A car is a platform. Not an iPhone!
We're so used to 'sealed' devices in our lives these days. From phones to vacuum cleaners to washing machines, they either work or they don't, and repairs are often prohibitive. So your six year old washing machine breaks down and it's time for a new one. Your two year old iPhone fills up and it's time to give it to your offspring and buy yourself a new one. And so on.
But, in the context of thinking how to approach my 13 year old Renault Scenic - "Do I keep getting it repaired or replace it?" - I contend that these days a car is almost a 'platform'.
What I mean by this is that, twenty years ago (so 1999, thinking about a 1986 model) cars tended to be on their last legs after 13 years, i.e. the structure itself was rusting and clearly about to fall apart. With my 2006 Scenic, the body, chassis, electrics, even the engine are all fine. It rolls along happily giving me 48mpg on long drives with its 1.4 Petrol unit. Which is amazing, really, for the age.
True, I have to top up the oil once a month now and the coolant every two months, but these are very minor things. The biggest repair which caused the thinking here was summer 2018, when the electronic handbrake system failed. £700 to repair and a very big gulp. My thinking went along the lines - if I replace this car now, I'd spend around £8000 on a five year old Scenic (or Ford C-Max) and it would depreciate at least £1000 a year, so if the rest of my Scenic is still working fine then why the heck not invest the £700 now and I'd still be quids in overall.
And so it has proved. Thinking about my Scenic as a 'platform' is revolutionary. Each small repair (rear coil spring on MOT in February 2019) is bolted on as a new part and, bit by bit, over the years, in theory my car gets renewed.
Obviously, massive repairs can throw a spanner in the 'keep the older car and not have any depreciation' approach - my previous Scenic failed when the main driveshaft sheared. At the time I simply went out, scrapped it and bought another second hand Scenic, my current car. It was a major breakage (in a 12 year old car), but even now I wonder... How much would it have been to repair a drive-shaft? £1000? Maybe I should have treated THAT car as a 'platform' and simply gone for the replacement shaft?
Food for thought anyway. My motoring continues happily. And the freedom that having a (properly maintained) older car gives - no depreciation at ALL, no worries over scratches and dents in car parks, no worries that anyone will steal it, etc. - is truly liberating!
Comments?
But, in the context of thinking how to approach my 13 year old Renault Scenic - "Do I keep getting it repaired or replace it?" - I contend that these days a car is almost a 'platform'.
What I mean by this is that, twenty years ago (so 1999, thinking about a 1986 model) cars tended to be on their last legs after 13 years, i.e. the structure itself was rusting and clearly about to fall apart. With my 2006 Scenic, the body, chassis, electrics, even the engine are all fine. It rolls along happily giving me 48mpg on long drives with its 1.4 Petrol unit. Which is amazing, really, for the age.
True, I have to top up the oil once a month now and the coolant every two months, but these are very minor things. The biggest repair which caused the thinking here was summer 2018, when the electronic handbrake system failed. £700 to repair and a very big gulp. My thinking went along the lines - if I replace this car now, I'd spend around £8000 on a five year old Scenic (or Ford C-Max) and it would depreciate at least £1000 a year, so if the rest of my Scenic is still working fine then why the heck not invest the £700 now and I'd still be quids in overall.
And so it has proved. Thinking about my Scenic as a 'platform' is revolutionary. Each small repair (rear coil spring on MOT in February 2019) is bolted on as a new part and, bit by bit, over the years, in theory my car gets renewed.
Obviously, massive repairs can throw a spanner in the 'keep the older car and not have any depreciation' approach - my previous Scenic failed when the main driveshaft sheared. At the time I simply went out, scrapped it and bought another second hand Scenic, my current car. It was a major breakage (in a 12 year old car), but even now I wonder... How much would it have been to repair a drive-shaft? £1000? Maybe I should have treated THAT car as a 'platform' and simply gone for the replacement shaft?
Food for thought anyway. My motoring continues happily. And the freedom that having a (properly maintained) older car gives - no depreciation at ALL, no worries over scratches and dents in car parks, no worries that anyone will steal it, etc. - is truly liberating!
Comments?
Comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus