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I’m stuck in a dilemma centered on what to do with a 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE.
The car was my father’s until he recently passed away. The car has spent it’s entire life in Florida and has less than 80,000 miles on it. My mother and brother recently moved from Florida to the Chicago area to be close to relatives.
Since my father passed away, I have been driving it every month and have performed a brake service, changed the oil and changed the spark plugs. I have put on 3000 trouble-free miles on the car and put two new tires on the car. Since my younger brother doesn’t have a car, I was under the impression he would inherit it, he is in college now and can’t really afford to take his own initiative, financially.
Here is the complication:
(i) My relatives think the car is a POS and strongly suggest it will not survive in the Illinois climate because “southern cars don’t do well” in Illinois. They are encouraging my mother to sell the car. FWIW, they both drive essentially new cars.(ii) The rub is, it’s a 16 year old vehicle with some mechanical problems. I suspect no one will buy the car in it’s current condition, maybe get scrap value for the car of about $1000 if we are lucky.
(iii) The car needs $600 (2 tires, starter, cv axles ) in parts to become reliable and an estimated $1300 (suspension rebuild, tranny service) to become in essentially very good mechanical condition. Since the car only has 80k on it, I’m almost sure it has lots more life on it’s clock. I am willing to perform all the work, saving all the labor costs. If we fix the car up, we would not likely recoup the cost of fixing it up if we decide to sell it — the estimated trade in value in fair condition is $2120, in very good condition is $2500.
Note: (ii) is verified with (iii), Retail value (KBB) of the car is $3100 – $1300 = $1800 profit (not including the labor to refurbish the car).
(iv) If my brother decides he needs a car (which is another stupid point of contention), it will cost a hell of a lot more than $1000 or even $2500 to get another 10+ year beater. My analysis of KBB indicates that the average (Honda, Nissan, Toyota) car costs about 7000 +- 1500 for a 10 year old vehicle and 5 year old cars at or exceeding $10000 in good condition. Not to mention the cost of insurance on these cars will likely be higher than the 16 y/o beater.
I would greatly appreciate feedback? Especially, the salient point…Do Florida cars suddenly die in Illinois? Am I too attached to a POS?
Cheers!
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see if this video helps.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/etcg1/1080-when-it-s-time-to-say-goodbye-etcg1
Eric’s video is full of interesting view points but kind of a contradiction. He’s probably put more money in his Acura then “it was worth”…and I totally get it, its as he says “a reliable pos”, which is what I see in this car. Overall, I agree with most of his statements, though he admits when it’s time to let a car go is quite subjective. My gut feeling is the car is worth holding on to, as far as I know the engine and tranny are in good shape, the body has 0 rust was never in an accident. My guess is it will survive another 50k+ miles easily, once maintained which will last at least another four to five years. Or is that unrealistic? So $1300 is the ridiculous amortized sum of $22 / month over 5 years, though the car is only worth $1000 or so in present value. This of course makes that assumption that there isn’t some magical force of nature that FL cars turn to crap in the midwest, as my relatives suggest.
Who legally owns the vehicle at this moment? Is it still in your father’s estate, or has the ownership been transferred?
In my experience it doesn’t really matter where a car is from or where you take it if it’s well maintained. If anything, the southern climate is much harder on vehicles with the extreme heat. The only problem I had taking my 18 yr old Mercedes that had lived in Texas and NC all its life into the winter wonderland is after a few days at around 0-5*F, the car started losing power when you hit a bump… The battery cable for the fuse box contracted and needed tightening just a hair.
[quote=”stiv625″ post=146082]In my experience it doesn’t really matter where a car is from or where you take it if it’s well maintained. If anything, the southern climate is much harder on vehicles with the extreme heat. The only problem I had taking my 18 yr old Mercedes that had lived in Texas and NC all its life into the winter wonderland is after a few days at around 0-5*F, the car started losing power when you hit a bump… The battery cable for the fuse box contracted and needed tightening just a hair.[/quote]
This here, no car does good here in the northern states, particularly Michigan where it gets VERY cold, and road salt is used a lot, a car will rust to buts, but if you wash it regularly you can slow down or stop the rusting.
had a 98 Regal LS 25th anevefsery, you think this Nissan is a POS, the poor old regal i had was so poorly treated buy its previous owner all the issues it had… a laundry list of them.
