Our family is at the point where we have two vehicles that are “getting up there”: a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo (102,000 miles) and a 2000 Toyota Sienna (142,000 miles). We are having to make the decision about what to do about them. They are both reliable cars. My husband has the oil changed, transmission fluid changed, and takes them for checkups. The Isuzu has needed more maintenance than the Toyota, but nevertheless has been a reliable vehicle. Both vehicles have been declared “a total loss” as a result of insurance claims and fixed up. This diminishes the value we could get if we traded them in or sold them. We do not owe on either vehicle and that has been influential in our decision to continue driving them.

To buy a new car would either result in a payment or a sizeable chunk of our savings going away. The type of car we could afford would cost $300-$400 per month in a payment plus the increased cost of insurance (we do not currently carry Comprehensive or Collision on our cars). In contrast, we could spend $500 or even $1,000 per year to maintain our old cars. I drive twice a week on the highway to church and my husband drives 7 days a week to his job or to some type of musical endeavor. It simply doesn’t make sense now for us to buy a new model SUV or minivan simply to run it up and down the highway. Yes, it would be nice to hop into a nice new Minivan with leather seats and drive to church on Sundays, but is it really worth it? The worst part of the thought of buying a new car is the depreciation of it while we would be paying down the loan. My husband likes to say that our cars are one of the only things we spend a lot of money on that will eventually be worth nothing or next to nothing.

Here are some tips to keep an old car in shape:

• Spend money on preventative maintenance – oil changes,  transmission fluid changes, fuel and air filters, tire rotation and alignment.
• Learn about when your major maintenance is due – this means timing belt, water pump, serpentine belts, spark plugs and wires, and of course your transmission fluid
• Get into the mindset of keeping your car in shape, particularly after the car loan is paid and retired. Spending $500-$1,000 a year in maintenance on a car is much better than spending $3,000-$4,000 a year in payments.