dealership or general mechanic?

[Duncan]

[nature boy]

i take it that it wasn't synthetic though?

[geForce]

I hate knobs.

When I got my new Sentra back then, I went to Mr Lube to change out my transmission fluid to put in synthetic. They refused to do it because they said they didn't want to be liable for voiding my warranty. I think they were just lazy.

[Duncan]

[nature boy]

i actually try to care for all my cars the best i can, as regardless if you like it or not, it's an expensive piece of machinery.

[Duncan]

but with the off chance that it craps out, it gives me an excuse to buy something i do like...

[nature boy]

it would make more sense to trade it in now while you can get some money for it then.

[Duncan]

not really... it doesn't always make sense to "trade it in while you can get money for it"... The value in a crap car is in its ability to get you from point a to b... sure you can argue that if it craps out tomorrow, i'm out 2k, but if it doesn't, then i've saved 2k... the longer i wait, the more value i get for my car. If my car lasts another 3 years, then i've saved myself 3 years from spending money on a car. in the long run, it pays off better unless you end up buying lemons all the time.

for example, assuming EVERY car dies at 10 yrs (remember, assuming) if a guy trades in a car every 7 years to "get money while you can" for the car before the 10 yr mark, then if he does it for 3 cars, then he's had 3 cars over 21 yrs... now, even if he saved 5k every time he traded the car in by getting the trade in value, he's spent money on 3 cars minus 15k... assuming each car costs 20k (pft, yea right)... then he's spent 60k-15k=45k over 21 years...
if over the same 20ish year span, some dude takes a car to its limit and drives it 10 years and buys 2 cars over the 20 years, then he's spent 40k... saving himself 5k over the same time span compared to the guy who bought 3 cars...

sure you can argue that value is not just in getting from point a to b. that value is in the joy you get for driving something you like to drive blah blah blah, but for those who say trade in to get "money" while you can, it's a monetary decision that i don't always agree with. I'd only do it if you KNOW a you have an existing problem on your car that spells it's impending doom. Then sure, trade it in and get money for something that'll die in the next 12 months. But the majority of people i know who think this way trade in and trade in and trade in over and over again and i'll bet end up spending more money that those who dont.

sorry, i'm ranting and i'm sure not everyone agrees with what i've said, but if you work out the numbers, more often than not, it doesn't make sense...

sure, it should be noted that there are other factors... like you'd probably have to pay for more maintenance on an older car to keep it running, but for the most part, i've only had to do the routine oil changes... i had to do the water pump and timing belt only because SOMEONE didn't know anything about their car maintenance history... but as a caveat, the jetta is 11 years and going, jai's bmw i think is 11 yrs, my parents 4runner is 14 yrs old, and dave's protege is 40 yrs old if you count the mileage... sure he's replaced his engine, but that's his own fault lol...

[nature boy]

you have a point. but like you said, a car for me isn't a "point a to point b" type thing. it's like clothes, why not just wear the same thing every day? it still covers your privates.