[quote=”Evil-i” post=146080]Who legally owns the vehicle at this moment? Is it still in your father’s estate, or has the ownership been transferred?[/quote]
Legally the car is in my mom’s name (father’s estate). The car is in my possession, atm. My intended role is simply to look out for her and my younger brother’s best interests as far as I’m capable.[quote=”stiv625″]
In my experience it doesn’t really matter where a car is from or where you take it if it’s well maintained…
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[quote=”13aceofspades13″]
This here, no car does good here in the northern states, particularly Michigan…
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Thanks for the input, stiv and 13ace! Much appreciated. Happy Labor Day Weekend!No car does well in the salt/rust belt. That saying comes from the fact that the car shows up in the rust belt from the south and is a gem compared to what’s normally around but then when it deteriorates at the normal rate, it looks bad in comparison. Cars in the south also don’t need underbody cleaning and rustproofing so it’s a foreign concept to the southerner and when they bring the car here and do nothing with it, the salt and moisture gets to work quick. Admittedly though, 90% of vehicle owners native to the snow/rust belt do absolutely nothing to preserve their car’s underbody/suspension/engine bay.
Back to your point, you and I both know that the car is fine an needs a normal amount of upkeep to be done. Trying to convince relatives that don’t understand cars to see your point is never easy. People have an overwhelming tendency to think they know about cars (vs. other random subjects) when they do not, and most of them are resistant changing their point of view. People in the new car trade-in loop of always driving a car less than 5 years old may also be out of touch with the normal amount of upkeep an aging machine needs. You should just keep being realistic about it and keep it around for when it is needed, as it’s not really worth selling unless dire financial circumstances strike. If you make the effort to preserve it by parking on the driest surface possible, keeping it clean and sprayed with a WD-40 type oil underneath, and rinsing salt out from under it during winter driving, it will not deteriorate quickly.
In 2008, I bought a new 2008 Honda Civic and a used 2000 Toyota Sienna that came from Florida. Today, over 7 years later, the 15 year old Sienna has no more rust than the newer Civic. I live in New England where rust is an issue so I think that the “rust clock” starts when the car starts to see salt through the winter months.
I think you should keep the car and fix it up as it is worth more to you knowing it’s history than it will be to a stranger.
Also, from experience, the excise taxes and insurance is far cheaper for the older Sienna compared to the newer Civic. The difference is thousands of dollars over the years.
BTW, my 2000 Sienna has 132,000 miles on it and I plan to keep it for much longer.
If the body is still solid why not drive it? If not I’m sure someone would happily spend $3000 on a fairly nice, likely fully loaded car.
My rule of thumb is that once it rots to the point that it’s structure is compromised let it go. Up to that point it’s really a cost versus benefit.
I would say do the work to make it safe and reliable, and let them decide. If they want it, the estate can reimburse you for the parts and whatever labour. Unless you can afford the $1500. If they don’t want it, buy it from the estate for fair market value and flip it. Just make sure they understand that is your intent.
If you’re around to ensure or help make sure the car is properly maintained and can do most of the work, the cost of ownership would actually be pretty low if you did the $1300 treatment. Barring an actual failure, if the brakes and suspension are in good shape or new, there would reasonably be a few years of very limited maintenance costs.
[quote=Fopeano]
People in the new car trade-in loop of always driving a car less than 5 years old may also be out of touch with the normal amount of upkeep an aging machine needs.
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This is true. I think part of the problem is they don’t realize a car’s lifetime can exceed 200k/300k miles these days may have been burnt by crappy American cars of many years ago. Not to mention, suckers for addictive marketing and hard pressure tactics.[quote=Fopeano]
You should just keep being realistic about it and keep it around for when it is needed, as it’s not really worth selling unless dire financial circumstances strike. If you make the effort to preserve it by parking on the driest surface possible, keeping it clean and sprayed with a WD-40 type oil underneath, and rinsing salt out from under it during winter driving, it will not deteriorate quickly.
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Thanks for the winter care tips, much appreciated.[quote=twiggy02919]
I think you should keep the car and fix it up as it is worth more to you knowing it’s history than it will be to a stranger.
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I absolutely agree, that’s an often overlooked variable of the “more value than it’s worth” equation.[quote=twiggy02919]
BTW, my 2000 Sienna has 132,000 miles on it and I plan to keep it for much longer.
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Thanks for sharing your experience with southern cars in northern climates. May your Sienna give you many more years of good service. 🙂[quote=DaFirnz] I would say do the work to make it safe and reliable, and let them decide. If they want it, the estate can reimburse you for the parts and whatever labour. Unless you can afford the $1500. If they don’t want it, buy it from the estate for fair market value and flip it. Just make sure they understand that is your intent.
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I guess that’s also the problem I have. I’m dead broke at the moment, otherwise I would fix it up no questions asked. But you do make a convincing argument that perhaps I/they can even recover that money if I fixed it up.Cheers!
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