Fix or trade-Car advice

[adamm88]

First i want to say im not a car guy at all, pretty much clueless when it comes to all things automotive.

My car is a 2008 Dodge nitro, it has 160,000 miles on it, it was leeking somthing so i took it to the garage, garage looked it and said it a cooling pump to the transmission (or something like that) and wants $500 to fix it with labor included, two weeks ago i put $300 into it to pass inspection, we have put probally $2000 in repairs in the 4.5 years i have had the car, im to the point if just trading it in amd moving on. $500 to us(wife and i amd two kids) is alot. We are upside down on the loan and we dont have great credit but i know we could get a loan... we asked the garage to do a quick look over on the car they said the front breaks will need replaced in the next 6 months, wiring to battery is corroded tires are at 50% but they didnt see anything other than surface rust to the frame. we trust the garage and have done a good job with my wifes and my cars so im not questioning that.

Im looking for advice/suggestions, any adviceis welcome if its stupid to fix it and the car craps out a month from now or trade it in and get somthing different.


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[PNWGATOR]

You don't want a car payment, period. Have you watched the online video "drive free cars" by Dave Ramsey?

 

[nrfarley]

How many more months (or years) until it's paid off?

If you're close, I would keep it until it's paid off then continue making "payments" into a savings account until you feel comfortable enough to handle unexpected expenses.

 

[adamm88]

How many more months (or years) until it's paid off?

If you're close, I would keep it until it's paid off then continue making "payments" into a savings account until you feel comfortable enough to handle unexpected expenses.

23 months...


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[nrfarley]

23 months...


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Ok, I would probably ride it out then if I knew that I had kept up with the maintenance and I trusted the vehicle going forward. It doesn't sound like the mechanics saw anything major in the power train other than the part that you just fixed. If you sell it, you run the risk of picking up a lemon that someone is trying to pass on to you....and you restart the 4-7 year cycle of paying a car off. If it's a option, you can pay a little extra on the monthly payments and cut down the remaining term of the loan a little bit.

My 2-cents. Wish you the best.

 

[Whip]

I was a banker in my former life. Personally, I never minded making car payments to drive something reliable if I could afford it. In our early years we couldn't, so we drove cheap used cars. Eventually worked our way up by building a little equity at trade in time. But if at all possible, I would not recommend trading or buying something else when you are upside down on the loan. I saw too many people dig into holes that are tough to crawl out of by having little or no equity in the car they are trading.

I'd stick the money into this one until you can get that loan paid off. Even if you bought something else you could find yourself facing repairs. Then when it comes time to finance a different vehicle, keep the loan term less than how long you expect the car to last and short enough that you will never get upside down if something bad happens. (Accident, etc. ) New vehicles - 5 years max. Used, even less, and the shorter the better. If you can't afford the payments on a shorter loan, buy a cheaper car - don't fall for the trap of extending payments longer than they should be.

 

[camping1601]

I was a banker in my former life. Personally, I never minded making car payments to drive something reliable if I could afford it. In our early years we couldn't, so we drove cheap used cars. Eventually worked our way up by building a little equity at trade in time. But if at all possible, I would not recommend trading or buying something else when you are upside down on the loan. I saw too many people dig into holes that are tough to crawl out of by having little or no equity in the car they are trading.

I'd stick the money into this one until you can get that loan paid off. Even if you bought something else you could find yourself facing repairs. Then when it comes time to finance a different vehicle, keep the loan term less than how long you expect the car to last and short enough that you will never get upside down if something bad happens. (Accident, etc. ) New vehicles - 5 years max. Used, even less, and the shorter the better. If you can't afford the payments on a shorter loan, buy a cheaper car - don't fall for the trap of extending payments longer than they should be.

Good advice here in my opinion. Your already upside down and trading will likely make it work.

 

[Jmitch1488]

Whip posted some very good advice as far as ths financing part goes. Depending on how many miles you put on a year id absolutely try and ride it out until its atleast paid off and probably longer to get a good down payment for your next car.

I work at a car dealership and i am amazed at the kind of loans and finicial situations people get themselves into when it comes cars. Afterall its only transportation and i think youll be way better iff riding this out even if it means doing a few repairs than you would be going underwater on a newer one.

 

[JWP58]

23 months? I'd pay it off. Try and pay extra each month to pay it off sooner. Unless you want a new car. Trust me I catch myself looking all the time, but it's just a waste of money. Putting even 5k into your nitro will be cheaper than a new 30k vehicle plus interest.

 

[W.D. Crawford]

If you are going to get an income tax return use that to either pay it down or off, preferably off.

 

[Whaledriver]

Brakes are a good thing to learn and do yourself. Spend a little time and learn to work on your own vehicles. You will be more knowledgeable with future repairs and save money. Youtube is your friend. Corroded battery cables or terminals? The later is a 10 minute job. Brakes can take 30m or less after first time.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

If it were me I would repair the car, and ride it till it was paid off. None of the things you mentioned are particularly bad, and quite frankly if you wanted to you could do the work yourself. Even if you do not do the work yourself it will be quite a bit cheaper to pay for the repairs than to pay for a car payment + every month.

 

[elkguide]

A $500 repair and then a brake repair is a lot cheaper than a new car payment.

 

[dble07]

I've went through this same discussion with my girlfriend when we first started dating. Her parents insisted on her trading off her 10 year old car(paid for) because it had a few minor issues. I put it to her like this; even if you have to sink $500 into it twice a year it's still better than a $300 payment per month on something that could still have problems. IMO you should keep it until it's paid off and fix the things you can yourself. Brakes and battery cable should be easy fixes, easy for me to say though since I've been wrenching on things since I was a teenager.

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[D_Eightch]

If you're upside down on this loan it makes no sense to trade in.
Even if you have a couple fixes here and there you're still ahead if making a car payment on something else since you dont have equity into this one.

 

[4rcgoat]

Look for online repair video's, 1a auto on you tube is about the best ive seen. If something can be repaired, someone has a video for it. Keep the ride.

 

[Tod osier]

Brakes are a good thing to learn and do yourself. Spend a little time and learn to work on your own vehicles. You will be more knowledgeable with future repairs and save money. Youtube is your friend. Corroded battery cables or terminals? The later is a 10 minute job. Brakes can take 30m or less after first time.

I'll second or third this. It can be brainless with a youtube video on your car. You can buy all the parts ahead (rotors, pads, proper lube etc...) and be way ahead $$$ wise taking the parts off and putting new back on. Seriously big yield of money vs time for the DIY job. Make sure the video you use shows you how and where to put the proper goop on.

 

[Brodie]

Depending on how clueless you are mechanically think about taking the car in for brake work contrary to what others have said.
Some people (and I mean this without trying to insult anyone) make small problems worse and are better off admitting it and having someone do the work. I know people like this and would rather not drive on the road with them doing their own brakes.
Yes I do my own brakes.
Otherwise I agree $500 a year in maintenance is a ton cheaper than a new car payment. Used tires on kijiji or similar will save you lots of money and check the battery terminals you likely just need to clean them up with a wire brush.


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[hodgeman]

Always cheaper to fix what you've got than buy new.

Being upside down and trading will make you even further upside down on the next one...it's a never ending spiral.

 

[WoodBow]

I think you got your answer. A lot of good advice here. Anyone can make repairs to vehicles with YouTube. Almost all of that $500 charge is labor. Brakes are very easy to do. I personally am anti paying anyone to do anything. What one man can do, so can another. I'm very mechanically inclined so that helps.

I hate payments of any kind. They are necessary sometimes but try to get rid of them asap.