$1,250.
$2,342.
The first number is the approximate Blue Book value of my car, a Hyundai Tucson we bought new in Van Nuys, California, in August 2009 for about $25,000.
We have put 161,000 miles on it, coast to coast east and west and Florida to Massachusetts north and south. (Not all at the same time)
The second number is what I charged to my American Express card today for maintenance and repairs.
Uh, Mike … You just spent twice as much to maintain your car as it’s worth.
Technically, yes. But even with 161,000 miles on the odometer, it’s got a terrific engine and I think there’s a good chance I can reach 200,000. As little mileage as we put on it anymore, that might be 4-5 years.
The bulk of the work done today was a one-time thing. Hyundai has a 10-year warranty on its new cars, and the repair needed didn’t start showing up till we were past 12 years. The Tucson has struts instead of shock absorbers, and the way we were bouncing on lesser roads told me we needed to replace them. Four struts at about $240 each, along with labor, was more than half of the cost.
Some work on the brakes, adjustments and alignments and a set of four new tires filled out the rest.
The car rides better than it has for years, and it has pretty much always run well.
As for how much it’s worth, a car that’ still running well, is comfortable and economical is worth a lot more than $1,250 to me.