Well, we decided to retire the old 1990 Honda Civic. The old Honda had 195,000 miles on it and needed a new engine. It was actually in pretty good shape for a car that old, and putting a new engine in it was a real possibility, but we decided against it after my husband got a good look at the new ones, LOL! I could see the arguement either way, to replace the engine and hope the parts of the car the mechanic couldn't see (without racking up major labor expenses) was in as good shape as what he COULD see, or play it SAFE and go the the expensive route and get a new car. We have bought used cars when we were starting out and didn't have any credit history, but we prefer to buy new because with good care our bought-new cars have lasted much longer than the used ones, possibly BECAUSE of the care we give them. Our other vehicle is an '86 Chevy. So, now we begin the long, irritating process of monthly payments, which I have NOT missed these past 8 years! Still, I am pleased that a major decision is done, and most of the work accomplished, now all we have to do is sell the old Honda Civic for whatever it will bring.

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), April 11, 2002

Answers

Hi Terri< we just went this this process with our daughters 1990 Honda Civic! It had 209K miles, it needed a little work on it and we ssold it for 600$! I put an add in the local newspaper and the afternoon it came out -we sold it! We were up front with him--told him everything we knew was wrong and he thought it was a great buy. The car looked great. No really damage. I saw the car and new owner last week at the groc. store he said it was running just fine and he had not done any work on it! Good luck!

-- Debbie T in NC (rdtyner@mindspring.com), April 12, 2002.

It can actually be cheaper to keep up maintenace. I have a 1987 s10 pickup, 1988 S10 Blazer, 1989 "jimmy" and a 1980 F150 Ford full sized pick up. They all have over 200,000 miles on them , but they run great. Of course I keep the maintenance up and I just replaced the engines in the S10s. Every three months I have one of them in my mechanics place for oil change, maintenance and lube. I budget no more than $2500 a year to keep my fleet in running order including required engine replacements every few years.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 12, 2002.

Jay, sounds like you're almost out of trucks....I can't drive more than one at a time, myself. :o)

We've got an '85 Honda Accord with 250K and it's going strong....knock wood. I've bought one new vehicle in my life and I'll never do it again. I just can't stand the insurance payments! Congrats on your upgrade.

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), April 20, 2002.

Gilly,

I had another s10 blazer, but my ex needed that to pull her uhaul trailer after our divorce. I have always liked keeping at least 3 so I'm not wearing them completely out.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 24, 2002.

I own two cars, one is a 1990 Honda Civic LX sedan and the other is a 1984 BMW 318i. My Honda has just hit 151,000 miles and is still running strong like a new one. I keep it well maintained and it has never let me down. It's a different story for the BMW. That car has cost me more money than what it is worth!!! I keep it well maintained also and it still breaks down! I got to the point where I was scared to drive it. Three weeks ago I traded the BMW to a guy who was looking for another car for his daughter because she didn't want the 1989 Honda Civic he got for her. The good thing about it is that we traded even!!! No cash or anything! When I got the car home that's when I realized that it was a Civic Si. Only thing the car needed was some body work, a fresh paint job, and some TLC!!! My Civic Si hasn't let me down yet.

"A Honda will be good to you as long as you are good back"

-- Stretch (j_flex04@yahoo.com), July 08, 2002.