Rebekah O’Connell
CAR: 1997 Honda Civic
MILEAGE: 307,000
TIP: “Don’t be afraid to spend
money on upkeep.”
Ruby and Alvin Elam
CAR: 1992 Toyota Camry
MILEAGE: 447,000
TIP: “Don’t have a heavy foot,” says
Alvin. “Treat it real gentle.”
shock absorbers—for as much as $1,100.
That adds up to $3,500, or $700 a year.
Now, suppose you bought a new car
for $20,000 and financed $18,000 at
7 percent for 48 months. That’s a $430
monthly payment, or $5,160 a year.
Why add that to your budget when
the cost of holding on to a 5- or 10- or
20-year-old vehicle is just $700?
Even if the maintenance costs were
twice as high, a $1,400 annual expense
still beats those car payments by almost
$3,800—which over five years comes to
almost $19,000. In short, driving a car
for five years after it’s paid off saves you
the equivalent of a new car. Another
five years, another new car. And so on.
Rebekah O’Connell has saved this
way for a decade. O’Connell, 54, com-
mutes 100 miles a day working as a
certified credit and housing counselor
in Raleigh, North Carolina. She bought
a 1997 Honda Civic when it was two
years old and has put 280,000 miles on
it. “You can’t ignore normal wear and
tear,” she says. “Spend the money.”
As Irv Gordon demonstrates, even
an engine rebuild—a $2,500 to $5,000
job—can be worthwhile to owners in it
for the long run. Gordon estimates this
time he’ll spend as much as $5,000 to re-
new his Volvo, including custom-made
pistons that Volvo no longer stocks.
Who’s going to baby your car? While
it’s nice to do it yourself, almost everyone needs a mechanic on occasion.
Alvin Elam, 55, of Warrenton, North
Carolina, drives a 1992 Toyota Camry
with 447,000 miles on it. Alvin, a hospital employee, often buys the oil and oil
filter, saving any markup, but he lets a
nearby service station do the work.
In choosing a mechanic, you can go to
the dealership—which may not be inter-
ested in your effort to prolong your car’s
life—or pick a garage. For recommen-
dations on independent garages, start
at the AAA website ( aaa.com) or the
Car Talk radio-show website (cartalk
.com/content/mechx). Look for a
mechanic certified by the National
Institute for Automotive Service Excel-
lence. The bottom line? A mechanic
who becomes a friend will look for
signs of trouble before it happens.
William Jeanes is a former editor in chief
and publisher of Car and Driver and a
former publisher of Road & Track.
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AND DON’T FORGET…
Check those plastic or
rubber “boots” designed
to keep grit and grime
out of a vehicle’s
constant-velocity joints.
Replacing them will cost
far less than replacing
the joints themselves.
Replace your timing
belt— even though it may
be working just fine—
when your vehicle nears
the 90,000-mile mark.
This is far less expensive
than repairing the inter-
nal damage to the en-
gine, should it break.
