So, you've been told your car needs expensive repairs. Should you repair it or trade it? Let's examine some issues that need to be considered...
The fact is, some people keep their car too long, and some trade too often.
A JD Power study revealed that a person would save over $450,000 during their lifetime if they kept their cars an average of 10 years.
- Maintaining the car during the 10 year period would cost between $800 to $1200 per year.
- But this investment would save nearly a half a million dollars in new car buying costs, interest, insurance, registration, taxes, and depreciation over a lifetime.
Another study showed that consumers loose over $20 billion per year in fraudulent auto repairs.
Solution: If you are near a great auto technician, car dealer and financial analyst, you have a pretty good chance of making good decisions about repairing your car. We would like to give you a list of how to scientifically determine what to do about this issue, but we can't.This is a very serious issue, one of the biggest financial decisions you make.
It's all about relationships...Do you have a repair shop you trust? Do you personally know the service advisor or technician? Have you tested the relationship enough to know they will tell you when it's time to repair and when it's time to trade that old car? It is not beneficial to a long-term customer relationship, or to building a good reputation to recommend repairs on a car that isn't worth it.
A good service advisor and technician should be there to solve your problems, not create them by being selfish and dishonest.