Should I keep the car I have or buy another?

Australia
February 3, 2009 5:17pm CST
About a year ago I bought my first car. It's a 1992 Nissan Pulsar Ti that I picked up for $4000 (Australian dollars). It's a good little car with a really good engine. There are things wrong with it - like all cars - though and I don't know whether I should put extra money into the car to get it fixed, or pick up another car and sell this one. I have taken the car to get looked at today to get a list of all the things wrong with it that he can find. I know that the left rear shocker is going to have to get replaced along with some electrical work. My boyfriend is an apprentice mechanic and will be able to help me out with things in the car so it will be a lot cheaper. I like the car but it's nothing special, a great first car though. Should I wait another 6 months and buy another car then or should I sell the Pulsar now while I will still be able to break even on it (I bought it at a friends used car dealership so I got a really good deal, if i sell it privately I will be able to get the $4000 for it)?
1 person likes this
5 responses
3 Feb 09
Well, If you still like the car, and won't mind the current problems of the car, I think you could fix it now with the help of your boyfriend. Then later some few months you can get yourself a new car, but for now i think your Nissan pulsar will really be of help for easy movement now if you sell it, then you will have to be without a car for sometime.
3 Feb 09
hey! are u online i don't know that but i will like to know u please or may be add you to my friend list.
• Australia
3 Feb 09
Yeah true, if i sold the car it would take me ages to actually pick what car I wanted to buy =P
@underdogtoo (9579)
• Philippines
4 Feb 09
I don't know about buying cars. I wish I could afford to buy one but I would rather buy a new computer than a car because I want to spend more time on my computer than driving, that is, I wish I was driving less. Cheers!!
• Australia
4 Feb 09
I only just built myself a new computer in the last couple months so i won't be needing another one for a little while =P I'm on the computer all the time so it's getting good use - and I would say I definitely use the computer more then I use my car at the moment
@2oldn2ys (64)
• United States
4 Feb 09
Depends on if you want to make payments. I buy good used cars and drive them till they drop. I had a '92 Nissan Maxima that didn't look the greatest but always ran and did the best in snow due to front wheel drive. When gas jumped up to almost $4 a gallon a guy my brother worked with pested until I sold it to him. I had another car and a truck so I let it go. He complained about it needing this and that fixed. (the dummy didn't look it over or test drive it, bought it sight unseen...duh). The things that needed fixed were minor and he did them himself. I have no desire for a new vehicle or the payments that go with it. Now days cars are not put together well at all and are overpriced. My car is a Chevy and my truck a Ford so I do not favor either company. A vehicle is as good as you take care of it. I do my own regular maintenance on it such as filters, plugs, wires and tires. I did have someone tell me once that they knew a guy who worked at one of the major car plants and the workers were mad about something and would mess up the cars on purpose. It was something that wouldn't break down for quite a while and then only a mechanic could find when whatever it was, was taken apart. I like older cars better, they have character. The best cars came from the late 60's and early 70's.
• Australia
4 Feb 09
Yeah I agree about older cars having character. If I were to buy another car it would be another used car. I have seen some really good deals going around on older cars that seem to have been kept in reasonably good condition - I didn't look into them too much so cant say how good or bad they actually were though. And yeah I have heard a similar story about car plant workers messing around with things in protest.
• United States
3 Feb 09
Well I used to have a 1988 Honda Prelude and it was a money pit. It constantly broke down and eventually the repairs outweighed the orginal cost of the car! Now I'm a little weary of old cars. But if yours runs and it checks out with the machanic then maybe yours will be worth it.
• Australia
3 Feb 09
I have only had one problem with the car so far, there was still a bit of petrol in the car but apparently not enough for it to register and the car refused to start. That was a bit embarrassing but it all worked out ok, apparently the fuel gauge is in a really weird spot. But that's not really a problem with it, I just have to be careful with it and make sure i don't park on hills when I am low on fuel lol. I'm hoping todays repair won't set me back too much and he will quote me well on the other things that he find that needs fixing. But yeah maybe I should keep it for a bit longer. Compared to a couple of my friends, my car is great. One of them bought the car less then 2 years ago (its a 1980 something) but shes already had to fork out the money for a new engine head which was about the same amount she paid for the car! Thanks for the response =)
@vonvonex (283)
• Philippines
3 Feb 09
Hmmm... I think you should just keep it you borfriend can help you fix your car or if you like, let your boyfriend fix the problems and sell it again, in that way, you can rise the price of the car. I would advice you ti fix it first so that you can raise the price when you wanna sell it. Buyers will shurely buy it if it has no problems. You will also get an extra income. Hehehehe....
• Australia
3 Feb 09
I was thinking of doing that too maybe. It would depend on how much it would cost to fix all the little problems though, hopefully it would be worth it in the end. Well of course it would be worth it because I would have a perfect car! lol