Keep my used car or buy a new car, need opinions?

I'll try to make this short and clear.





In January in bought a 2001 Honda Civic DX for $2,600. It had 98,000 miles.


The car runs great and has absolutely no problem in regards to the motor.





Due to the high mileage I had the timing belt changed along with the thermostat and water pump, just to be sure. Cost: $450


Then, the windshield had a crack and was horribly tinted, buying a new one was nearly the same price as fixing it so I did. Cost: $210


I then had to redo the alignment and changed my rotors, this cost me approx $400 altogether.


In the trunk there was this crazy sound system which I sold for $400, the trunk is now bare and has no structure really.





So, not counting little gadgets I bought, I must have spent a total of $3400 approximately on this car. My problem is that I don't feel very satisfied. This car used to be a show car and is thus very modded. It has fully adjustable suspensions and shocks. It has 17" steel wheels and neons under the car. It also has a custom made DVD system with screens in each headrest as well as the front panel. The bumpers have been replaced to factory and aren't painted.





So here's my problem which might sound just stupid. I'm afraid this car might bring me bad surprises due to its history... and I don't want to spend more on a car that is esthetically not pretty and kind of looks ghetto by now (scratches etc). I'm wondering if selling it for $5000 on craigslist (KBB value: $5,445) would be worth it ($1600 profit) and if I should consider financing a new car for $9000 (I would only have to loan $3000).





What do you think yahoo:





Keep the old car and the heck with it.


--or


Sell it for a profit and get a nice -- nearly new -- car with a short term loan?





I'm looking at the long run, I'll be staying here for another 3 to 4 years until I graduate, then I'll be selling the car. I fear the Honda might be hard to sell farther down the road considering its condition now...|||How long do you expect that short term loan to be? If you kept the car a little longer and put that loan payment toward a down payment, how long would it take you to buy the newer car in cash? Maybe I'm being an optimist, but you could have just invested in all the repairs it will need for a while. Are you confident you'd be approved for a loan? If you sold the car now and weren't approved for a loan, do you have other transportation available (bus, rail, catching a ride with others)? Did this offer come out of the blue and do you think you could find someone to buy the car in 6 months with the same offer? If you decide to sell it now and this person randomly approached you, I'd stall a little and see what others offer. Not sure if Carmax exists everywhere, but they're the dealership that will buy your car even if you don't buy theirs and they offer free quotes. You might also want to check out Autotrader or some other person-to-person sales avenues.|||So you want to sell your perfectly fine used car to buy a newer used car? keep the current car and buy a nice car after school.|||I have been in the same situation as you many times. I have been driving for 6 years and now on my 13th car. I am facing the same problem again come August for renewing the MOT.



Like you I got caught up in -%26gt; do I buy another car? do I take out a loan? do I buy a banger? do I repair this one? If I repair this one, how long will it last until something else fails with it? What would I get from selling it? How much would I get from selling it later on? My dad's voice is always giggling me in the background, repair it, it's a good car, you'll just keep going through the same process of having cars for short periods and finding yourself travelling to work by bus when they break down.



This is difficult. I suggest you look at your finances very closely. You are at uni now, but could you still afford to pay back a loan when you graduate? How do you know you'll be straight into a job? Look at all the different rates of loans etc. Weigh up what the weaknesses your car has, how much it is going to be to fix it, I am bearing in mind you already have done this, but put that figure next to the brand new car figure see how it compares with the repayments added.



The good thing with buying new is that there is not the same level of repairs and mod cons to add. As well as the usual tax and MOT (UK) outgoings. If your current car is fine to get you around take more time to think about this.