Major Car Repairs, when?

[Plateau Mama]

I'm wondering do you expect major car repairs by mileage or age? I'm not talking hoses and belts, I realize those take a toll due to elements and such. I'm talking major, $1000's of dollar repairs.

 

If age, what age? If miles, how many miles?

[Pawz4me]

We have a 2001 Honda CRV with 193,000 miles on it and it hasn't needed any major repairs yet.  Nor have any of our other Hondas that we've kept well past 125,000 miles.  So we don't typically begin anticipating the need for major repairs until 200,000 miles.

 

As far as age or miles . . . I'd say both are factors.  Vehicles are meant to be used.  Non-use can be harder on some components than driving many interstate/highway miles.  I think one reason our vehicles last so long trouble-free (besides the fact that they're all Hondas) is that DH has a fairly long commute and almost all of it is on the interstate.  That type of driving is much easier on a vehicle than short, in town trips.  There is no choice for "both" and the poll won't allow a vote unless all questions are answered.  So . . . I can't vote.

[regentrude]

I do not expect major repairs until a car is 10 years old or has 100,000+ miles.

This has always been our experience except for once.

Of course, that's for an average use pattern.

[Carrie12345]

Hm.  I don't expect thousands ever, unless there's a major accident.

Well, not thousands all at once, at least.

 

My car is old. Dh's car has high mileage.  I'd say it's a wash, lol. We've never had to spend more than a few hundred at a time, though.

 

(ETA: mine is going on 11 years, dh's is past 350k miles.)

[happypamama]

We put a new-to-us engine in an 8yo car last year. However, it had almost 200K miles on it, because when you drive a vehicle 90 miles five days a week, miles add up quickly.

 

We also put a new-to-us engine in my van last year, at about 160K miles and 12 years old. In retrospect, probably not the best financial decision, but we also didn't have any spare cash for a replacement vehicle, and the van is the only vehicle that can hold all seven of us. It ended up needing quite a bit of work last year, unfortunately.

 

We have not had to do any transmission work on either vehicle yet (and we probably won't do it on the van, might do it on DH's little car if everything else is solid).

 

I voted miles, over 150K miles, and over 10 years. And I mean repairs that are over $1000 at a time; even a new-used engine costs a good $1600 to get the engine and have it put in.

[linders]

Totally depends on the make/model. We've gone 200,000 on Honda Accords without a single major repair, versus 120,000 on a Subaru Forester and 65,000 on a Chevy Tahoe.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I'm not sure what is considered a major repair since my dh performs all the labor on our cars (all Hondas - with mileage from 125k-225K) ) and we've never done what I consider major repairs.  

 

Dh changes timing belt every 60K miles.  I think we've replaced water pumps and alternators now and then, but again, with dh's labor it's not a big deal.   We've never replaced and engine or transmission.  We have had to replace the clutch on one of them - hubby did that too.  All are manual transmissions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MomtoCandJ]

Haven't done anything major on my 2002 Ford Taurus, she has 191,000 miles :)

[Brilliant]

We have a 2001 Honda CRV with 193,000 miles on it and it hasn't needed any major repairs yet.  Nor have any of our other Hondas that we've kept well past 125,000 miles.  ...

 

I'm glad you've had that experience - it's what we were expecting when we bought our Honda Odyssey in '01.  One of the worst purchases we ever made.  I drove it for 11 years, always wondering if it would get me to my destination without some major disaster (typically transmission related). 

 

That van, and a Chevy Beretta (what was I thinking there) are why I answered "miles" and 70k-100k.

[Pawz4me]

All nine Hondas we've owned have been very predictably reliable.  As were the two my mom owned, including a 1990 Civic that my brother still uses as an "airport car" (he travels frequently, and doesn't like to leave his good vehicles at the airport).

[KrissiK]

We have a Toyota Sienna with almost 100k on it and it's 11 years old. When you say repairs, do you mean repairs, or major maintainance issues - like timing belt, etc. Just recently we had about $800 worth of maintainance done, but I expect if we keep up on the maintainance, we should have minimal repairs.

