Honda Car Forum

hi i'm setting a budget on car maintainence and was wondering how much
it would cost each year. i just graduated and got a job so now i have
to pay for the maintainence myself.the car has no mortgage on it and i
just got new tires. the timing belt was changed at 60k. it now has
98500 miles on it.... TIA

jason

"jason" <jasonlee@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:jlmsi01j4p56fh6j42sjg5t0ccgp4q12ma@4ax.com...
> hi i'm setting a budget on car maintainence and was wondering how much
> it would cost each year. i just graduated and got a job so now i have
> to pay for the maintainence myself.the car has no mortgage on it and i
> just got new tires. the timing belt was changed at 60k. it now has
> 98500 miles on it.... TIA


Why don't you ask the person that paid for it last year?

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/cto/intro.do
provides an estimator for annual car costs back to model year 2000 by geographic
location.

In my area (out West but not California), for a 2000 4-dr. Accord LX Sedan, 60k
miles, bought today, assumed to be driven 15k mile each year, the average
maintenance and repair cost over the first five years of ownership was estimated
to be about $1500/year.

For fun I threw in a Manhattan, NY zip code. The maintenance & repair costs
there appear to be about the same. Hm.

I gotta say that $1500/year figure does seem high. Yet the Edmunds site claims
these figures are from actual data.

I do almost all my own maintenance and repairs on my old 1991 Civic (156k
miles). I am trying to estimate what I would have paid in the last few years if
I'd had a shop do the work I've been doing. I'm doubtful the average over the
last five years would be over $1000 a year. Maybe $500 a year, worst case, on
average. Then again, my 91 Civic is manual transmission, no air conditioning,
and is no where near as electronically extravagant as newer cars.

The estimator includes all other costs of owning a car, such as insurance, fuel,
depreciation, etc.

But anyway, good for you for laying out a montly budget! If you're into saving
carefully, I recommend the book _The Millionaire Next Door_. IIRC it mentions
that many people who became millionaires for a long time laid their monthly
budget out on a spreadsheet.

I'm going to google a bit more on this point...

"jason" <jasonlee@yahoo.com> wrote
> hi i'm setting a budget on car maintainence and was wondering how much
> it would cost each year. i just graduated and got a job so now i have
> to pay for the maintainence myself.the car has no mortgage on it and i
> just got new tires. the timing belt was changed at 60k. it now has
> 98500 miles on it.... TIA

"Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote
> http://www.edmunds.com/apps/cto/intro.do
> provides an estimator for annual car costs back to model year 2000 by
geographic
> location.
>
> In my area (out West but not California), for a 2000 4-dr. Accord LX Sedan,
60k
> miles, bought today, assumed to be driven 15k mile each year, the average
> maintenance and repair cost over the first five years of ownership was
estimated
> to be about $1500/year.
snip
> I'm going to google a bit more on this point...

Backing up the Edmunds site is
http://www.needhelpwithbills.com/deb...ng_help_22.htm (dated 2004)

It says "budget [maintenance and repair for] new autos at $30 per month, late
model used cars at $100 per month (less if it has a warranty), older used
vehicles at $125 per month."

Put fifty bucks a month in a savings account, and only use it for car
maintenance stuff as needed. Pay for your oil changes (every 5000 miles)
out of pocket. Savings account should be enough for exhaust, tires and
the rest. bob

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 11:44:04 GMT, "N.E.Ohio Bob"
<rgstroudpants@neo.rr.com> wrote:
> Put fifty bucks a month in a savings account, and only use it for car
>maintenance stuff as needed. Pay for your oil changes (every 5000 miles)
>out of pocket. Savings account should be enough for exhaust, tires and
>the rest. bob

Sure, but above 100k miles you have to start planning for special
stuff, oil pan, cv boots, hoses. At dealer prices, these get
expensive. Clutch? Maybe a brake job. That next timing belt change.

$100/month may get you the first year, but I'd go $150/month if you
plan to keep that car two or more years, and get stuff done at dealer
prices.

Turns out you can get a brand new Accord LX for $200/month about now,
three year lease, $1,500 or so drive off, ... cost a little more for
insurance and registration, too, but it's worth a thought.

J.