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Sat 25 Jul, 2009 02:02 pm
I've been trying to wean my wife away from old vans but she tries to justify them by saying she needs to haul dirt, rocks, gardening implements, small trailers, etc
Here we go:
Ford Aerostar initial cost 3 1/2 years ago = $4,000
Recent repairs = $3,500
Additional repairs 2 years ago = $1,000
I explained to her "we now have an unreliable, overpriced, $8,500 vehicle. That's worse than junking this one and buying another old Ford Aerostar for say $1,200 and having it checked by a mechanic prior to purchase, thus any observed problems would reduce the price accordingly".
I explained to her "assuming you still insist on an old van (which I recommend against) you would get a few years of service for $1,200 and not an unknown number of years of service for eight times the price."
I explained to her "I did not say you should buy a $1,000 van I said buy another Aerostar if you must have an old van."
I explained to her "the $8,000 now spent on this old unreliable vehicle could have bought a better more reliable vehicle to start with."
How can I wean my wife away from old vans or a least convince her to let them die timely deaths minus expensive repairs?
Damn edit cuts out way too soon:
...unknown number of years of service for seven times the price....
...I did not say you should buy a $1,200 van...
...explained to her "the $8,500 ...
@Chumly,
if you gave me an Aerostar for free, you would be doing me a disservice...
@Chumly,
You're lucky it's just vans she likes. It could have been mountain lions.
@roger,
Al least with mountain lions you could maybe trade them for a Cougar XR7-G.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQdK1vKDotQ
How often does she haul all this heavy stuff?
Might be more cost effective to rent a truck for those occassions.
We always bought old vans - usually Fords. Mine was the Gardenmobile and his was the Golfmobile. Big, big side doors, run forever. We usually put $1,000 a year into them. they ran forever. Our joke was that we would drive them until someone pulled out in front of us. - happended twice.
Big break on insurnace rates, too.
So who needs a new car, anyway?
Don't laugh - it was paid for.
@chai2,
She says to me that renting costs too much and/or is too much hassle, and I say to her that if you're organized it's the better choice.
@Chumly,
mebbe she's having an affair with your mechanic and the van is her cover...
(women find us irresistable, you know)
@sullyfish6,
In British Columbia insurance rates are not only crazy-high but you get no break whatsoever for driving an older vehicle.
All because of our wonderful socialized auto insurance there is zero competition for basic insurance and I have no choice but to buy it from the government controlled corporation called ICBC.
@Rockhead,
Now, take my wife.............please!
@Chumly,
Ah....
Now, why exactly did you pay $3,500 to repair a $4,000 vehicle?
@Chumly,
Your cost benefit analysis is awry.
You need to compare the time value of money against the alternative expenditure for the duration including the benefits derived including resale value and umm err what drewdad said.
@oolongteasup,
I understand, however the van has no present value and practically speaking had no value from the moment she bought it.
Further it's not as simple as "the alternative expenditure for the duration" because there is no directly comparable alternative expenditure for the duration. She does not need an old gas guzzling expensive to maintain van and could get by almost all the time with a cheaper to maintain Japanese gas sipping sedan.
Also although it's not easily possible to put a monetary price on increased reliability and reduction of the hassles of dealing with mechanics, those are consequential real-world costs as well.
@Chumly,
If you have a Home Depot nearby, she can rent a hauler for something like $20/hour.
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