A lot of people get very attached to their old car. It’s just hard to say goodbye as the car become family member, but you should remember one thing very clearly that car you owned should let you reach destination safely. Sometimes you should keep sentimental value aside and go and replace the car. Make sure your vehicle is reliable.
There are other set of customers who overwhelmingly said car ownership is average three to four years beyond that period you should replace your car. These people are targets for new car buyers. These people lose lots of money in paying interest and car depreciation.
You can consider following points before you actually to replace your car.
Does your car suit your needs
If you are a joint family; it is useless to have 5 seater vehicle. If you stay in rural area where road condition is really poor it is useless to own a sedan, you will need to keep good amount for funds for car suspension work. It is more important to understand needs and if car doesn’t suit the purpose its time upgrade and move on to something else which will serve your purpose.
Safety
Car safety is the #1 important reason among all reasons listed here. Your car may have basic safety features like airbags, three point seatbelts and ABS but if it don’t have active safety features like Electronic stability control, Brake assist, LED headlamp and autonomous braking. These are the real reasons to upgrade to new car. Never get mislead by gimmick features like upmarket music system, engine push start, auto headlamps, rain sensing wipers, voice commands etc. Safety should be your top priority.
Cost of repair vs value of the car
If cost of repairs is two third of car valuation, then it’s time to look for a new car. If your current car worth is INR 6 Lakhs and it needs INR 2 Lakhs cost to fix a problem in transmission; this is the time to upgrade to new car.
Future Repairs
Good mechanic will tell you future car repairs. Check requirement beyond regular maintenance of the car with help of your local mechanic. Garage can diagnose major failure in car. Start the look at whole vehicle on the exterior. Then check the car tyres; use simple methods like measure tyre depth. Once you give general look around your vehicle. Check brakes, suspension points and try to assess with help of expert. Your car may need brake pad replacement, bushing, suspension work, tyre replacement in near future. These things need to be considered before you sell old car and going for new one.
Fuel Economy and Reliability
Fuel is getting dearer every day. If you are spending INR 5000 on fuel in month and if you get car which is 30% more efficient than current car; you can save INR 1500 on fuel per month.
If you stay in coastal states where climate is humid; car gets corrosion and you need to change your car early.
Car Payment and insurance increase
It is worth fixing your vehicle based on car payment affordability and also other things to consider like insurance payment, tax payment and car maintenance.
Above things will help you to consider and better decision making when to go for new car.