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AS AN ENGINEER and a believer in keeping things running, I haven’t owned many automobiles during my lifetime. Instead, my focus has been on extending each one’s longevity.
Among the maintenance and repairs I’ve undertaken: oil changes, spark plug and wire replacements, carburetor cleaning and adjustment, belt and hose replacements, distributor and timing settings, brake replacements (disk and drum), master and slave brake cylinder repairs, clutch adjustment, alternator repair, radiator repair, heater core repair, radiator fluid replacement, tire repair, motor mount replacement, engine and cabin air-filter replacements, wiper replacement, bulb and lens replacements, shock absorber replacement, wheel bearing renewal, tracing various electrical gremlins, and radio replacement.
Doing these myself has saved significant money. An example: One winter, when the brakes on our second Dodge Caravan started to make noise, I got a quote for the repair. A mechanic said the car wasn’t safe to drive and a repair would cost more than $800.
This was in the 1990s, and $800 was a huge expense for us. The van wasn’t unsafe. The brakes were just worn. This was a job I could do; I just didn’t want to. Over the following weekend—one that was cold and rainy—I put the van up on jack stands outside, because we had no garage. I replaced the front and rear brakes, rebuilt the brake slave cylinders, lubricated the rear wheel bearings, and flushed the brake fluid. The total cost for parts was less than $100.
Here are the cars I’ve owned over the past half-century, all of which were bought new or almost new.
1973 Mercury Capri. This was my first car, and I paid cash for it. I bought it used, but it was only nine months old. I loved that car and it served me well while in college, as a newlywed, and for many years after. I drove it until it died with 146,000 miles on the odometer. I think I could have gotten it running if I’d tried. But with two kids and tons of family obligations, there just wasn’t time.
1978 Datsun F10 Sportwagon. We bought it new for my wife. It was pretty much the cheapest automobile we could find. We financed it over three years. It was not a well-built car, and it required significant repairs. It experienced a cracked head after just two or three years. The transmission had to be rebuilt after five or six years. It had approximately 110,000 miles on the odometer when we sold it.
1985 Saab 900S. We were both making decent money and convinced ourselves we should have a nice car. We thought of it as the best car for safety and transporting future family members, but it was a bad decision. We paid it off in two years, but the car had transmission troubles late in life and all shop repairs were very expensive.
Saab of America shut down. Dealerships were closed or taken over by GM, and reliable service became iffy. This was a hard vehicle to work on because Saab design was idiosyncratic. We obtained good service for a time from a Volvo-Saab mechanic, but he dropped Saab repairs when parts and specialized training became too expensive. We continued to drive it for many years, with more and more things breaking. I finally had it towed away. It lasted at least 125,000 miles, but the odometer had quit years before, so there was no way to know the final count.
1988 Dodge Caravan. This was a good car for our family. It had a five-speed manual transmission and a somewhat underpowered four-cylinder engine. It seated seven passengers, or four passengers and a ton of stuff if I removed the rear bench seat. I suspect the dealership feared it would never sell because of the stick shift. We negotiated a good deal and paid cash. We borrowed half the purchase price through a home equity loan.
It was far more reliable than the Saab, but much more basic. At one point, the air-conditioning required an expensive repair. When the A/C failed again years later, I left it that way. That was a questionable decision, considering I live in North Carolina. I used this car for many Boy Scout campouts and related trips. Around 2003, with more than 200,000 miles on the odometer, the engine blew a head gasket. The cost of repair would have exceeded the value of the car by a factor of ten. I had it towed away.
2000 Dodge Caravan. This car was far less reliable than the previous Caravan. It was the first car I ever owned with an automatic transmission, and the first with more than a four-cylinder engine. This car had transmission failures, parking brake problems, and wiring harness issues. It was also great for carrying lots of people or lots of stuff if the rear bench seat was removed. My wife kept this car when we divorced, and over time it was passed to my youngest son. Neither my ex-wife nor my son paid attention to vehicle maintenance. The van developed an oil leak and the engine failed. It lasted the least number of miles of any car I ever owned.
2003 Saturn Vue. I thought we were purchasing this car to have a reliable vehicle to pair with the previously mentioned Caravan. It became my vehicle when we divorced. This was a return to a manual transmission, four-cylinder engine, and only a few bells and whistles. It was an extremely reliable vehicle. When I purchased this car, I really wanted a Subaru Forester, but the Vue was similar in layout and capability, and also a good bit cheaper.
