The cost of driving a nice car

[SmokeyWren]

We don't drive luxury cars, but Darling Wife has been spoiled to the fancier trims of ordinary cars. We bought a new 2000 Avalon XLE and put over 100 thousand miles on it by 2005. We traded for a 2005 Honda Odyssey (minivan) EX-L with satellite radio, DVD rear-seat entertainment system and DVD navigation system, along with the standard EX-L stuff of leather trim, power everything, automatic AC, hole in the roof, alloy wheels, etc. We loved that car, but it had 112,865 miles on it by noon today, so we traded it in today.

We considered several lesser cars, including Ford Tarus, Ford Flex, Honda Civic, Honda Accord. Honda Odyssey LX, and what we really wanted was another Odyssey EX-L. The Ford Tarus is an awful car, per Consumer's Report. The Flex is a bit better, but the cheap interior on the base model is really cheap, and the fancier interior is really expensive. The Civic is simply too small for our needs. The Accord is okay for most of Darling Wife's needs, but not enough room in to haul two dogs and their cages plus our luggage on a long trip. We looked at an Odyssey LX, and almost bought it, but Darling Wife really wanted her leather interior and XM radio and power tailgate and power sliding doors that comes on the EX-L. So in addition to our car-buying fund that was barely enough to pay for the dolled-up Tarus or okay Accord or base model Flex, Darling Wife threw in another $4,500 from her oil royalty savings so she could have the nicer EX-L trim in the Odyssey.

So we drove the old grey Odyssey EX-L 4 years and 112,850 miles, and it cost us $22,556.80 (including TT&L) to trade for an almost identical (but without the navigation system) 2009 model white Odyssey EX-L. So that's $5,640 per year or $470 per month for depreciation, not including insurance and annual registration, or gas or maintenance costs. So driving a nice dependable car is an expensive proposition.

So beginning next month we need to begin putting at least $500 per month into the now-depleted car-buying fund so 4 or 5 years from now we can pay cash to replace the 2009 model with something comparable. We probably won't put quite as many miles per year on the new one, so maybe it will last over 5 years before it rolls over the 100,000 mile mark.

And no, there is no fund to replace Sierra Blanca. She was 10 years old this week, with over 179,000 miles now, and she's going to have to last a few more years. But with a BTS tranny and excellent maintenance all her life, I expect her to last another 10 years. I certainly hope so. Else I'll have 5 trailers for sale.

[444-4D]

That's real close to 20 cents per mile. So every time you drive it 5 miles you can throw a dollar in the jar. Or maybe two dollars if you believe some of the things you hear about upcoming inflation.

[julyer]

What's with getting rid of your vehicles at the 100k mark? seems the cars you have owned are quality vehicles and capable of going twice the mileage you have put on them, of course it could be your way of helping to stimilate the economy...

[HighwayPrisoner]

Smokey, remember, when the " boss Lady" is happy, everybodys happy, when she is not, it ain't good. We have become accustomed to high content vehicles, they sure are nice, and are a pleasure to drive, enjoy!

[drcampbell]

Originally Posted by 444-4D

That's real close to 20 cents per mile. So every time you drive it 5 miles you can throw a dollar in the jar. ...

Take a camera with you to the dealership. We'd all like to see the expression on the salesman's face when you buy a car with a jar of singles.

[greenskeeper79]

02 F350 Lariat CrewCab Toreador Red/ Silver DRW AT 4X4 4.10 gears, BTS custom chip, and tranny. built BTS and Ford Tough! 804,121 miles

I think you need to shoot for those kind of miles before considering trade in. AMAZING!

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by julyer

What's with getting rid of your vehicles at the 100k mark? seems the cars you have owned are quality vehicles and capable of going twice the mileage you have put on them, ...

Dependability. Yes, that Avalon and Odyssey both would probably have lasted another 100,000 miles before we threw dirt in its face. But when I head out to visit kin in Knoxville TN or Vancouver WA, I like the feeling of knowing there's not much chance of car trouble before we get back home. And Darling Wife and some of her girlfriends frequently make day trips to Lubbock - 120 miles away. I don't want that phone call saying "Honey, can you come to Takoha and get us? The car broke."

...of course it could be your way of helping to stimilate the economy...

I thought about that very thing when the stock market with my car-buying fund came back enough that I could consider buying a lesser car to replace the Odyssey. "I'm not doing this for me - I'm doing it to help my country."



I never thought that Darling Wife might want to sweeten the pot from her rainy-day fund. But after sitting in those lesser cars that I could afford, she decided to help some with the economy too.

[nitrogen]

let me see me and wifey have 96 intrepid and 97 concord both getting near to 200,000 miles. the only time we ever been stranded was at -30 celcius the intrepid wouldn't start cuz she couldn't plug in at work. with the exception of tires operating costs for the 2 cars is probably less than 1500, 2000 tops. thats been for front end stuff not breakdowns. total cost of the two cars less than 3500. i used to drive 60 miles each way to work in the intrepid, and got 32 on the USA gallon, so why would i spend 30-40,000 on a new reliable car when the old dodge just makes like the energizer bunny

[Mark Kovalsky]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

The Ford Tarus is an awful car, per Consumer's Report.

Don't believe everything they write.

We had a 2005 Five Hundred, which was the same car except for the badge. In 43,000 miles it didn't need anything except oil changes and air filters. It was still perfect when a large tree jumped into it's path and ended it's life.

We replaced it in January, 2008 with a 2008 Taurus. This one only has 24,000 miles, and it's been just as perfect. The miles will accumulate slower now since we moved and drive A LOT less miles than we used to.

[Super_Dave]

Originally Posted by Mark Kovalsky

Don't believe everything they write.

Thanks, Mark! I had a '90 Sable and a '00 Taurus. They were both great. Drove quite a few of the new Five-Hundreds and liked them. Didn't see them coming in for much more than scheduled service when I was in service.

It's a big car inside, and I always wanted to have it on my future used car list.