Husband Wants Car Buying Advice

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— In Budget101_@yahoogroups.com, “Kathy Dickinson” wrote:
> My husband asked me to post this.
>
> Kathy,
>
> Maybe you could put this up for discussion on your tightwad message
> board, or at least let’s talk about it.
>
> 1990 Honda Accord. Paid for.

The way a car should be!

> 1.) Windshield/New $300/Used $183(if can find at Junk Yard, Kneer’s
> didn’t have one).

Most junk yards “parts recyclers” are linked by computer, and can
search around for you. It should still be cheaper than $183

> 2.) Springs/Both $250 (recommended)/One $110

Spring should only be replaced if they are broken – which is rare for
coil springs. Usually it is the shocks/struts that are gone. If a
spring has punched through the strut towers, the car is toast 🙁

> 3.) One Tire/$80

The Accord should use 185/70R14 tires. You could look for used tires
(ask where the taxi owners go), or find one at Wal-Mart or Costco.
Tires that size can be had here in southern Ontario for about $60
canadian.

> The car has 201K miles on it. So it is due for Timing Belt/Water Pump
> replacement. The preventive maintenance will cost ~ $525.

This might be expensive, but the replacement should last another 100 K
miles, and if the car was properly maintained it should go the
distance. The two main issues would be drivetrain and body. A cheap
barometer would be a compression test of the engine, a pressure test
of the cooling system, and monitoring if you are burning oil. You did
service the transmision at the mandated intervals right? If the body
is in good shape the car should last half as long as it alreadfy has
(about another 6 years or so)

> Insurance is a little complicated. Because I have two cars on the
> road, I get a 25% discount. But I pay $700/6 months or ~$1400 per
> yr. From the $700 total, $383 is the Honda policy. If I take the
> Honda off the road I lose the 25% discount, so the insurance for the
> one car becomes not $317 (700-383) but $455. The savings is (700-
> 455) $245/6 months or $490/yr. The Insurance bill due at the
> beginning of July is $700.

If you have “collision” drop it. The car isn’t worth enough.

> To keep this car on the road, it will cost me $1291 – $1538 over the
> next 3 months. And this is for the problems I know about. If I
> take the car off the road, I save the above amount plus $245.
>
> Will it cost more than $1500 to replace it?

Most likely 🙂

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