In this age when everything seems to be disposable, it is becoming more and more common to trade our cars in rather than maintain them. The idea is that a newer car costs less to maintain - so, therefore, should save us money ... right?

This is not always true.

Here are some things to consider:

1. What is our car worth on in the current market? This is easy to find out with a quick online search or a look on sites like www.carsguide.com.au
2. How much have we spent on repairs already?
3. What future repairs could be needed? Our Temby mechanic can give us a detailed rundown on this including a price for the repairs.
4. What is the price of the newer car that we want?
5. How much more would insurance be on our new car? Insurance is usually higher for newer cars.
6. Would we buy the car on finance and if so what is the cost of the interest?
7. What are the future repairs on the newer car we are looking to purchase? We can find this out by getting a pre-purchase inspection to assess our potential future car.

Now we ask the question:

If the answer is 'yes' then obviously it is cheaper to keep and maintain our current car.

Still, there will eventually come a time when it is cheaper to trade in for a newer car than to continue to repair our old one. When this time comes, we need to make sure we get a Temby Vehicle Inspection on the car we're thinking of purchasing to make sure we're getting a good one.

Whichever way we go, we all know how sweet it is to drive in a well-maintained car!

Happy driving.