OT: Trade-in or Keep and Service

[huskypantz]

These guys are BSing you based on the plugs alone. Lots of great advice here - using a (trusted) local auto shop over the dealership is key. I'll give you a for instance. My car needed new struts (toyota venza).
Dealer quote for toyota parts: 1600+1300 labor. Non-toyota 1200+1200. My local auto shop total cost was $1766 (front/rear struts plus sway bars). Even that is a decent markup per part, but more than worth it as I trust these guys and they're worlds cheaper than the dealership.

 

[JMick]

More info: we have a girl who just turned one and have plans for more. Our “big” car now is a Mazda CX-5 which is actually smalller than my legacy. I have eyes on a new Grand Cherokee which there are some crazy deals on.

I don't have kids but I never understood this need for a "big" car as soon as you have 1-2 kids. My parents put us in civics and corollas and we were fine.

 

[HCCForever]

I agree what everyone says about an independent mechanic. I had one in Windsor who was very honest and saved me money. I brought my car in for brakes several times and they told it wasn’t time yet. That would not happen at most dealers. I moved a year ago so I need to find another mechanic.

As for Cherokees. I loved them but not too reliable. I had to get a new transmission in one and blew an engine in ano another.

 

[8893]

I don't have kids but I never understood this need for a "big" car as soon as you have 1-2 kids. My parents put us in civics and corollas and we were fine.

There is a lot more crap to carry around these days. Portable cribs, strollers, groceries, etc., etc.

No question as @superjohn says Americans tend to overdo it, but man I can’t tell you how many times I used every square inch of that Odyssey and then had a roof rack on top.

 

[Jaker]

Subaru's are good cars, have owned a few and never had an issue with any of them.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I don't have kids but I never understood this need for a "big" car as soon as you have 1-2 kids. My parents put us in civics and corollas and we were fine.

Stroller, dogs, road trips to Maine, etc etc

 

[JMick]

Stroller, dogs, road trips to Maine, etc etc

that's fair, dogs take up a ton of room.

Tellurides are nice but don't pay sticker for one. Most dealers think they have some special limited edition on their hands and are trying to get people to pay sticker or sticker + markup. I'd wait until that dies down before seriously considering one. Kia and Hyundai make pretty good cars now for the most part, but you're also going to have to deal with their dealerships which are some of the worst in the business, and their corporate isn't great either. It's not the worst of the worst but you can do better as far as service goes.

The new Explorer is really, really nice but I'd research all of the problems they've been having before driving one. Because if you drive it you're going to want to buy it.

2020 Ford Explorer recalled for the 10th time in a single year

And this is the sixth time for the Lincoln Aviator.

www.cnet.com

 

[HCCForever]

I don't have kids but I never understood this need for a "big" car as soon as you have 1-2 kids. My parents put us in civics and corollas and we were fine.

I agree completely. I have a Fusion which I love to drive and the wife has a Lexus SUV which I rather not drive. The problem now is that they are discontinuing sedans in favor of SUVs. More markup and customer preferences are two reasons.

a pet peeve of mine are SUV owners that slow way down for speed bumps or driveways. Drive it like a truck.

 

[JMick]

I agree completely. I have a Fusion which I love to drive and the wife has a Lexus SUV which I rather not drive. The problem now is that they are discontinuing sedans in favor of SUVs. More markup and customer preferences are two reasons.

a pet peeve of mine are SUV owners that slow way down for speed bumps or driveways. Drive it like a truck.

I will never own an SUV or truck. I enjoy driving too much to do that to myself. But like you, I'm worried I'm not going to have many options in the future. I was thankful I could even get a manual transmission because those are going to be gone in five years on everything but exotics.

 

[8893]

The new Explorer is really, really nice but I'd research all of the problems they've been having before driving one. Because if you drive it you're going to want to buy it.

2020 Ford Explorer recalled for the 10th time in a single year

And this is the sixth time for the Lincoln Aviator.

www.cnet.com

Interesting. There is so much automatic electrical stuff going on that I have been expecting a recall, being the first year of a new design, but knock on wood nothing yet for my car; maybe because I got it in July?

 

[huskypantz]

There is a lot more crap to carry around these days. Portable cribs, strollers, groceries, etc., etc.

