Hello all. I'm the proud owner of a 20 year old Nissan with about 180,000 km on it. It has served me well since I got it, not quite 20 years ago, and has been a good and reliable car for me. I've driven across Japan with it.
Unfortunately, I've been hearing some concerning noises lately, so I took to my mechanic. At the first visit, it was found that one of the engine mounts had a problem, so it was replaced and fixed. But… the noise persisted. On the second trip, they determined that the other two mounts are also giving way. The mechanic suggested that, rather than plow more money into my old, suddenly-not-so reliable car, I should instead buy a new(er) one that will likely have fewer issues.
Basically, this fix might go up to around 5 man, and I could buy a newer car (same model, newer year) from the mechanic for maybe 20 man. He did say that, in its current condition, my car could pass shaken (due later this year) , but the doom timer is ticking away, and it won't last much longer.
So, now I'm here to ask anyone here in Japan who knows a thing or two about cars a few questions, as I pick my vehicular future.
-
Do the costs mentioned here make sense? Or is something fishy going on? I'm not an expert at all, so he could have quoted me 50 man or 50 yen and I wouldn't know if it's a good deal or not.
-
While we might be able to save up a bit and dig in the couch cushions and under the futons and scrape together enough for the newer car, the dream was to wait a year or two and try to save up for a really new car (last 5 years maybe). So, in an ideal world, we'd fix up the car this time and it would have no issues whatsoever until we have enough savings to get a proper replacement. But this isn't an ideal world, so, if you were in my place, would you wait and gamble that the old car would last? Would you buy the newer car now? Or would you look into something else?
-
One reason I like my car is that it is capable of fitting a surprising amount of things in it, in fact I've gotten a two person, medium sized, couch in there with but a few centimeters to spare. Being of the big and tall persuasion, I also enjoy not feeling crammed in when I ride it. So when looking for a replacement, I'm looking for something similar, perhaps with better gas mileage (other bells and whistles would be nice too, but those are my basic needs), so if I go for a replacement, what kind of cars can I find in Japan that might suit my needs without breaking the bank?
Sorry for being long-winded, and thank you for reading and for any advice you might have to offer.
by WorldRov3r