1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
In the past, I have bought new cars and tend to keep them 10 years or more. Each car model has its own set of issues that begin to appear after 10 years and 100k+ miles. My rule of thumb is (a) do I still enjoy the car? (b) are the repair costs/year less than car payments? (c) is the car reliable enough that I can take it on a trip or is it in the shop too frequently?
My prior car, a 1989 Acura Integra was pretty reliable with only repairs to normal wear and tear items toward the end (water pump, clutch, etc.), although repairs did pick up toward the end.
My 2000 9-3 has had its own set of issues, but they are just different. Everyone here knows that DI cassettes do not last forever, but you can budget for that and new ones are easy to self-install. In the last two years I have had to have my local indy replace the A/C compressor, some seals and gaskets, and I replaced the ABS controller with the rebuilt one when it went out. On the other hand, after 150k+ miles, I am still on the original clutch, water pump, and alternator. (Of course I probably shouldn't have said that out loud. :-) Many cars 10 years ago did not come with ABS, unless you bought an upscale car. Since I had not had it before, I do not know if 10 years is the typical lifespan for that component or not. All in all, my 9-3 has been relatively reliable for what it is....and I still get a blast out of driving it. At some point down the road, it will cost more to keep it running than to buy a new car, but based on reports of others here and my indy mechanic, I expect it to get to 200k miles. But then, I know the history of my car and that it has been cared for with regular maintenance.
posted by 129.33.49...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.