Bucks Blog: A Debt-Free Older Car Needs a Good Mechanic

Edmunds.com The 1996 Lexus bought as a “debt free” car.

When buying an older, high-mileage car, it’s best if you have a bit of automotive savvy — or at least, a trusted mechanic. And a dollop of patience.

That’s the takeaway from Edmunds.com’s “Debt-Free Car” project, which I wrote about here on Bucks nearly a year ago.

Edmunds, an automotive site, set out to see if, say, a new college graduate who wanted to avoid adding a car loan to his or her student loan debt could do better by buying a reliable older vehicle and paying cash. (The other potential buyer was someone with poor credit who couldn’t qualify for a car loan.) The idea was to put the amount that would have been paid for a monthly car payment into a savings account to cover maintenance and possible repairs, and save anything left over. The staff ended up buying a 1996 Lexus ES300 with 135,000 miles for $3,800.

Over the course of the last year, the staff drove the car more than 18,000 miles — about 3,000 miles more than the typical driver would travel. The trips included a cross-country drive and a tour through Death Valley.

The result? The car came in about $100 a month under the repair and maintenance goal of $365. But it did leave drivers stranded in parking lots twice, when it wouldn’t start. The breakdowns didn’t put the driver in an unsafe situation — the car didn’t stop while on the road — but they were inconvenient.

One incident convinced me that the “older but cheaper” route isn’t for me, at least not anymore. The Lexus wouldn’t start after the driver parked it one afternoon and went into his child’s school to pick her up. I have no patience for waiting around for rides, especially with a cranky child who wants a snack. (So it’s probably about time for me to trade in my minivan, which is pushing 80,000 miles.)

Other repairs were minor but annoying, like a driver-side door that refused to open. (That cost $100, to replace a plastic clip.) Some were a bit costlier: a bad oxygen sensor replaced at a cost of $272.

“You have to be confident with shopping around for parts and talking to mechanics,” said Ron Montoya, consumer advice editor with Edmunds. “Or you have to have a trusted mechanic who you can keep on your speed dial.”

If you’ll worry excessively about breakdowns, or you get overwhelmed dealing with repair shops — or, like me, you simply lack much patience — you may want to find a newer, more expensive car. But then, as Edmunds pointed out, “There’s no guarantee that a newer car won’t break down either.”

The Lexus, by the way, is still going strong, having found a new home with an Edmunds employee, who bought it for just under $2,700.

What do you think of the debt-free car idea? Have you held onto an old car and performed some repairs yourself?