Tag Archives: car repair

Repair or Replace?

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My Subaru is in the shop.  My beloved 2012 Outback with 107,000 miles on it.  I took it in Friday for a scheduled service (a major service, which was already going to come with a four digit repair bill), and they discovered a few more things on the verge of failure.  It’s going to be expensive.  Expensive enough that it made me think about whether it was worth fixing, or if it would make more sense to replace the car.

Ultimately, I decided to make the repairs, despite the price tag.  My Subaru is paid off.  And while a nice new car sounds appealing to my senses, it is not appealing to my wallet, especially with car loan interest rates looming around 7% or higher.  And even to replace my Subaru with a car of equivalent age and mileage would cost more than twice the cost of the repair.  Although I originally bought the Subaru used, I know it has been well taken care of for at least the last six years.  The tires on it will be good for a couple more years.  It’s already set up with a trailer hitch and wiring to be able to tow my little camper.  So I’ll have a big outlay of cash for the big repairs now, but then my car should be good to go for another 100,000 miles.  Or at least until I retire and my needs change.  If I were to buy a new car now, it likely wouldn’t even be paid off before I retire.

A really huge car repair bill can give you pause.  Especially when it’s an older car with a lot of miles.  It would have been easy for me to walk away and start searching for a replacement.  But the reality is that my old Subaru is of more value to me than it is to anyone else.  And for about a year’s worth of car payments (or hopefully less), my old Subie will be ready to roll for a lot longer.

Would you repair or replace?

 

Can I Get a Second Opinion?

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Sometimes you really should get a second opinion.  You think about it with medical issues.  One doctor says you are going to die of random disease X, so you seek a different doctor who may offer you different news.  But you should really think about it in terms of other things that cost a lot of money.  Car repairs immediately come to mind.

There have been a couple of times that I took my old Subaru Forester to a local repair shop and was stunned by the quotes.  When I called my father in tears, wondering how in the world I would pay for $1000 in repairs on my 2004 Subie, he advised me to get a second opinion.  My dad is a wise man.  I made an appointment at one of the places that he takes his car.  It was a two hour drive, but I got to spend some time with my parents so I didn’t mind.  In the end, I got that repair done for half of what I was quoted in State College.  That second opinion saved me $500.  Some of the work recommended at the State College garage wasn’t even deemed necessary.  The work that was required was done at a much less expensive price.  I felt like I won the lottery.

Owning a car is definitely a double edged sword.  If you don’t have one, you are slave to the bus schedule.  If you have a new car, you likely have to deal with monthly car payments.  If you have an old car, you are likely waiting for the other shoe to drop with the next major repair.  Any path you choose will at some point seem like the wrong one.  But never be afraid to second guess the “experts.”  It’s always ok to get a second opinion.