Is it Cost Worthy to Keep that Old Vehicle on the Road Anymore?

With the coming of Spring weather and the thoughts of Summer road trips ahead, we need to decide whether our current vehicle is worth keeping or it is time to buy a newer, lower mileage vehicle.

With the cost of new cars and trucks orbiting the $25,000 to $60,000 range; many of us out here with older vehicles are wondering whether it is better to keep that older vehicle with high miles on the road any longer.  With the average vehicle age being between 11 and 12 years, it is a question well worth pondering. Take my 1997 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, I purchased it several years ago and now have 94,000 miles on it. I use it primarily to pull a horse trailer in the summer and haul feed, hay, and other bulky materials the rest of the year. Generally speaking, I average less than 4,000 miles a year on it, it is paid off and even though it is over 20 years old, to replace it today would easily cost me $20,000 to $30,000.  So, my choice is to maintain it and not replace it. Now, what is the best way to make sure it will see many more miles of road in its lifetime?

The first step is to take it into a AAA Approved Auto Repair (AAR) facility and have them perform regular maintenance on it at the appropriate mileages according to your manufacturer’s owner’s manual. With any paid maintenance work, the AAR facility can perform a free multi-point maintenance checklist that they can go over with you and advise you of any recommended maintenance or repairs that are due. Ask them to break the estimate down by price and urgency of need, this way you can budget your repairs out over a period of time and not get hit with a huge bill.

So, what kinds of things might you see on this maintenance check on vehicles over 75,000 miles. Many times, you will see recommendations to service fluids other then motor oil, such as a transmission fluid, engine coolant, or power steering fluid, where these systems are hooked up to machines and power flushed and then new clean fluids are installed. The only disadvantage to these flushes is if there is a filter in the system it may not be cleaned properly, and an additional filter replacement must be done for extra cost. Oil is not the only fluid that can break down over time, so these services can help prolong the life of your vehicle.

Other areas often overlooked on older vehicles is belts, hoses, and tune up items. Many of today’s vehicles have long life plugs but vehicle owners think just because the vehicle starts and runs, it is doing so efficiently, where in all actuality it may be running very inefficiently. The AAR facility can run diagnostics to determine if you need a tune up and recommend what needs replaced. Belts, hoses, and other components made of rubber or soft plastics can deteriorate over time but can be checked by the AAR facility and they can let you know if they need replaced.

Another area to look at is the exterior and underside of the vehicle to determine if there is any area rusting out that may need to see a body shop. A good rule of thumb with any older vehicle is to wash it regularly and keep a good quality coat of wax on the painted surfaces.

Many times, you may spend $500 to $1000 a year maintaining an older vehicle but with average monthly payments for new vehicles running in the $400 to $ 600 range, a lot of maintenance and repair can be performed for the same monthly payments.

March and April each year are set aside as Spring Car Care Days, so now many repair shops run in-house specials on service and maintenance, so always check with them for savings to help maintain your older vehicle.

For more information on AAA's Approved Auto Repair program go to AAA.com/autorepair or call 717-657-2244 x 1004 or email bphillips@aaacp.com.