[Plateau Mama]

We have a Toyota Sienna with almost 100k on it and it's 11 years old. When you say repairs, do you mean repairs, or major maintainance issues - like timing belt, etc. Just recently we had about $800 worth of maintainance done, but I expect if we keep up on the maintainance, we should have minimal repairs.

 

I'm talking repairs.  Not maintenance issues.  Here's the short story. 

 

Tuesday I took my '09 Sienna in for it's 60K maintenance.  All good, no other work needed.  While the Sienna was in the shop I was driving my husbands '03 X5 (68K).  He was out of town.  I drove the car all day Tuesday.  Did carpool Wed. Morning.  The car showed no issues at all.  Picked up my car Wed. Afternoon.  DH had asked if I could get his car washed while he was gone.  So Wed. afternoon I took his car to get it washed and run some errands w/my daughter.  Leaving my neighborhood the car was idling funny, but it sounded like it just needed to be warmed up.  3 miles down the road it starts shaking and dies.  I can start it but it will die unless I rev the gas continuously.  Fortunately, we were two blocks from our mechanic.  I was able to get the car there.  I handed them the keys and called my neighbor to come pick us up.

 

The mechanic says there is smoke coming from places he can't see and that he has to take it apart ($$) to figure out what is wrong, fix it ($$$) and put it all back together ($$).  I know a lot of the cost is that it's a BMW (we've owned at least 1 BMW constantly for 17+ years), but I would not have expected the car to just die on me like that, especially at 68K miles.

 

Other info because I know it will be asked.  Car is driven 10 miles round trip a day.  Maybe once a month for a Boy Scout camping trip.  Car is in covered parking garage at work.  About 1/2 the year it is in the garage at home.  We have used this mechanic for about a year (all routine stuff).  He comes highly recommended.  They deal mainly with high end German cars.  Very nice guy.  This is the third repair place we have used and the first that does not try to gouge simply because of the brand.

 

 

So the question is, did this happen because it's 11 years old, or because it has almost 70K miles?  Should I be worried about my Sienna that will hit that mark in the next few months?

[elegantlion]

A BMW with 70k having major repairs? Not typical I would think. Again, anything on a BMW is going to cost more than a Chevy, so I'm not sure I'd considered that a major repair unless I knew what it was. A costly repair obviously though. Hope they find something not major. 

 

We tend to buy cars with 100k on them. Generally I don't expect major repairs for another 65k, If the transmission starts to go, that's when the cars goes. 

[KrissiK]

Oh wow! Well, my Sienna is an '04 and I haven't had any issues at all, and am not expecting any major repairs. We take good care of it, but we're expecting to get another 50-100,000 miles out of it. DH has a Honda Accord with 193,000 and we've had to put minimal $$ into it. There was an electrical issue a little while back and a few other things, but nothing big.

[Plateau Mama]

A BMW with 70k having major repairs? Not typical I would think. Again, anything on a BMW is going to cost more than a Chevy, so I'm not sure I'd considered that a major repair unless I knew what it was. A costly repair obviously though. Hope they find something not major.

 

We tend to buy cars with 100k on them. Generally I don't expect major repairs for another 65k, If the transmission starts to go, that's when the cars goes.

Well, anytime they have to take apart the engine I'd consider that major. ;-)

 

Our other BMW had maintenance issues that were costly but not die on the side of the road, take apart the engine costly.

[Plateau Mama]

A BMW with 70k having major repairs? Not typical I would think. Again, anything on a BMW is going to cost more than a Chevy, so I'm not sure I'd considered that a major repair unless I knew what it was. A costly repair obviously though. Hope they find something not major.

 

We tend to buy cars with 100k on them. Generally I don't expect major repairs for another 65k, If the transmission starts to go, that's when the cars goes.

Well, anytime they have to take apart the engine I'd consider that major. ;-)

 

Our other BMW had maintenance issues that were costly but not die on the side of the road, take apart the engine costly.

[elegantlion]

Well, anytime they have to take apart the engine I'd consider that major. ;-)

 

Our other BMW had maintenance issues that were costly but not die on the side of the road, take apart the engine costly.

 

well, you didn't mention taking apart the engine. 

 

Still at 70k I would expect major repair on any car, unless it had not been property maintained. 