No question as @superjohn says Americans tend to overdo it, but man I can’t tell you how many times I used every square inch of that Odyssey and then had a roof rack on top.

Agreed on the minivan. I would go with one sedan and one larger vehicle. We were looking at the highlander back in 2014 because we wanted a third row of seats (my parents were living with us at the time, we had two kiddos). While at the dealership we took a quick look at the Sienna and soon after drove home with a minivan. It's great for the 2.5 hour drives down to CT to see the grandparents and equally good for trips to PA, MD, Niagara etc from Boston. Most of what I need to buy from home depot can fit inside as well. We will downsize a little with the next purchase but no complaints - 7 years so far and probably another 2 or so to go.

 

[Horatio]

Okay Boneyarders,
Normally this would be an off-season post, not coming off a great game the night before but here we go. Brought my car, a 2014 Subaru Legacy with about 67,000 miles for an oil change to the Subaru dealership in Vernon. I needed front brakes too and I checked off to do the 65,000 service.

I was expecting about 250 for the brakes, 75 for the oil, maybe 300 for the routine maintenance. The brakes came to $500?!??(front only remember) And they wanted $800 to do a long list of things that were totally overpriced as well including $400 spark plugs.

Some of the stuff I’d have to do to keep the car going (differential fluid, CVT flush) but I was thrown for a loop cost wise.

Here’s the issue, I was planning to trade this car in over the summer after a pay bump but this has me thinking I should do this sooner rather later. If I do get the work done I’ll go to a smaller place and hopefully pay more like $500.
Do I pay to fix the car and keep it for years to come, trade it now? Or pay to fix and still trade over the summer?

Shop around for quotes. Those prices vary depending on mechanic shops. The dealer mechanic shop is always gonna cost the most so if your not obligated by warranty to deal with them I’d go to non dealer shop. If you can avoid a car payment don’t get one.

 

[Yorkeez4]

You can do searches to get an idea of what a fair price for each service is. I checked the spark plug replacement for your car and their price fell into range quoted. On the issue of a larger suv - Ijust bought a Mazda CX-9 and love it. I got a great price and it has all the bells and whistles. Love the heads-updisplay. My previous CX-9 had 184,000 miles on it and had very few problems. There interiors are top notch.

 

[uconnfan68]

I don't have kids but I never understood this need for a "big" car as soon as you have 1-2 kids. My parents put us in civics and corollas and we were fine.

My problem is the I can’t easily get in or out of a civic or corolla. Until my hip was replaced it was really hard, now it’s just plain hard to do. They sit too low for old people with bad backs and arthritis.
I literally tried corolla, then camry, then rav4 before I could easily get in and out. Didn’t bother with a test drive. We had bought a sienna a few months earlier and a second one was almost in the queue. I knew that worked, but stuck with the rav4. 5 years later, still happy.

 

[HuskyHawk]

There is a lot more crap to carry around these days. Portable cribs, strollers, groceries, etc., etc.

No question as @superjohn says Americans tend to overdo it, but man I can’t tell you how many times I used every square inch of that Odyssey and then had a roof rack on top.

Stroller, dogs, road trips to Maine, etc etc

I definitely think there is an urban vs suburban difference. I have loaded up my X5 with garbage, junk, and all sorts of things clearing out of house in Vermont. Even my ordinary shopping involves 4-5 bags of water softener salt or other large items. Can I fit that stuff in an Accord? Probably. My Mazda CX-5 was certainly big enough before it became my daughter’s car.

Suprrjohn is in the city. If I was parking on the street like I did when I lived in South Boston, I would definitely go smaller. But those Cx-5 or CRV sized cars are still easy to park and hold lots of stuff compared to a similar sedan.

 

[AtlHusky]

You can do searches to get an idea of what a fair price for each service is. I checked the spark plug replacement for your car and their price fell into range quoted. On the issue of a larger suv - Ijust bought a Mazda CX-9 and love it. I got a great price and it has all the bells and whistles. Love the heads-updisplay. My previous CX-9 had 184,000 miles on it and had very few problems. There interiors are top notch.

Also on my 2nd CX-9, bought a '20 GT just before covid hit. Looked at the Pilot and Telluride, but they couldn't come close to the car-like driving experience, and the slightly smaller cargo room was not a factor. Zoom-zoom.

