Hi,

At what point do you decide that it is enough - no more pumping money into an older car, and time to get a newer one.

I have a 91 GXE with 260K miles. Over the course of this year alone, I have spent close to $2000.00 on this car - consisting of routine maintenance work, and some heavies such as replacement of broken fuel and break lines, replaced starter, replaced radiator fans and motors. Currently, i'm due for changing of drive belts, esp timing belt replacement, some suspension related work, power steering fuel laker, weak engagement of gear in D (I have to push it hard into D for it to engage - transmission prob?).

I was thinking of keeping this car for another year before looking into buying a new one, but at the rate at which it is going, I'm not sure if it would be worth the expense.

At what point do you decide it is over? What should I expect to pay on a montlhly basis for a 2000 or 2001 SE, with no downpayment?

I'm in Baltimore.

Thanks - MN

 

www.capitaloneautofinance.com

get their blank check, get a butter rate (i got 4.59 over 60 months, 720 avg. credit score), dont need a downpayment, go buy one privately for ~$15k, you'll be around 300 a month, more if you want more car, less if you want less car

my advice, by the way, is quit pouring money into your old max and go get a newer one, you can do the math

 

yes i would go ahead and get a new max, preferably(spell?) a low mile 97-99. and if u like hte syling a 00+

 

I would suggest getting a low mile 97-99 (try to get a 5 speed) or wait until you can get a 2002 with the 3.5. I say get the 02 for the engine and the small styling differences. Just my two cents.

 

hey midknight maxx, good answer

i didn't know there were any orgy's in the area. i am from defuniak

 

I was wondering what or where D-town was. It's funny I just came back from visiting some folks in Memphis when I was at a Best Buy and one of the sales dudes saw me get out of my car and asked if I was on the ORG. It's like a secret society.

Oh yeah Noela big up for riding your Max to 250K + miles.

 

If your tranny is dying, no point in fixing it. Just get another car and you should be fine for a year or two or three with regular maintainance.

 

If the cost of the repairs is more than the worth of the car then it's time for a different car.

 

To engage drive, do you have to tug the shifter back an 1/8" to engage drive after you shifted into drive? Might be your shifter bushing going if you haven't replaced that already--cheap part but the converter has to be removed to get to it. Getting something newer is for the most part, an economic decision. I had a '91 GXE too and sold it at 164K. Financially, I wish I would have kept it longer cuz my car didn't have as many issues as yours appears to have. The car payment is one thing but don't forget to get quotes on insurance and check with your lender to see what kind of decuctibles they require with the loan cuz these will affect your premium too somewhat. If the cost of your repairs outweighs what you'd be spending on a loan and insurance, and if it fits into your budget, go for it.

 

Get a newer maxima you can pick up a nice 4th gen for under 8K these days with less then 100K

 

with 260k mls it's been time.

 

This question becomes are you willing to borrow money for a car or not? I generally am not, but since my tastes in the last 5 years have gone north of 40 grand for a car, I will probably have to borrow at least 10 grand (pymt on 10 g's for 36 months will be around $300--not good, but not bad). But the car should not be a whimsical decision. I've seen on the forum over the past 3 years some very irrational behavior. One day a dude has a Maxima, the next month a BMW M5. You don't want to be the hoser in the commercial delivering pizzas in a BMW while your friends are partying and hooking up with girls and you're peeking through the window on your delivery.

Anyway, there was once a rule, keep the car another year for every 1000 spent. You would be foolish to have dropped 2 grand in the car this year and then get a new one now imho. If you wanted to get rid of it you shouldn't have done the repairs--2 grand is not chump change. My advice is to go at least 12 months from when you did the repair before considering a new one. I just dropped $850 on my 98 SE so don't think anything short of brand-new is not gonna require maintenance. Good luck, ultimately it's your money so choose wisely.

 

I would say it's time for a new Maxima. I would go with a fourth or early fifth gen. 5-speed SE, if you want to retain the 4DSC image. If you want a bigger body you can go with the '02 model.