Car advice

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harties

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I have a 1993 E36 BMW 318is that has treated me well for the past 15+ years and has been super reliable.
However, the past 4 years I've probably spent around R16k+- per year every time i take my car in for service or repairs. Things are starting to break from wear and tear.

Is it time to give it up and get something in the second hand market that's more worth it in the long run? The car has everything i need and is fully equipped.
 
harties said:
I have a 1993 E36 BMW 318is that has treated me well for the past 15+ years and has been super reliable.
However, the past 4 years I've probably spent around R16k+- per year every time i take my car in for service or repairs. Things are starting to break from wear and tear.

Is it time to give it up and get something in the second hand market that's more worth it in the long run? The car has everything i need and is fully equipped.
Click to expand...
Do you depend on the dealer to tell you what's broken or do you have the technical know-how to know what's wrong? Because you should be fixing wear and tear stuff only once, not every year.

What is it that gets broken?
 
I have 2011 Opel Astra 1.6t what is the best oil to recommend. I just received the car 3 months back and I'm clueless to cars maintenance and services. Please advise
harties said:
I have a 1993 E36 BMW 318is that has treated me well for the past 15+ years and has been super reliable.
However, the past 4 years I've probably spent around R16k+- per year every time i take my car in for service or repairs. Things are starting to break from wear and tear.

Is it time to give it up and get something in the second hand market that's more worth it in the long run? The car has everything i need and is fully equipped.
Click to expand...
 
Time to get something newer. No point on spending more on maintenance than the car is worth. As it ages the bills are just going to increase.
 
thechamp said:
Do you depend on the dealer to tell you what's broken or do you have the technical know-how to know what's wrong? Because you should be fixing wear and tear stuff only once, not every year.

What is it that gets broken?
Click to expand...

Mostly from the mechanic, The engine has been fine. It’s everything around it. Example, oil leaks, suspension rebuild, replacing shocks and mounts, radiator and water pump replaced etc.
 
harties said:
Mostly from the mechanic, The engine has been fine. It’s everything around it. Example, oil leaks, suspension rebuild, replacing shocks and mounts, radiator and water pump replaced etc.
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All those are the kind of things you do once off and you are good to go for another 5 years and more, o me the right time to let go of a car is when the engine starts giving problems.

But it only makes sense if you are not paying too much money for these repairs, R16k sound like a lot of money to spend and still have problems, if you can't find a cheaper way to mantain it maybe it's time to let go.
 
Bong213 said:
I have 2011 Opel Astra 1.6t what is the best oil to recommend. I just received the car 3 months back and I'm clueless to cars maintenance and services. Please advise
Click to expand...
Where's the car manual? And hijacking other people's threads is frowned upon, start your own.
 
R16k per year maintenance doesn't sound like that much to me and if you are otherwise happy with it, keep it.
It's not like it's going to depreciate much more and buying a new/second-hand car is going to cost loads more and you can still end up with a lemon.
Look there are definitely a lot of reasons to upgrade but I don't think R16k per year is one of them.
 
Brawler said:
R16k per year maintenance doesn't sound like that much to me and if you are otherwise happy with it, keep it.
It's not like it's going to depreciate much more and buying a new/second-hand car is going to cost loads more and you can still end up with a lemon.
Look there are definitely a lot of reasons to upgrade but I don't think R16k per year is one of them.
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Serious? What sort of maintenance do you guys do on your cars? I understand a once off R16k on some comprehensive refurbishing of your machine, suspension, radiator and it's associated components, gaskets, clutch and some other expensive stuff, after that the cost should go down considerably.

What could you be possibly doing that costs R16k every year on a standard old sedan like that? Unless things are not done right causing other failures? Annual maintenance to me means the standard service, brakes, tyres, wipers and other small stuff, which shouldn't cost you anywhere close to R16k.

If that R16k is becoming the norm OP must get rid of that car as in yesterday.
 
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