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My 2014 Honda Accord recently hit 99,000 miles. It’s nothing fancy to look at, but it drives well. Recently I’ve been having an issue with the starter. The push start works intermittently. Sometimes it starts on the first push, sometimes it takes multiple tries. I think the most it has taken is 6 tries. I’ve kept up with the maintenance, but I drive it infrequently, so the time between service has spread out. It was due for an oil change, so I decided to have the starter checked out.
Long story short the car needed a new starter. It also needed brake work, new calipers, and a few other things. The total cost (after some discount coupons) was about $2,500. I elected to have the car repaired and plan to drive it for a while. It’s a reliable second car. But it got me thinking about the age-old question of when is it worth it to repair an old car?
I did some research and the Kelley Blue Book private sale value ranged from about $9,800 to $11,900, depending on the condition. Carvana had similar cars for sale in the $16,500 range. So, the repairs are at most 25% of the car’s private sale value. I checked a few sources on the web and a general rule of thumb indicated that if the repair was more than 50% of the car’s value, it’s not worth it. I also found recommendations that said it was worth it if the repair cost was below the total value of the car.
Obviously, there are a number of considerations in this decision, many of them personal. Is the car generally safe and reliable? Are there likely to be other major repairs coming soon? Does your wife hate the car? Is it the ugliest car on the block? I know many in the HD ecosystem drive their cars for as long as they can. How did you know when it was time to move on?
another note on your starter for the honda accord … i have a 2013 honda accord in which i had replaced my starter as well due to the intermittent push start working … about a year after, some other honda mechanic , when i said in passing about my starter being replaced, said if they checked the starter SWITCH , a very inexpensive repair !!! ! felt like i had been had , no way to prove it.. another stealership trick !!
I think I’ve mentioned before that my daughter still drives the 2008 Chevy Cobalt that I used for nurse visits until 2015. It’s beat up, with peeling paint but runs fine, plus it’s so small that she easily finds street parking at home and work in an NYC borough. Lately it seems she and the car attract the pity of the parking ticket people – no tickets anymore for minor parking violations. Worth repairing as long as it doesn’t go above her limit ($500 or $1000, I think). And her mechanic knows the limit. 😉
my honda accord 2013 has 142,000 miles on it , yes i have replaced the starter, but it drives great , has the v6 engine in which Wards automotive named the engine a top ten award for 2013 .
There is more to consider than just $ here. My example:
Traded in my beloved 2011 Honda Crosstour EX-L NAV in 2024 for a 2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition. Cost of ownership of the Crosstour over 13 years minus trade-in value over 141,000+ miles worked out to $0.289/mile. Ownership here = cost of purchase, 60 month financing (hard to pass up at 0.9%), add-on’s like third party remote start and floor mats, all maintenance costs (usually dealer). Does not include yearly reregistration or insurance (which can be highly variable for a number of reasons-do your yearly shopping). In Michigan, the trade-in value used towards the purchase of a new vehicle saves on the new vehicle sales tax – about $450 in this example. Lifetime combined MPG was just shy of 21. Best trip mileage 28.9. It loved the highways, had to watch the speed. 2023/2024 was not a favorable period due to some expensive repairs like A/C and front axles (CV Joints worn out). I projected out the cost of ownership (maint.) over the next several years and the likely miles to be driven and the cost per mile wasn’t awful but I had concerns on reliability. Maintenance record was excellent and no accidents – clean CarFax.
What swayed me to purchase the Pilot was the features that were now available to me and the fact that I can more readily get in and out of the vehicle as it is higher off the ground. My wife’s CRV is a challenge to crouch in to. Yes, I had not planned to “upsize” at this point in my life but I have zero regrets about doing so. Mileage is not as good as the Crosstour but there’s an additional 660 pounds of curb weight with the Pilot. Overall, the driving experience is simply great. Above all, my wife likes it too!
I did do a quick check on Kelly Blue Book (my reference source) and the Pilot at 10 months of ownership has dropped about $7,000 in value for a private party sale, excellent condition. However, KBB does not take into account the add-on’s I had purchased at the dealer and third parties which generally are more personalized to each owner so their value is variable. Insurance cost (same coverage) increased $540. I’m planning on driving this vehicle for 5-10 years so I’m not worried. Might be yet another hand-me-down to one of our 4 kids or grandchild.
Honda’s, in general, tend to retain their value pretty well. Depending on if you’re a buyer or seller of a Honda, that can be favorable or unfavorable in pricing.
Best wishes in your decision making.