Comparing the Price of Used Car to the Price of a New Car



Introduction

When you drive an older car, your car breaks. The repairs are expensive and hard to predict... but when are the repairs too much? When does it become cheaper to ditch the old car and jump into a new one?

This spring and summer, I was faced with a vexing overheating problem. I drew it out a bit, trying to pace my financial outlay, but it was an arduous, expensive journey.

Before my overheating troubles, I was blissfully driving a car for free. I had no car payment and was only paying for gasoline and collision insurance. Compared to the price of driving a new car, I was saving $293 every month.

I knew it wouldn't last forever. Eventually, I had a problem.

I drive a 1999 Hyundai Elantra. It looks pretty good and usually works pretty well. Unfortunately, I developed an overheating problem. A veteran of overheating cars, I examine my engine heat guage more often than most drivers. One day, it got a little hot. I didn't act immediately. I grimmaced. I hate dealing with overheating.

Over the next week, I kept an eye on the temperature. It would get higher than normal, but never technically overheated. Then one day as I approached work, the engine started misfiring. It sputtered. I typed "mechanic" into my phone and charted a course immediately to Folsom AutoTech. I'd never been there before.