[Lara in Colo]

DH  (an engine builder) says that mileage is a better indicator and type of driving matters.  Highway driving is easier on the car than city stop and go.   Usually the 120-150,000 mile marker is the general range for high dollar repairs.

[Lara in Colo]

I read the update-- smoke can mean so many things-- and there are different ways of testing before you take everything apart.

 

 

If it is coming out of the tailpipe it could be a head gasket ($$$$) -- or it could be rings failing ($$$) -- you can do a pressure test for the cooling system and get a decent indicator if the head gasket has issues and you can do a leak down test to see if the rings are failing. 

 

you can have smoke from oil  dripping on the exhaust (or even antifreeze) this could be a simple issue and fixed with a new hose or something --

 

I recommend putting a dye into the oil, running the car and tracing the leak from there (you need an ultraviolet light)-- or a dye in coolant to trace a coolant leak as well. 

 

There could be an exhaust leak and that would also look "smokey"

 

You can tell by the smell of the smoke and sometimes the color. 

 

HTH

Lara

[Plateau Mama]

DH (an engine builder) says that mileage is a better indicator and type of driving matters. Highway driving is easier on the car than city stop and go. Usually the 120-150,000 mile marker is the general range for high dollar repairs.

That is totally what I would have expected. Our cars are very well maintained and my husband would never allow me to drive a car he thought might leave me stranded. Our plan was to give the car to our daughter in two years when she starts driving and DH would get a new car.. We figured it would only have 80k at most and would be a safe car for her (its built like a tank). Then it would go to my son two years after that and she'd get a newer car if she needed one at school.

[Plateau Mama]

I read the update-- smoke can mean so many things-- and there are different ways of testing before you take everything apart.

 

 

If it is coming out of the tailpipe it could be a head gasket ($$$$) -- or it could be rings failing ($$$) -- you can do a pressure test for the cooling system and get a decent indicator if the head gasket has issues and you can do a leak down test to see if the rings are failing.

 

you can have smoke from oil dripping on the exhaust (or even antifreeze) this could be a simple issue and fixed with a new hose or something --

 

I recommend putting a dye into the oil, running the car and tracing the leak from there (you need an ultraviolet light)-- or a dye in coolant to trace a coolant leak as well.

 

There could be an exhaust leak and that would also look "smokey"

 

You can tell by the smell of the smoke and sometimes the color.

 

HTH

Lara

Honestly it felt like the head gasket (experienced two of those as a teen) but there was not the smoke out the back. I could smell smoke but I didn't see any.

 

It's already at the mechanic and he's already started taking it apart, but even if he hadn't the car won't run so I can't trace anything.

 

Sigh.

[Beth in OH]

I learned an important lesson this past week--always Google your make, model, and year for manufacturing defects.  Our 2008 Honda Civic suddenly began overheating.  I towed it to the mechanic who told me that I had a cracked engine block!!!!  We've owned 7 Hondas, and we've driven them all to 250,000 miles without major incident.  Needless to say, I was shocked.

 

After a Google search, we discovered that Honda had created an 8 year, unlimited mileage warranty on the engine blocks of 2006-2008 Civics.  It was a known manufacturer's defect.  A dealer is replacing it under warranty :) .

 

I will always check from now on. 

[Melissa in Australia]

couldn't vote.

 Dh does all the car repairs. He keeps so on top of it that there is never any need for major repairs. All our cars are at least 15 years old or older. they work marvelously.

[DawnM]

Same here.

 

We just got rid of our 1996 Saturn.  It DID need major repairs.  Dh could have done the work himself, but even the parts were going to cost more than the car was worth and DH really just didn't want to take the time and effort to fix it.

 

So, we donated it.

 

Other than that......we have a 2002 Saturn VUE, no issues whatsoever, and a 2004 Toyota Sequoia, also with no issues ever.

 

Dawn

 

 

couldn't vote.

 Dh does all the car repairs. He keeps so on top of it that there is never any need for major repairs. All our cars are at least 15 years old or older. they work marvelously.

 

[Plateau Mama]

So the mechanic figured out what was wrong.  :hurray:  I guess a plastic outer valve cover (or something) somehow got IN the engine valve, overheated, and melted, causing the smoke.  So still an expensive fix :sad:, but not a major fix.  Yea!