In our last post, we talked about the importance of vehicle maintenance in helping prolong the life of your vehicle. However, there are times where routine maintenance simply won’t matter. Major engine damage, theft, or accidents can happen at any time, and when they do, it can throw a wrench in your plans, and that assumes that you have a plan to begin with!
As an example, several years ago we lost a vehicle due to a collision with a deer. Unfortunately, that is not an uncommon occurrence. Regardless of your plans, something unexpected like that can come up and suddenly you find yourself in the market for a replacement vehicle. But how did we go about finding a car?
Well, our car prior to its deer encounter had been functioning quite well, so we had not been looking at replacing it in the near future. We had some savings, but it was admittedly minimal. In our case, our accident took place in mid-January. Our vehicle was listed as totaled but was still operational. This gave us a degree of flexibility.
With only a couple of months until we would receive a tax refund check, we opted to continue using our damaged vehicle. This likely would not have been possible had we needed to travel long distances, or if the damage had been more severe, but with careful monitoring of the fluids and gauges, we were able to limp the car over a couple of months, and therefore have more money available to apply toward our replacement.
The car used to replace our deer-busted vehicle was one that we found with the help of because friends and family. Over the two-month span, we were on the lookout for something that would fit our needs in terms of budget as well as what we wanted in a vehicle.
Because people knew we were looking, we were connected through a family member with a lady who was looking to get something a bit newer and more reliable for herself. She sold us her 1990 Volkswagen Passat, at the time a 20-year-old vehicle, for just $2000. Despite its age, it had just under 35,000 miles on it.
This purchase is one that, looking back, we probably would have avoided. There were many things that made it a good fit, including the incredibly low miles, the fact that it was very well maintained, and that it was able to be had at such an affordable price, while not requiring a monthly payment.
Unfortunately, there were a few issues that immediately became apparent. First, because this vehicle was so old, replacement parts for it were both hard to come by, and often expensive. There were times where a very minor repair would take a long time because I would have to order a part which took a week or more to arrive before repairs could be made. Even though the vehicle had low miles and was in good condition, this was a problem we had not foreseen.
Next, because the car was a Volkswagen, I was unable to perform almost any repairs on it myself. If you are familiar with American made cars, or indeed even Japanese manufactured vehicles, you can essentially throw out what you know when you pop the hood on a 20-year-old German engineered vehicle. There are no doubt many who feel more than comfortable working under any hood they find themselves. As one who simply did my best to navigate and make basic repairs, this was a big problem, and further added to maintenance time and costs.
The real lesson this vehicle taught me was that we needed to be more specific in our criteria for how to select a vehicle. How easy is it to get access to replacement parts? What will the maintenance and repair process look like? How expensive will it be to have those repairs done?
None of those questions were prominent in our selection process. The up-front price was right, and the mileage was even better, and the previous owner had obviously taken good care of the car, so we jumped in with both feet.
It would be wrong to describe this experience as a completely bad one. In many ways, this was a win for us. We were able to drive that Volkswagen for a little more than two years as a basic commuter car. It allowed us to save and better prepare for the next car. In many ways, it could be considered a successful purchase.
However, here are a few questions to consider that have been added to our list as a result of this experience:
- Do you have a plan in place in case you experience an unexpected loss of your vehicle?
- How long do you need your prospective replacement vehicle to work properly and what is your contingency plan if it doesn’t?
- Are replacement parts readily available for this vehicle?
- How do replacement parts for your chosen vehicle compare in cost to other used vehicles?
- When repairs are needed, are you able to make them or do you have to rely on a mechanic?
- What are all the ways this vehicle might cost you in the long term, and how do those costs compare to other vehicles being considered? (eg. fuel economy, maintenance, insurance)