worked it out today that in the 18 months i've owned my 91 avenir its cost $1770 in repairs , only done 9K travel in that time its $20 per 100km cost !only cost $1500 to start with. its stressing me out, i'm sorely tempted to just sell it and do without for a while and TRY to save , but on invalids benefit that isnt easy .or do i stick with a lemon i know !
any POLITE thoughts for me.
pollymay,
Jan 23, 3:02am
It's an old car, hit and miss with them. I bought a 92 windom for $600 and it's been one of the most reliable cars I've ever had. It could throw a rod tomorrow or not have any problems for another 3 years, unless you pull every part out yourself and replace before it breaks.
bigjerry,
Jan 23, 3:03am
My advice is never ad up your receipts, but now that you have done that, it sounds like a bit of a lemon. It happens though, sometimes you hit rough patches where stuff goes wrong. Thats why i only have cars i am passionate about. That way i can justify to myself the expense that some of the damn p.o.s incur. Ask yourself, do you love the car unconditionally or is it a means of transport!
enit,
Jan 23, 3:08am
Its not being a 20 year old car thats the sole problem. You can have good and bad runs with cars old and new. Sure age will always be a factor, but its treatment (not just kms) previously will have more of an influence than age. I had a 23 year old ute with 327,000kms on it and its wonderful. I have another vehicle a 2004 with 150kms on it thats been a constant source of repairs. Sometimes its best to stick to what you know, at least you know whats been done and what might be coming up.
phillip.weston,
Jan 23, 3:10am
Interesting. My 20 year old 'high performance' car that has just ticked over 200,000kms which also happens to wear a Mitsubishi badge has perhaps cost me only a few hundred in 'repairs' for WOFs - ie cracking brake hoses, faded seat belts, brake pads, CV boots etc but other than that it's been smooth sailing for two years and 13,000kms.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 23, 3:24am
+1
I would also say get it assessed and see what is likely to be coming up as needing to be done soon. Many a time I have seen people sell cars as soon as they have caught all the maintenance up because "they are sick of spending money"
If you do change cars, think outside the square and get a good one. A poster on here just bought a 2000 model Fiat Punto for $2800 thats only 11 years old and its apparently in very good condition.
That sort of thing represents some properly economical ownership given it will have little to no depreciation, its modern, safe, well featured and VERY economical. So overall should be some properly cheap motoring.
socram,
Jan 23, 3:24am
To me, a 20 year old car is nearly new.Just reduced the fleet by getting rid of a 40 year old car but still have one at 41 years and another at 55 years!
The moderns we have had over recent years have been excellent but at $1500, I think it is always a total hit and miss.I've known people who have totally cherished a car for ten years, traded it in and within a couple of days, the traded in car has had major issues that couldn't have been foreseen.
All I would ever suggest is that a car with a documented service history or known by your local mechanic is a safer bet than an unknown.But I have always bought older cars with my heart rather than my head, so I am a fine one to talk!
franc123,
Jan 23, 4:09am
Sadly that sort of scenario isn't uncommon on '90's era Nissans, generally speaking.They go well for years and years with often rudimentary maintenence and then suddenly everything starts to go wrong at once,and keeps going wrong until you ditch them.The electrical systems especially get mighty grumpy, from alternators, instruments, door locks, power window switches etc and everything inbetween fail, gearbox bearings wear out, brake hydraulics need full overhaul, they go rusty in funny places and on and on it goes.Without knowing your car and what you have had done to it, really it might be time to say goodbye based on what I've experienced with clients and their cars.In that period they tried making too many models and specs (I mean why was a Skyline, Laurel AND a Cefiro needed, they were all very similar) and quality suffered a bit, ditto the Mistral/Terrano, and Bluebird/Primera,it was all duplication for no good reason and they suffered financially as a result and eventually so did their customers.Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.
cocabowla,
Jan 23, 4:12am
from 234619km, radiator + water pump + thermostat + starter + steering rod + rear brakes + power steer leak + driver door hinges + misc + set of tyres.
now needs a lower engine mount for wof.
as i say just so frustrating for me. i'd dump it for a motorbike again as thats all i had for 15 yrs but unable to now owing to medical issues .
sure ideally i could find something around $3 to 4k more modern lower k's etc , but the money tree i ordered from santa never arrived.
sighhhhhhhh
pandai,
Jan 23, 4:16am
Some of that sounds a little like routine maintenance, but there's the chance it'll all be good for a while.Any other car that you buy could also need fixing.
bigjerry,
Jan 23, 4:19am
agreed. sell it now and someone may end up with a car thats had all the bits done and have trouble free motoring. that work you described is wear and tear stuff mainly.
scoobeey,
Jan 23, 4:27am
Think about it to replace with what! another older car you no NO history of .
richynuts,
Jan 23, 4:32am
If you buy a car with that many km's its always hit and miss, agree with big jerry if you sell it now you will get next to nothing for it and someones going to get a really good run out of it. If your car doesn't use oil, clutch/gearbox is good and still does 10 litres per 100kms your still got a fairly cheap car to run, sounds like the repairs are getting done by a garage! so this will cost you no matter what, I have a 94 avenir paid $1500 also only 136k though really rough inside but itsa work hack so I don't mind slowly tidying it up, so apart from that its a great little car!
scoobeey,
Jan 23, 4:45am
not everyone wants a fugly punto jazz!
clark20,
Jan 23, 5:20am
No, no, you have got it all wrong.