 

[Chin Diesel]

There's a reason the compact SUV's are killing it right now- RAV-4, CR-V, Rogue, Tucson, Forrester, CX-5..…....

Even the higher market Audi's, Lexus, Acura and BMW's have very good choices if you want some extra cache with you good/grille ornament.

They check off so many boxes for different drivers.

Older?? As at least one person mentioned, they're easy for ingress and egress.

A bit short? They elevate you just enough and shorter good length gives you nice view or road and traffic.

Teens? Small enough to learn defensive driving yet gives them a good view of road.

Errands throughout the week? Just enough cargo room to get everything home dry and secure

Weekend trips? Most are great cruisers through 75-80 mph and get close to 30 mpg.

They all basically have a 2.0 4-cyl which makes for easier, and usually cheaper maintenance.
Finish up with integrated entertainment and you have a winner for large groups of drivers.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

There's a reason the compact SUV's are killing it right now- RAV-4, CR-V, Rogue, Tucson, Forrester, CX-5..…....

Even the higher market Audi's, Lexus, Acura and BMW's have very good choices if you want some extra cache with you good/grille ornament.

They check off so many boxes for different drivers.

Older?? As at least one person mentioned, they're easy for ingress and egress.

A bit short? They elevate you just enough and shorter good length gives you nice view or road and traffic.

Teens? Small enough to learn defensive driving yet gives them a good view of road.

Errands throughout the week? Just enough cargo room to get everything home dry and secure

Weekend trips? Most are great cruisers through 75-80 mph and get close to 30 mpg.

They all basically have a 2.0 4-cyl which makes for easier, and usually cheaper maintenance.
Finish up with integrated entertainment and you have a winner for large groups of drivers.

Especially standard AWD in our climate. Not sure how people can live in CT and not have an AWD vehicle in their fleet.

 

[superjohn]

I definitely think there is an urban vs suburban difference. I have loaded up my X5 with garbage, junk, and all sorts of things clearing out of house in Vermont. Even my ordinary shopping involves 4-5 bags of water softener salt or other large items. Can I fit that stuff in an Accord? Probably. My Mazda CX-5 was certainly big enough before it became my daughter’s car.

Suprrjohn is in the city. If I was parking on the street like I did when I lived in South Boston, I would definitely go smaller. But those Cx-5 or CRV sized cars are still easy to park and hold lots of stuff compared to a similar sedan.

I also don't have kids but a lot of us are from big families and nobody grew up with SUV's, I guess some had wagons and vans but most had sedans...

I think 8893 is right that people just have more stuff now but I also think a lot of people just like the feeling of having these giant cars. I know people who have no kids or just one kid and they drive these enormous SUV's. I would never drive one again and find it kind of annoying that you have to see around them on all the roads. If I needed the extra space I would get a wagon, some of the new wagons are pretty great.

 

[huskypantz]

There's a reason the compact SUV's are killing it right now- RAV-4, CR-V, Rogue, Tucson, Forrester, CX-5..…....

Even the higher market Audi's, Lexus, Acura and BMW's have very good choices if you want some extra cache with you good/grille ornament.

They check off so many boxes for different drivers.

Older?? As at least one person mentioned, they're easy for ingress and egress.

A bit short? They elevate you just enough and shorter good length gives you nice view or road and traffic.

Teens? Small enough to learn defensive driving yet gives them a good view of road.

Errands throughout the week? Just enough cargo room to get everything home dry and secure

Weekend trips? Most are great cruisers through 75-80 mph and get close to 30 mpg.

They all basically have a 2.0 4-cyl which makes for easier, and usually cheaper maintenance.
Finish up with integrated entertainment and you have a winner for large groups of drivers.

I think you're right on. We have two older toyotas (2011 ans 2014) that run great but I assume at least one will be replaced in 2 or so years. I told my wife we'd look at a sedan like a camry next and she promptly said no, she wanted a car where she'd sit higher (as you noted, she's short), which surprised me at first but I understand where she's coming from. A shorter wheelbase and AWD would round things out. She doesn't want the RAV4 but it does check all the boxes. It would also have enough cargo space to allow me to get a sedan with car number two.

 

[8893]

I also don't have kids but a lot of us are from big families and nobody grew up with SUV's, I guess some had wagons and vans but most had sedans...

