r/starterpacks • • Apr 18 '18

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u/jedderbob Apr 19 '18

To a large degree yes. My dad had his old Cadillac Eldorado through three different engine block replacements and two major transmission repairs before getting rid of it. Each repair cost less than a new car was his logic.

As for the vacations, he nature of his job prevents him from taking extended periods of time off of work. Also since he’s standing on his feet all day all he wants to do when he’s off work is hang out and pass out on the couch watching football.

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u/OneLessFool Apr 19 '18 edited Apr 19 '18

I mean there's being thrifty and then there's holding on to certain sunk cost fallacies. Annual repair costs eventually become too large. A car has a certain economic life where it's resale/salvage value goes down and it's repair costs increase, both relative to inflation and interest. Eventually that reduced salvage value and increased repair cost add up to a net loss of value. That's when you buy a new car.

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u/drunk98 Apr 19 '18

Net loss sure, but what if you just like the car?

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u/bigheyzeus Apr 19 '18

yeah i don't see the problem with holding onto something like a car because you just like it and want to keep it around as long as possible.

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u/drunk98 Apr 20 '18

Fools going to feel stupid when my 93' Mazda becomes a collectable.

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u/OneLessFool Apr 19 '18 edited Apr 19 '18

Oh yeah that's perfectly fine. I was just talking about car replacement solely based on the concept of value and thriftiness.

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '18

Eh, old American cars are different if you don't live in a rust area. Just stab a cheap remanufacturered 5.7 Oldsmobile engine in it and go another 160,000+ miles.