It's the Multipla that's ugly, the punto is the gutless horrible drive one.
clark20,
Jan 23, 5:23am
Actually I have to admit I had a brand new 1995 Punto while I lived in Finland, and I had to drive 40km each way to work and it had no extras, no radio etc. So I used to just bounce it of the limiter from boredom, it did the job. Beggars can't be choosers.
carkitter,
Jan 23, 6:29am
At some stage everyone buys a lemon and regrets it. Don't get too down on yourself, it's part of life.
I once bought a Lancia HPE that ran a big end 10 days later. I put it back together myself with $1000 of genuine Italian parts and couldn't get any oil pressure. So in went a $400 brand new oil pump ordered specially from Italy and the result was okay but not great. Apparently, dodgy oil pressure is par for the course with the old FIAT twin cam they use. Once it was all back together the carb developed a problem. I stripped it down but couldn't pinpoint anything so put a kit in it and tried again. Still no go. I sent it to a Weber specialist who also couldn't pinpoint the problem but recommended a $300 overhaul anyway. I couldn't find an exact replacement but found a Weber off a smaller engine that got it running. The smaller barrel size increased the torque significantly but starved the motor of air above 4500rpm. One night the huge torque tempted me into a overly risky overtaking maneuver so I sold it before it killed me. Amazingly I found the only other mechanic on the Shore who loved Lancias as much as me! Over the 1yr I had it, it traveled 4000kms instead of my usual 23,000km annual mileage and caused me to buy a pushbike.
That was a common dilusion among car companies in Japan during the nineties. Model duplication by Mazda almost wiped them out - if it wasn't for Ford taking a bigger financial stake, they would have gone belly up. This is the reason behind the platform sharing between the Mazda 6 & the Ford Mondeo and the Mazda 3 & the Focus.
kevlight,
Jan 23, 11:03am
Have to agree with Pandai and Scoobeeybetter the devil you know, at least those bits you have replaced are now in good nick,and presumably work well. My 18 year old car had $$$$ spent on it at a Euro garage in DN-DN by the previous owner. I've worked it out over a 5 year period he spent $6000 dollars,most of it due to bad driving practices .ie riding the brakes etc but a lot of it just routine maintenance and repairs at over the top main dealer prices.
His family eventually told him to sell "that Lemon" it was my fifth Euro ,all bought the same way ,let some one else do it up, Then check it out properly with a knowledgeable mechanic who knows about that make and model; It has proved to be the best of recent car purchases. BUT thats my secondtoy /entertainment car ,We have an 02 Ford, for the real world.
We have two guys here in similar situation to you,I took the bull by the horns and sorted them out with a more modern (to them)96 Nissan Pulsar,NZ new two door hatch, and a 98 Nissan Five door UK import Hatch $3000 and $2000 both low owner and low mileage. We took their old cars to the Auction and got rid of them ,fire sale/slash and burn.gone history. No longer a constant drain on the $$ and cleaner/ safer /economical better off. Due to the recession there are some amazing deals to be had out there. Both guys were on the Push Bike, and on the bus for a year while funds accumulated,was the only way to make it work!
good luck and keep smiling .Regards Kev
superdave0_13,
Jan 23, 11:15am
You equation is not quite right.
Any car= Bottomless money pit.
jason18,
Jan 23, 12:05pm
Thats not really a bomb most of those things mentioned have managed some high kms and are part of maintenance of owning a car
socram,
Jan 23, 1:18pm
Must disagree there.Some actually hold their value better than the allowed depreciation rate.According to the allowed figures, my 2002 car is now worth about $3,000.It is worth well more than that!Not at all unusual for a well maintained car to last a long time but it depends on what it is used for. Regular longer runs on a motorway are far less stressful than lots of short runs in stop start traffic or through twisty gravel roads or where harsh acceleration, cornering and braking are the norm.
Eventually, tyres and disc pads will wear out but most other components these days, including exhausts, last pretty well.
Totally agree that too many similar models from any manufacturer is just economic suicide - particularly when they sink to the $4,000 level.Steady development of one model over several years makes far more sense than trying to tell us they are different.
superdave0_13,
Jan 23, 1:43pm
I'm not talking about resale value. Reg, wof, insurance, repairs, maintainance, upgrades and improvements etc etc.
budgel,
Jan 23, 1:54pm
I drive a 20 year old BMW 5 series as my private vehicle. I changed the plastic impellered water pump early on BMW Bob's advice, and have had a trouble free run ever since I bought it. (several years now.)
Manual transmissions in older cars seem more reliable than autos of the same age.
alfa2k99,
Jan 23, 2:24pm
It could be worse, Buy a new car and suffer the deprciation! Have to admit though, a near new car has a lot going for it. No one likes wasting money on repairs& the on going inconvenience of having a vehicle off the road
shyann2,
Jan 23, 2:24pm
My daughter bought her car off a freind of ours & we know it had been well looked after & tune ups etc always on time but since my daughters had it everything has gone wrong. Its cost thousands. She thought the other day she would sell it after the last problem was fixed but im thinking she should keep it as theres no rust & shes had nearly every problem you could have fixed & replaced. What does everyone else think! Oh & its so cheap to run which is a bonus when you work half an hours drive away.
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