I think 8893 is right that people just have more stuff now but I also think a lot of people just like the feeling of having these giant cars. I know people who have no kids or just one kid and they drive these enormous SUV's. I would never drive one again and find it kind of annoying that you have to see around them on all the roads. If I needed the extra space I would get a wagon, some of the new wagons are pretty great.

We have two SUVs, the Honda Pilot and Ford Explorer. We only need one at this point and that would be my wife's, as I am now done coaching kids' sports and she does most of the kid carting and (all of the) grocery shopping.

I went from sedan to SUV to sedan to SUV several times over the years and always appreciated the difference and I could easily be in a sedan now, but last time I switched back to SUV I noticed that my night vision increased significantly. I have some pretty major vision issues (glaucoma; cataract surgery x2; retinal detachment x2) and the increased elevation of the SUV makes a big difference for my visual perception. We also require AWD on all our vehicles because our driveway is pitched at something like a 30 degree angle.

I tested out a smaller SUV this time--the Ford Edge ST--and just did not like driving it it as much. Then I tested the new Ford Explorer ST and the competition was over. The combination of size, power and agility is really impressive, but yeah I could definitely be in a smaller SUV otherwise. The upside is that the fuel economy with their Eco-boost turbo has increased significantly. My new one is averaging almost four miles more per gallon than my 2016 ST did, even though the new one is more powerful.

Growing up with a family of ten, we had a Chevy Impala station wagon (with the rear-facing back seat) to cart all of us around. Never a minivan or SUV. Pretty amazing.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I also don't have kids but a lot of us are from big families and nobody grew up with SUV's, I guess some had wagons and vans but most had sedans...

I think 8893 is right that people just have more stuff now but I also think a lot of people just like the feeling of having these giant cars. I know people who have no kids or just one kid and they drive these enormous SUV's. I would never drive one again and find it kind of annoying that you have to see around them on all the roads. If I needed the extra space I would get a wagon, some of the new wagons are pretty great.

Going through this right now with Mrs. Diesel. We are going to be empty nesters within next 18-20 months. We are close to wanting to trade in her GMC Acadia and she wants a Yukon. We have absolutely zero need for a vehicle that size, so it's a slow process talking her out of it.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Back to the OP and what to do financially.

January 2019 I bought a used 2013 Honda Pilot because we needed a third vehicle with two teen drivers in HS. Wanted 4.x4 and tow package to tow about 4500-5000 lbs. Pilot checked all the boxes. had about 80k miles on it. Fast forward to September and I had a check engine light and soon thereafter got a battery warning light (red batt light, not the amber one). Car had about 100k at that time.

I decided to do what several mentioned and took it in for a 100k tuneup and to run diagnositcs on the engine. Took it to a Honda dealer and it was about $1300 for a new alternator, new plugs, wires and a few other things. The check engine light was popping due to a misfire in one of the cylinders while accelerating. Service manager said he'd have to get in to the engine block itself to do further maint. I said wrap it up. I'm fine as is. Bottom line was I spent a few bucks but was expecting another 75k-100k miles out of the PIlot. One month later, I got hit by a German tourist vacationing in the states and the Pilot was totalled. Money just pissed away.

I really liked the boxier older style Pilot more than the newer generation which came out around 2016.

 

[8893]

I really liked the boxier older style Pilot more than the newer generation which came out around 2016.

We did too, but the damn things hold their value so well that when we were buying in 2016 it ended up being a better deal to buy a brand new one (lower interest rate, more years to pay, service and warranty) than any of the decent used ones. The new one is more similar to a minivan with AWD, which suits my wife just fine.

Apparently they are still holding their values quite well because the dealer pesters us every month with some crazy deals to trade it in for a new one, but we tend to drive these things into the ground so we will probably do the same with this one.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I also don't have kids but a lot of us are from big families and nobody grew up with SUV's, I guess some had wagons and vans but most had sedans...

I think 8893 is right that people just have more stuff now but I also think a lot of people just like the feeling of having these giant cars. I know people who have no kids or just one kid and they drive these enormous SUV's. I would never drive one again and find it kind of annoying that you have to see around them on all the roads. If I needed the extra space I would get a wagon, some of the new wagons are pretty great.

Grew up with 5 kids. I was the youngest and my seat on long rides was in the rear facing third row of one of these things.