horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Silly me, I always figured maintaining a car, even when some major things go south, is still MUCH cheaper than a new(er) car.

b15

At a certain point when things start going south (major repair items) on a 10year old car, why keep patching a sinking ship? The probability of something else going bad is inherently higher simply due to age. It's a personal choice really

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

I'm thinking there is a very significant majority of Gen 3 TLs here who would say otherwise. Pick a Honda Accord forum of your choice and take a gander at the huge number of folks running not only ten year old Accords, but fifteen and twenty (and more) year old Accords. The only reason I can think of to move on from say, a ten year old TL would be if it had been seriously damaged in an accident or if it was heavily rusted.

Now, if you're talking about a slammed ten year old Chevy Cavalier, yeah, I agree with you, time to move on.

In my case I have an eleven year old TL, I'm figuring it will last me an easy ten to fifteen more years.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Tell it like it is then!! you wanted a new car!


as my car continues to age, i'm sinking more and more money into it. but that's fine by me! I enjoy the car and the parts that I did replace will continue to last for another 7-10 years! for example...my car only has 75k miles....and I replaced the suspension. that suspension will last longer than I think I'll have the car.

i do have to take care of all the rubber bushings, soon...but no problem! after done, they will continue to work for another 70-80k miles. and I put less than 15000 miles a year on the car

even if i drop $2k a year on the car for maintenance, it's still cheaper than financing a new/used vehicle


I do find that my car is too large for me, and I wouldnt mind down sizing to a smaller car. but a paid off car is a paid off car!!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

$2k a year is less than $30k for 5 years (and we know loans are now dragging out to 6 or even 7 years)
PLUS, you can NEVER escape maintenance. it will ALWAYS be there....because! a car is a machine. a machine has moving parts. moving parts fail!

b15

I'm not saying continuing to fix major issues in an old car is wrong, I'm saying it's a personal choice and you should do what's best for your situation.

Agree that you can't get away from maintenance on any car, but the risk of major mechanical issues is, generally, higher with an older car. If the $2k a year is routine maintenance, I have no issues with that. If I'm at a point where I have a mechanical failure (take the 5AT in my TL for example) and it's $2k just to get it back and running + $1-2k in rountine maintenance and my car is only worth $7k, I might not go through with it.

Again let me reiterate the above is my opinion and what I would personally do. I love the 3G, honestly, I think it's a great car and my favorite DD to date.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

one of the inherit flaws of the internet..EVERY one has an opinion!
agreed tho. Personal decision

b15

covfefe!!

peter6

I will put my two cents in.

Maintenance of older car like that, by using some shop, might be pricey. It's my first car, I'm 20 year old kid, and I figured that doing stuff by myself is cheaper. Never worked on cars or machines before. I'm (or I will be) computer programmer.

My first fix was putting new battery, having only pliers. Replacing purge valve was next. Couple next things and I figured I can work in the shop when I'm in college. Recently I did timing belt, with $200 (max) worth of tools, service manual, and thread on this forum.

So far, in the shop, I replaced couple starters and alternators, did some brake jobs, one axle, hitches, etc. Nothing really hard. Well most of the time it's "see bolt, remove it" kind of strategy.

And amount of money they charge for parts and labor... Well I couldn't afford all that stuff going through the shop.

Navyman72

Honestly it's truly your decision at the end of the day, and the people saying 11k is "kind of high" don't know what their talkin about the 3G TL holds and has held it value very well due to the popularity and the beautiful body, with that being said not a very big fan of the 4G TL (the bird nose never caught on) but with the mileage on both cars I don't think u can go wrong with either just my Opinion. But good luck on either way u go.

Labbats

Both are great choices. If you keep the philosophy that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure then a gently used and well made car will be a blessing. It seems you have found two that fit the bill.

Most of us on here had ten year old cars in our teens and twenties. By learning proper maintenance schedules we wound up enjoying older cars. So this particular forum will lean to support your opinion and not your dad's. If you really want to convince him you are making a wise decision show him a compound interest calculator where you put your car payment into the S&P 500 instead for twenty years.

Either way it speaks volumes you looked for this site and listened. One last bit of advice... don't skimp on the tires. IMO it makes a big difference.

dochereford

MOD EDIT:


If you'd like to sell your car, please open up a Black market thread

Sandan

picked up a 04 TL 6MT for $3.5K, excellnet condition with all leather is very very good condition and fully loaded, would have been nice if it would have been a type S, all it needs is front lower control arm bushings and front brake job...which I will DIY...

Car drives and shifts like a dream.... I know this car inside out and these are strong cars... age would not matter if it is a stick shift.... on an automatic I would buy in the low milage range...

Sandan