jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

On December 30, 2010, I hit a milestone with my car. Take a look:


You might be wondering why this is significant, but it might help if I show you this:


which means that I've had my car for 100,000 miles since I purchased it 4 1/2 years ago! (Yes, yes, I know I took the odometer pic 6 miles too late, but close enough.)

In celebration of this event, I decided to go through my receipts, tabulate them all in a spreadsheet and analyze the maintenance and repair costs. Here are the results so that you all can celebrate with me...

This one is a pie chart breaking out all my maintenance and repair costs by category. (I did not include any accessories, dent repairs, detailing or car wash costs.)


... and here is a graph of the costs accumulating during those 100,000 miles. I am hoping the slope of this curve does not increase too much. There's that nice spike there at the 105k timing belt/water pump service.


Thanks for looking and cheers to the next 100,000!

ggallant1

How many sets of tires have you purchased?

Brake costs also seem extremely high?

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Wow that's awesome! I'm one of those visual learners so seeing the graphs is easier for me than just giving me a list of numbers.

Congrats on the 100k! Or should I say 133k? That amount of miles on a 06 makes me feel better about the 90k on my 04

jisleyjr

Very nice! Do you have records of all the fuel you purchased too? What does the cost / mile come out too?

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

I paid for 2 1/2 sets of tires and 2 other tires were replaced under road hazard warranty due to damage (at different times).

Brakes were 2 sets of pads and 1 set of rotors.

It's an '04 like yours. I purchased in '06. I know the feeling though, I always felt good reading about mmade21 with way more miles than me on his '05. If you haven't come across his threads, he has sold his '05 a few months ago, but he had racked up over 200k on it.

I don't have records of fuel, but I do keep track of it frequently and I probably average roughly 26-27mpg. I frequently do long road trips for work and usually get 30-31 on the highway stretches. I average 23-24 if I'm driving around town a lot with little highway.


Also, I should point out that during the time I've had my car it has been very little trouble. Nearly all of it has been scheduled maintenance with the following exceptions:

• 37,258 Bluetooth mic making crackling noise for listener on other end. Fixed under warranty. Cost: $0.00
• 67,000 Battery died when car was 3 years old. I consider this too soon. Cost: $69.70
• 121,711 Replaced 3rd & 4th gear transmission sensors to cure transmission shudder. Cost: $129.69
• 123,000 Battery died again only 2 1/2 years after previous replacement. Again, I consider this too soon. Cost: $53.02 (1/2 year of proration applied from the 3 yr battery warranty.)
• 132,108 Timing Belt Tensioner was causing a loud noise upon startup in the cold. Replaced tensioner. Cost: $250.87

Another thing to point out is that aside from changing air filters and light bulbs, I have not done any of the work myself. I always took it to the dealer or some other shop so labor charges are built in to the figures above.

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

I'm guessing you don't mind the cost of dealership labor but...

Duralast CMAX pads wouldve saved you over $500. (lifetime warranty)

Hamilton Hondas TB special with tensionsers, belt, pump for $650

Everything else seems normal! Glad everything is going well. My TL, an 06, is at the 96k mark.

jimmyl

No THAT is the kind of OCD that I love!!!! Very nice records, and I love the chart/graph!!!!
I prepared in advance for one of my milestones:

For years I had the winning odometer poker hand until a Mercedes buddy similarly prepped for his 333,333 with 333 on the trip odo......
I'm guessing these plastic things won't get to that level, but I might give it a try.....

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

If only Hamilton Honda was near me. I shopped dealers in the Chicago area for that service and the best I got was $950 for tensioners, belt, pump + add in plugs, oil change & ridiculously high Illinois sales tax and it comes out to the price above in the "105k" piece of the pie.

I probably could have saved a bit on pads. I actually didn't go to the dealer, but rather one of those brake chains. They have lifetime warranties on the pads, but it's so bogus because you pay a ton of labor on the replacement anyway. The lifetime warranty doesn't cover any labor charges. Oh well. Live and learn.

I keep saying that I will start doing some of this stuff myself. I am sure I'm capable since I am very handy, but I just don't have the time with 2 young children and a job that makes me travel.

LaCostaRacer

Wow that's really good maintenance costs considering the miles and age of the car. The only expense that I would really ding against owning an Acura/Honda are the AT sensors- even two batteries isn't that bad in this time interval. To make you feel better on battery issue- I replaced mine at 25K before it let me down- it was showing signs of weakness and I didn't want the hassle of it dying at an inconvenient time. Since your oil change price was pretty low, I'm assuming you did it yourself and used Dino oil and the MID suggested times. Congratulations on the accomplishment!

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

Yup. That's how I feel.

I followed the suggested MID times, which was usually at 7k-9k intervals. (I do a lot of highway driving.) I don't do the oil changes myself, but usually go to a local tire store that used to do them for $15. They now charge $20. Either way, it's a pretty good deal.

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

SOLD AT 194K MILES. FINAL COST CHARTS.

So I sold my TL and while I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't quite take it to the 200k mark and get to watch it roll over, I'm very pleased with what I got for the car and with how well it served me for the past seven years.

Purchased with 33k, sold at 194k. Means I put 161k miles on the car.

Here's a pie chart of all maintenance performed during those 7 yrs / 161k miles:


and here's a graph of those costs accumulating over time:



Also, I should point out that during the time I've had my car it has been very little trouble. Nearly all of it has been scheduled maintenance with the following exceptions:

• 37,258 Bluetooth mic making crackling noise for listener on other end. Fixed under warranty. Cost: $0.00
• 67,000 Battery died when car was 3 years old. I consider this too soon. Cost: $69.70
• 121,711 Replaced 3rd & 4th gear transmission sensors to cure transmission shudder. Cost: $129.69
• 123,000 Battery died again only 2 1/2 years after previous replacement. Again, I consider this too soon. Cost: $53.02 (1/2 year of proration applied from the 3 yr battery warranty.)
• 132,108 Timing Belt Tensioner was causing a loud noise upon startup in the cold. Replaced tensioner. Cost: $250.87
• 135,000 Discovered water leak under rear bench which had been causing salty residue on seat belts. Fixed with a little silicon, but very annoying.
• 156,000 Front tires are getting uneven wear due to worn front suspension. Replaced entire suspension with OEM A-Spec suspension. (I took this as an opportunity to upgrade. )
• 181,190 Replace front and right engine motor mounts.
• 186,116 Replace rear right wheel speed sensor and replaced corroded wiring up to VSA module. Wiring was corroded due to water leak noted above.

Of course lots of money was poured into tires over the years and definitely a bit of money on brakes. I have since learned how easy it is to do brake pads myself and could have saved some serious coin here.

All things considered, I consider that list above to be pretty trouble free. Thank you Acura.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Very cool! Sorry to see the TL go

What did you get to replace it?

EvilVirus

iTrader: (8)

images no workie

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

Kia Optima SX. My thread on that search is here in case you're curious:
https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/suggestions-please-%2430k-replacement-used-new-3g-tl-824556/

And here's a photo of both for the few days that I had both.

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

Sorry. Fixed now.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Ah yes, I remember that thread in Car Talk

Congrats sir

jgj925

do one of those charts for that kia in the future if you can

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

I'm sure I will.