alasta: This is why I replace my car every five years. If you have an older car then you're saving a bit of money on depreciation, but those savings are offset by the additional operating costs so it's swings and roundabouts.
I'm fortunate in that I do less than 8000km per year, so I can usually get through that five year period with only routine servicing and maybe one new set of tyres.
I think that if you are only doing 8000km a year, replacing the car every 5 years is a pretty expensive option. Depreciation must be costing you more than all the other costs combined?
Personally, I wouldn't be without a car. I tend to drive on weekends and take public transport during the week (I can read on the train, don't have the hassle of parking, don't have to worry about having a beer or three after work etc). It's essentially a motorised shopping cart, apart from the odd trip up to Levin, so I also do low mileage.
I replaced my last car when it was 21 years old, and I had had it for fifteen of those years (It was still reliable, just a bit under-powered). I brought my current one (tidy, nice condition, 3 years old) from a good dealer, and have had it for ten years. In both cases I get them serviced once a year, and that's fine. Total repair bills over 25 years have been something like 3 new batteries, a radiator hose, a wiper blade, and a couple of tyres. Also a bumper repair after some anonymous sod nosed me in a supermarket carpark - but you can't put that down to the age of the car.
My current car is still neat, tidy, drives well and utterly reliable. I will have it for at least another 4-5 years unless something goes wrong.
It's not that I can't afford to upgrade, it's just that for the use I make of it it would be very large needless cost to have a seldom used new car sitting in the garage depreciating furiously - and I would rather spend the money on other things. for instance, I would rather do some upgrading on the house or upgrade my NAS and PC.
Providing it's kept in a garage when not in use, treated well and maintained properly, a modern car shouldn't need frequent replacing to avoid large costs unless it is really having the miles piled on it.
alasta: This is why I replace my car every five years. If you have an older car then you're saving a bit of money on depreciation, but those savings are offset by the additional operating costs so it's swings and roundabouts.
I'm fortunate in that I do less than 8000km per year, so I can usually get through that five year period with only routine servicing and maybe one new set of tyres.
I think that if you are only doing 8000km a year, replacing the car every 5 years is a pretty expensive option. Depreciation must be costing you more than all the other costs combined?
No, not really. Let's assume that a $40k car is worth $23k at five years old and $8k at ten years old. That's average annual depreciation of $3400 in the first five years and $3000 in the latter five years. Having a warranty, longer intervals between WoFs, free roadside assistance, latest engine technology and in some cases even free servicing will easily offset the $400 difference even if your mileage is minimal.
The other problem with old cars is that they don't have the latest safety technology. Five star NCAP is a minimum requirement for any car that I own.
alasta: The other problem with old cars is that they don't have the latest safety technology. Five star NCAP is a minimum requirement for any car that I own.
That's a key for me.
Most cars 10 years or less have the basic safety features I require: Driver's & Passenger's airbags, ABS, Stability control.
You've also got to look at the service life of various components.
For instance many 1st gen airbags had a 10 year service life and weren't guaranteed to operate correctly after that time.
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