The Saturn dealership offered five-year financing with zero interest. While driving this vehicle, I stopped doing a lot of maintenance other than oil changes and fluid checks. I let the dealership do repairs. At some point, even though it ran fine and had no real problems, I started thinking again about owning a Subaru. As I was contemplating a future purchase, my youngest son had an automobile crisis, so I gave this car to him. That brings me to my current vehicle.
2011 Subaru Forester. This continues the manual, four-cylinder tradition. Nothing fancy. Just a comfortable, reliable vehicle. I had to order the car because the local Subaru dealer apparently never stocked stick-shifts. I’m a member of Leave No Trace (LNT), a nonprofit that trains groups about responsible use of the outdoors. At the time, if you’d been a member long enough, Subaru offered a $3,000 discount off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Using this discount prevented any dickering on price.
Before I told the dealership about the LNT benefit, it was playing hardball on the price. So, I switched gears and told them I’d use the LNT benefit. The salesman, sales manager and finance manager all tried to convince me to finance the car. I told them I was paying cash, and they kept asking how I managed to borrow the money without having the title. Either they didn’t understand or preferred not to believe that someone would write a check for a car purchase.
Several weeks ago, we were in the Subaru, trying to turn against traffic during rush hour. The release bearing in the clutch assembly froze and I couldn’t put the transmission in gear. By this time, I was in the intersection and blocking traffic. To get out of the intersection, I managed to work some magic by shutting off the engine, slamming the car into gear and starting without benefit of the clutch. Between this repair and a 120,000-mile maintenance, I’ve recently spent more than $2,000 on car maintenance and repair. Perhaps it’s time to look for another Subaru.
What’s the lesson here? I’ve taken my chances with longevity. Through the years, I think I’ve saved a lot of money by driving my vehicles for a long time, and performing much of the maintenance and some of the repairs myself. My favored strategy: Buy a new car under warranty—and then drive it until it’s beyond repair.
Jeff Bond moved to Raleigh in 1971 to attend North Carolina State University and never left. He retired in 2020 after 43 years in various engineering roles. Jeff’s the proud father of two sons and, in 2013, expanded his family with a new wife and two stepdaughters. Today, he’s “Grandpa” three times over. In retirement, Jeff works on home projects, volunteers, reads, gardens, and rides his bike or goes to the gym almost every day. Check out his previous articles.
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Great article! We bought our 2001 Honda Odyssey for cash brand new. Before purchase I swore we’d never eat food in the vehicle, but after 3 grueling hours grinding the dealership down on price my wife and I were both starving, so we drove the Odyssey off the dealer lot and across the road to In n Out burger which we ate on the drive home!
Still got the Odyssey. Has 272,000 miles on it. I have done loads of work on it myself unless it’s just too difficult. “Buy a new car under warranty—and then drive it until it’s beyond repair.” Amen!
David, thanks for reading and commenting. Glad to read your bargaining paid off!
Buy used or new, doesn’t matter. The best strategy is to buy with cash at whatever economic level you are at. Can’t afford to pay cash, then your net worth is insufficient. The least expensive strategy is likley to drive beaters all your life, but for most, driving least expensive is not their goal. After gaining some economic security, most want to drive what they like, not least expensively.
Anthony – Thanks for reading and commenting. I agree that buying with cash is the best option – but not everyone, especially young adults, can swing that. Driving beaters can and does work for a lot of folks.
I’ve never even changed the oil in a car. I’ve had 3 Lexus SUV’s this century. A 2004, 2013 and 2020 hybrid, all bought with cash. Never had any mechanical issues at all (maybe just lucky), get maintenance (oil change, lube, etc) done when needed, and do not worry at all about car problems, which is worth so much more than $$$ to me. All 3 are still working great, without major expenses. In my shopping experiences, these cars are as luxurious as BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Range Rover, etc., yet cost so much less and are much better quality wise. Been great investments for me.
Boomer – thanks for commenting and sharing your experience.
My dad was a basic full-size Chevy and a manual transmission man. He bought used every few years. We owned 5 of these in 60’s and 70’s. He was also an engineer and DIY repair guy (partly from interest/capability and mostly by necessity due to our lower middle class income.) In the 70’s, the Chevy’s stayed and the manual transmissions (three on a tree..) went away. My dad tried his best to each me car repair skills-I learnt basic skills-oil changes, spark plugs, fluids, tire changes and even checking the timing. These days, I go with the new car with strong warranty myself but take my car to the shop (even for oil changes, which no doubt would be disappointing to my dad). I even shopped around and purchased the dreaded extended warranty as insurance for all the electronics.