On September 3rd, the day I arrived in New Hampshire, I met a guy via a newspaper ad (Craigslist isn’t really used here) and test drove his ’95 Nissan Maxima. I hadn’t owned a car since May 2008 upon moving to San Francisco and that was a ’92 Toyota Camry. Both cars are similar in handling, interior space and maintenance needs. Also, they’re both white. Not sure why I couldn’t leave my comfort zone but both cars have been good to me. In fact, my ’92 Camry is going to go to my sister who turns 15 in July. It still runs great after the engine has been rebuilt before I moved to SF.
On the day I moved to NH, I spent $350 on a full brake replacement after giving the guy $1,000 for the vehicle. $200 in registration and transfer fees later and I had a car with 163K miles for a grand total of $1,550 which is just about what i’d spend for a tricked out MacBook Air.
I’ve put 5 thousand miles on it since September and it’s been a terrific vehicle. The CD player doesn’t work, the AC doesn’t get cold (not that I need that in New Hampshire for in the dead of winter) and the undercarriage is rusted pretty bad. If I get a year out of this car, I’ll be pretty stoked.
On Friday, I spent $432 on the best snow tires money can buy so I’m safe when driving when it hits -20 degrees and the road is covered in ice and snow. Tomorrow, I have a laundry list of repairs being done to it.
- The Emergency brake won’t pull. Getting that fixed
- There’s a squeeky / loose belt
- New spark plugs and cables
- Fuel pump pressure is messed up which causes issues with starting it up occasionally
- Needs a new battery w/ blanket due to cold weather
- Needs a new windshield wiper fluid cable
- Needs new left side CV joint
In total, I’ll probably spend between $800-$1200 tomorrow on repairs. I don’t foresee many more since the car performs very well and runs just great. These are just minor things that will cause problems later like that annoying squeeky wheel and CV joint “click click click” when I’m turning corners. The fuel line means it sometimes take s a few tries to crank it up after I just turned it off.
Today, I’ve put in some engine treatment, dumped and replaced the oil, put in oil a new air filter, replaced coolant and taken care of a few rusty spots on the body of the car. I also cleaned it in and out and checked some of the cables for wear & tear or leaks. I give it a fuel treatment additive every 1500 miles and will spray the undercarriage off after driving on the New Hampshire salty roads to prevent additional rust.
My point is, this car needs a yearly investment of around $1,500 to $2,000 to keep it running before fuel and insurance. That includes regular maintenance like oil changes and tires. This is about average for any car really but I’m not paying car payments.
Upon first moving to New Hampshire, I was sure that I’d be buying a new car. I had dreams of an all-wheel drive with an iPhone hookup and bluetooth hands free calling. I wanted heated seats and electronic dials.
Instead, I bought a car that’s 15 years old with a broken CD player and non-existent brakes.
There is a lesson here as with everything in life. You don’t need the latest thing. You don’t need the most expensive thing. We don’t have to pay twice as much for something that’s slightly better. Nice to haves are great and one day, I’ll spend $35K on a car that I keep for 10 years but, right now, with traveling on my mind and maybe a cross-country move (or transatlantic move) happening in the next couple of years, I don’t think an investment like a new car is what I should be spending money on.
When you buy something, don’t use it until it stops working anymore. Own it as if your life depends on it. Maintain your computer’s hard drives, calibrate your LCD TV, sharpen your knife set and make sure the flashlight and first aid kit you keep are fully functional. No matter what the price, cost or investment you put into something, it’s yours and you have to take care of it.
My car is one of the oldest cars on the road here in New Hampshire. It’s 15 years old but it runs great. I can hit 105mph in it, pass people with ease and it brakes in record time even on icy roads (yes, I’ve tested it). All it takes is a similar investment as if you were running a new car but with cheaper insurance and far cheaper parts.
I’m going to go downstairs and clean the leather seats and armor all my dashboard. It’s my car and I treat just as if it was a Mercedes or Porsche. Love what you own and take care of it. What we have is an extension of ourselves. We have to treat it as if it was a part of us.