Dear Scotty,
when watching your videos I am a great fan of, more than once I heard you say smth like the following (not exact quotes) in regard to very old cars: "The repairs on this car would cost more than (or almost equal to, or an amount comparable with) what this old car is worth", with the verdict being "The car is not worth fixing and should be dumped".
This approach has certain consequences aka downsides: along these lines, for a very old car, almost no serious repair work would be worth doing at all, cause the "official" money value of most old cars is very low, while repairs and parts are relatively expensive. If following these lines, the first slightest defect would virtually leave you with no car at all, and in search for a (probably much newer, cause really old cars in really good shape are extremely rare) replacement car, which will in its turn probably cost a multiple of what your old car was worth. The final total cost of such replacement probably being high enough for you to regret that you have not just, say, thrown a new motor or transmission or anything into your old car fairly regardless of what this repair would have costed.
So would it not be more beneficial to consider more parameters (in addition to the residual value of the old car) when taking decisions on repairing vs. dumping old cars which need costly repairs?
Such additional parameters being, for example:
- the time and effort to be invested by owner into obtaining a proper replacement car and selling his old one;
- the realistic (and presumably high) purchase value of a new(er) car, which would count as a proper replacement considering all the usage-relevant criteria / requirements the owner has towards his vehicle, including ease of repairs - if an adequate replacement exists / can be realistically found in good shape at all;
- the risk that this new(er) replacement car will have some hidden flaws unnoticed despite pre-purchase inspection;
- the cost of re-buying (or transferring to the new car) of all the (if any) aftermarket upgrades or additional equipment that one had installed in his old car;
- the price of (if any) model-specific tools and/or accessories the owner might have bought for the old car which will probably not be compatible with the new car, plus the price of re-buying similar items for the new car;
- the time and effort car registration and license-plate-obtaining formalities take;
etc. etc.
All these associated costs may be so much higher than the price of an old car, and even than the price of almost any repairs pending for such...
Example: one of my cars, my 1993 Audi Quattro Sport Wagon with AWD and locking rear diff and sport suspension and turbo and chip, full of leather and extras and carrying tons of little or not so little improvements I personally introduced since 1998 - its official residual money value is ridiculously low and is comparable to that of a large flat TV, since the car is that old and has 330+ kkm on it. But it is a fine car, robust like a tank and easy to repair and doing its job just fine. I just cannot imagine which modern replacement would satisfy all my requirements my existing old car already does satisfy at no extra cost to me; neither do I dare to imagine what the price of a closest modern match would be. 40k USD? 80k USD? And I am sure that in terms of repair-friendliness and running / servicing costs any such newer replacement would not even come close to my old Quattro, which is sooo cheap in maintenance... Just for a fraction of the price difference between the current value of my existing car and the purchase price of a comparable more modern replacement, I can at any time have my old car refreshed/rebuilt from scratch by an experienced body shop with all major parts like engine and transmission replaced by new ones. Which I indeed will not do (cause the car runs fine), which makes all this huge price difference between old and new my huge saving my wallet is endlessly happy about, which (this saving) I indeed will lose if I dump my old car just because the repair price of some future repair will be comparable with the minuscule residual money value of the car...
Having considered all that and more, my personal conclusion was as follows (and was pretty much the opposite to your suggestions of dumping any old car in need of serious repairs) : I am pretty certain, that for my old cars, repairs of almost ANY severity grade would be financially much more cost-efficient, than just dumping old cars in order to avoid repair costs. Even if the repairs would cost more than the car is worth. Because switching to a directly comparable newer car would cost me so much more, if I even would find a directly comparable newer replacement car at all.
Not saying anything negative about your approach and not claiming that mine is better, I would nevertheless be extremely grateful to you if in one of your future vids you could dwell more on how exactly, out of your experience, one should make calculations / take decisions on whether or not to dump his old car in the face of pending repairs. My own considerations I did my best to sum up in the text above. Thanks a lot!
Best Regards!
The real question: How much is the car worth to you?
Mechanics like Scotty, and myself, tell people that so that they realize if they proceed with the repairs they will have more money Invested than they will ever get back.
Another way I've worded it: "For what it will cost to repair, you could get a different vehicle." Just gives the customer the option and let's them know that if they have considered a different vehicle, now is the time before they throw money at a car that is a losing proposition.
I restore cars and build them. A lot of people I work with have sentimental attachments to their classic cars and spend well north of what the car is worth to basically try and keep it forever. If you have the cash, and the desire to do so, that is always an option. But they also are people who will NEVER sell their car and who have the disposable income to spend. When you are talking about, as Scotty said, someone who is just getting by and has a car worth $3000 that needs a motor, it makes more sense for them to ditch the car and get another rather than shell out the money on a motor just to have other things break soon after.
When i started college in 2010 I ran into some luck with a '96 honda civic that I overpaid for. For the first few years I had any maintenance/repairs done by a mechanic referred to me by a family member. At some point a defunct repair job was done on a fuel filter that really put me over the edge. That leaking O-ring was caught early enough but could have easily cost me my life if I had spent some time driving down the highway. Should I trust round-the-block mechanics to fix my car or should I spring for a new car altogether? I spent some time thinking on it and decided to go the DIY route. 8 years later and I'm doing my own maintenance and repairs on the two older Honda's the I own. I even do some work on family members cars and neighbors car's for a lunch or case of beers here and there.
I recommend to friends that they go this DIY route depending on the type of car they own. Audi cars are not known for high sales numbers or shared repair knowledge around internet forums. If it is the case that you want to go DIY repairs/maint on these cars I would recommend keeping two of them. There may come a time when you are waiting on parts for one and can drive the other meanwhile. Just know that repair tips may be hard to find on google and forum searches since they tend to be a dealership service centric kind of make.
Well of course it's more than residual matter but when I talk about a certain car to a person one on one I take everything into consideration. Say it's a Toyota with 200,000 miles it might go $500,000 miles where I know Chrysler with 120,000 miles might be ready for the junkyard of course many facts are taking into consideration
hat leaking O-ring was caught early enough but could have easily cost me my life if I had spent some time driving down the highway. Should I trust round-the-block mechanics to fix my car or should I spring for a new car altogether?
As we all know from Scotty´s brilliant car recall reviews, buying a new(er) car is no guarantee that the car wont kill you ;-(
If it is the case that you want to go DIY repairs/maint on these cars I would recommend keeping two of them.
Very valid consideration. That is exactly the reason why I am maintaining two old cars - the Audi and a Benz - simultaneously. According to my calculations both of them together cost me less, than one new comparable car would have.
Say it's a Toyota with 200,000 miles it might go $500,000 miles where I know Chrysler with 120,000 miles might be ready for the junkyard
Yes, going by presumable remaining life / mileage is a very practical approach indeed.
Being able to work on things myself, very rarely do I come across cars that are more expensive to fix than they are worth. Unless its a total junker and has a ton of stuff broken, interior trashed. Body all banged up etc.... swapping a motor or transmission for me is must the cost of the rebuild kit for the motor, or a used unit. For someone having to pay me or another mechanic it may not be worth it. I know a lady right now parked two cars that only needed 300-400 in repairs. She didn’t have the money. But she could afford a buy here pay here dealer and a 200 a month car payment.