles. That's alot of miles in a 3 month spand. I would invest in a "reliable' beater and save those miles on the TL so it doesn't depreciate so fast. Considering you drive so many miles, getting something that's more fuel efficient would save you more money over time traveling.

Take the TL when you don't have to drive so much. On long road trips for work, take the beater.

 

/\


That is my thought as well. Only thing is I have to invest in another car plus tag, title and insurance for it.


I am weighing out the pros and cons right now. Gonna talk it over with the wife and get her opinion on it tomorrow.

 

if you want something close to the best of both worlds, get yourself a TSX, either 2nd gen or 1st gen. Both get amazing MPG (I got around 30 even after kicking that poor tsx's ass around for 600 miles in 3 days...), you still can say here and ride in style Operating costs will be lower due to MPG and insurance, and the cost is significantly less...

 

Hum, I have not thought about that. I may look into the TSX's. I would have to have a 6 spd though, loosing the power of the TL would be hard enough. No way I could handle an auto.

Might be able to trade someone...

 

If you are driving a lot wouldn't you prefer to have a nice smooth ride with the TL as compared to the "off- road rally style" you would get with the civic?

 

I would just drive the TL. I am assuming you have a govt job? If so there should be security there... not to have to worry about lay offs, etc.

Plus, you are being paid .55 per mile. You are making money driving the TL with maintenance included. Maybe you can think of that extra money you are making as your depreciation cost given to you by your employer.

I would hate to be in a crappy car all that time.

 

If it were me I'd get the civic, and put the little bit of money into it. I wouldn't even carry full coverage on it. A thousand dollar car is disposable IMO. If it gets totaled, no biggie.

 

After talking with the wife today I think I am just going to drive the TL.

I do not work for the government. I am a contractor for Chick-fil-a, I travel coat to coast and install & maintain the network and POS systems in there units. I can fly most of the time if I want we have that option, it is just that driving I bring home a decent extra amount. It can be any where from $150-650 in one week.

If I got the Civic for say $800, than I have to get a tag and pay for insurance. We pay our insurance in a lump sum each year so I would have to do the same with the Civic. So just getting the car and getting it legal to drive would be $1000-1200, then any things it may need to be reliable to take on trips.


My TL needs a few small things, I am going to get them corrected and buy a couple small mods I have been wanting and get it set for the long haul.

 

I feel your pain. I have put 24k miles on mine in 11 months. Get the beater! You will be in the same situation when you trade-in the TL and get a newer car. You won't want to put any miles on the new ride. Plus, driving in Atlanta sucks. I was thinking about doing the same.

 

I'd keep the TL. Why get a civic? Your going to hate life driving that.

Lets be real, you bought the TL because you like it, and it drives amazing. SO DRIVE IT!

 

I scooped up a little 97 civic hatch for a daily driver. Dropped a GSR integra motor in it with some other mods> And I love driving that thing!! People always rip on me for that car. They are like you have a badass TL home and you drive this crapper all the time. Its reliable and fun. Not saying thats what you should do but having a little crapper isnt a bad idea.

 

I would love to have a EG with a swap, and with a Type R or GSR in it I probably would hardly ever drive the TL. At that point they are pretty damn fast, and very fun to drive. One with a Type R would give the TL a run for the money.

The thing is I did not want to spend over $1000 on a car and a clean EG is at least $2000-3000 stock, with a swap they are quite a bit more.

 

Its fun. My little EK flys. I think it would keep up with my TL off the bottle. I hear ya on the money thing. Was supposed to be a hooptie and now I dumped well over 7 grand into it... ooopss. But I drive that car ALLLLLLL the time. Whatta blast.

 

I have an 04 5AT. I bought it to drive it. I put almost 100 miles a day on it and have since day 1. At least once a month I have a 300+ mile trip to make, usually to places that never heard of broadcast radio. In the TL I enjoy the trip. I find from Edmunds that my heavy use of the car has knocked 2K off the resale value so far. I consider that money well spent. What did your Aspec kit cost you? Your new wheels? If I lived in Cleveland or Buffalo I might give serious consideration to driving a winter beater to preserve the TL's appearance, but I don't live there, and if I did I might not have bought the TL anyway. I intend to drive in comfort and style, that's why I bought it, and if it costs 2 or 3K over the life of the car, so be it.

 

I bought the TL for $13,000 with all of the A-Spec stuff on it.

I drive quite a bit more than that. Some weeks I do not fly, but the weeks I drive it normally is at least 750 miles, some weeks are 1200.

I have decided to just keep the TL for the long haul and hope for the best. I would be interested in a trade for a 6 spd TSX if someone was looking for a clean TL. It would be cheaper to maintain and get a lot better mileage.

 

You are just as entitled to buy and drive your car just as much as I am to keep mine in the garage and waste money on rims and Aspec kits.

 

 

Bimmerman,

I'm in the same boat as you. I have a 40 mile commute each way to work. Factor in everyday driving on top of that and I'm pushing 35-40 thousand a year. I had just bought a 2008 Altima and decided putting that many miles on it was a bad idea, so I bought a used 2005 TL and am driving that instead.

I think you made the right choice driving the TL instead of getting a Civic beater. If it is paid off then just drive it into the ground. Even if you do have high miles on a TL you should still be able to sell it for more than if I did the same mileage on the Altima...

Financially you loose with cars no matter what you do. With the recession your car is already depreciating way faster than normal. I sold my other vehicle to pay for the TL which was a 2004 4Runner. Before the recession it was worth 19k with it dropping about 3k a year in value. Fast forward one year and I sold it privately for $12,700...and that was actually 1-2 thousand more than what most people got!

 

I hope it is the right one. I am going to spend a little money on the TL and get it where I want then pound the miles on.

I guess the race is on to see how long it will take for me to hit 100K, I am at about 72,500 right now and was at 65,500 on 11/17/08 and I have taken two weeks off of work.

I am leaving tomorrow afternoon and will be back Thursday and it should be around a 1200 miles trip.

 

try investing on a cheap reliable used car instead.
my tl sits in the garage and barely driven out on weekdays. i have 10k miles on it and has been 1 1/2 year. i drive either a del sol or integra to commute. both are decent on gas mileage and fun to drive.