What is the most money you paid for service on your vehicle?

[JasperFrank]

I haven't bought or sold too many cars. Maybe 8 or so, over 50 years. I have how ever bought and sold lots of other things, to fix up and flip for extra income. What I've found as a universal rule, is the thing you are buying depends more on the seller then the object. I like non-commercial sales. And I like to see the object at the owner's house. Before the usual inspection, I'll compliment on their house and or garage. And will usually get the 50 cent tour of the grounds. The seller doesn't know this, but I'm looking for certain things. How clean and organized is the garage, tools, and grounds around the house. If its a mess, then what they are offering, is also an unmaintained problematic mess. They can't hide that. If the house grounds and tools are all in a mess, I walk.

 

[ultrarunner]

I am constantly hearing people talk about how much money you lose driving it off the lot... anyone who buys a car, then turns around and sells it deserves to get burned.
I bought my 2018 Colorado in 2020 with 26k miles on it. I was looking for new but couldn't find what I wanted. The only thing this was missing is a rear sliding window. The Carfax showed something had been done to the passenger side but the salesman denied it. In 2020 vehicles were hard to find, and I had paperwork showing nothing had been done to it so I took a chance.

Between repair bills I love the truck.

Just after the warranty ran out it started shuddering between gears. I thought it might be a u-joint. It turned out it was a known problem as they had put the wrong transmission fluid in at the factory. Rather than coming good on it they put out a TSB... it cost me about $400.
8 months later I was tripping codes again.
It turns out there was another TSB out... all GM 8 speeds of that era had a problem with the wiring harness in the tyranny.
That one cost me a grand... which included new fluid to replace what I had just paid for earlier this year.

I bought the truck knowing that GM transmissions are junk but expected it to fail at 130k so planned to start saving for that $5000 repair bill when I paid the truck off. Instead I've dropped $1400 into the tranny, along with other bills from normal wear and tear. This was supposed to be my last truck... tomorrow I am applying for a part time job so that I can make payments on a new Toyota.

It won't be a ******* GM product... they may be "too big to fail" yet I don't appreciate them wasting my tax dollars to keep it from happening.

Here are two examples coming out ahead buying new...

My boss ordered a brand new Ford GT... he paid list of 160k for it and really enjoyed it for almost 5 years when he decided to sell.

Imagine a 5 year old Ford selling for 50k more than paid... yes, sold it for 210k

The other was my contractor friend that took delivery of a couple a new 2020 Ford pickups in 2019... Nothing fancy but Lariat trim.

A little more than a year later he decided to retire...

He got more than he paid ncluding tax and license. He said it was like having a free no cost fleet for 18 months.

Others made money on their lease returns...

It can be done.

 

[Tomtint]

Here are two examples coming out ahead buying new...

My boss ordered a brand new Ford GT... he paid list of 160k for it and really enjoyed it for almost 5 years when he decided to sell.

Imagine a 5 year old Ford selling for 50k more than paid... yes, sold it for 210k

The other was my contractor friend that took delivery of a couple a new 2020 Ford pickups in 2019... Nothing fancy but Lariat trim.

A little more than a year later he decided to retire...

He got more than he of including tax and license. He said it was like having a free no cost fleet for 18 months.

Others made money on their lease returns...

It can be done.

Those are a couple situations that had very non typical circumstances behind them. The Ford GT was a 150K vehicle when new..and made in very very low numbers so its an instant collectable. That generation of GT today with low miles will bring 400K or so if it has all 3 options at auction. The auto market had irrational pricing after covid due to chip shortages as well as just about everything else. ..Supply and demand at work there. That said, even a garden variety Nissan Altima was selling for 4-5K more than it should have in normal times. .. Lots and lots of people who bought vehicles at ridiculous markups in the past couple years are absolutely buried in them now.

 

[ultrarunner]

Brother bought a Nissan Rouge loaded out the door in the early pandemic... the fleet was for airport rentals but there was no rental business.

Less than 500 miles with full warranty and nicely equipped... 23k out the door with 10% sales tax.

Cars at that time we're just being dumped... he was not a Nissan guy but deal too good to pass up and dead reliable for the family...

 

[paulsharvey]

I've seen company vehicles where repair bill would have been $15k, but they just sent it to the auction. 2 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemis with the cam/lifter issue from idling. No idea if the auction sold them as runners, or non-runners, but both where driven to the dealer. Forget what the quoted as book hours, rebuild vs new Mopar motor. The one, I actually thought about buying and dropping a $5k remanned motor in...

Rule of thumb, any single repair that is 50% of the resale value, probably not worth it. $10,000 truck, $5000 repair, is still a $10,000 truck; and just salvage might be around $5k in value.

Son was recently was quoted $1200 for an alignment and basically entire front end rebuild (ball joints, Pittman arm, idler arm, upper control arms, tie rods), think we had $300 in parts to do it ourselves. To fix everything with his truck, no telling what the bill would be; knock sensors (heavy on labor bill, cheap part), ac compressor, window motor, rear bumper, ect.

 

[ultrarunner]

Auctions here must proved clean title AND current smog unless selling a parts car...

The smog eliminated a lot of issues and the State was a big offender in that ex highway patrol and caltrans trucks often have problems passing.