Milano - sell or keep?

[Glenn Wasserman <glennwa@domain.elided>]

I think the decision to keep an older car versus sell it and buy a new one
has a lot to do with how much work an owner can do by themselves. 

If I had the tools/knowledge/time to work on my cars and do REAL repairs
(valve work, replace clutches, etc.) I would not have sold my Milano.
Instead, I have been a checkbook mechanic. I've gotten better and more
knowledgeable, but I came to the realization that for all significant work,
the car would be much better off if I brought the car in to my mechanic.

So if you accept that you have to pay for the repairs instead of do them
yourself, then it's a tough call. Here's an example for me:

In Sept of 1997, I purchased an '87 Milano Verde. It had 93k miles on it,
and cosmetically was very good. I paid $4500 for the car - at the time, a
pretty good deal. (Today of course that would be way too much).

Over the two years I had it, I put about 53k miles on the car. That's a
light average for me - a heavy year is 30k miles.

If you look at the regular maintanence, that's 1.5 timing belts, close to
two. That's also a lot of oil changes at 3000 miles. (I did a few myself,
but an oil change generally ran me about $40 at my mechanic). That's also a
new set of brakes, and new donuts... almost two sets of new donuts,
depending on your philosophy.

Then there's the things that went wrong - not too much, but some significant
stuff. Like the ABS - lots of problems, eventually I had it removed. That
was $700 right there. I can't even remember all the things I had fixed...
radiator... exhaust work... certainly didn't sound like a lot.

In any case, the total of the repair work over 2 years was something like
$5000 to my mechanic. It's amazing how fast this can add up. 

If you consider $2500 a year to keep it running, plus the $1000 a year
depreciation, it cost $3500 a year to own the car. 

For $3500 a year, I could get a new car (Contour SVT) and have a warranty.
This arrangement may not SAVE money (it's close either way going new/used)
but makes my payments deterministic - the same every month. It also
completely eliminates any reliability concerns. I decided that while the car
was very sound overall (I sold it to a friend),  I was still wondering if
something was going to go - checking the fluids very regularly, listening to
sounds, etc. , and that it was stressing me. And when little silly things
went south on the car, the cost may not have been high but the convenience
issues were maddening. Example: my headlight switch fried while I was
basically in the middle of nowhere, late at night, coming home from a
nuclear power plant - and man, was it dark.

Of course the Ford will depreciate like mad, and that cost has to be
considered. But with the mileage I pile on my cars, I can at least say I'll
keep the car three or four years - unlike a car that I buy which already has
90k or more on it. I know there are lots of alfisti who have lots of miles
on their car, but I expect that those people do more mechanical work on
their cars with their own two hands than I do...

Plus, having a new, less demanding new car gives me time to learn about (and
drive) my Spider - which is (in the end) the ulimate goal anyway. Of course
I miss the thrill and the distinction of driving a Milano - but my Contour
is a blast to drive, and sounds like you wouldn't expect it to. And on the
days when I miss rear-wheel-drive the most, I drive my Spider to work.

Again, if you can do your own mechanical work (something I think everyone,
including me, should be able to do), then the economics are much different.
But if you're paying to maintain an Alfa, you're going to pay nearly the
same as buying a new car.

Oh well, sorry for the long post, but every time I sat in the waiting area
of my mechanic's office, waiting to get my keys back, I re-evaluated the
situation and ultimately, I concluded that until we can buy these cars new
again (here's to hoping!) that it makes more sense for me to keep an Alfa as
third car instead of running it into the ground as a daily driver. To each
his/her own.

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