Hi all,
I am quite sure I will get a new-to-me Hybrid car (Hyundai Ioniq) in 6 to 9 months from now, when the technichal check to renew the safety certifciation is almost due.
I now drive a Hyundai i30 2008, base model, 180.000 km.
I do not want to drive that car until 2022 or until it breaks down. I work in research in the car safety / automotive parts sector and I would like to have a safety upgrade and have a Hybrid to decrease pollution and oil consumption.
The car has the following repairs pending:
Paint scratches and and minor bumper marks (mostly not my doing...)
One button-top on the radio is missing :-D
More seriously: There is work to be done on the front axle (steering, strut bearings) additionally to regular maintenance, and new summer tires will be necessary to continue dringin next spring.
Estimated cost in March to keep the car going: 1500€
Currently estimated resell value if everything was in good order: 2000€ on a good day.
Apart from not thinking that this is the optimal car for me, I did the math on selling or keeping it. It would be a wash with owning newer cars over the next 24 months given the low reliability of a 12 to 14 year old Hyundai. Stuff just keeps on breaking, and it is noisy.
So do you think it would be wise to adress one or several of the issues mentioned above before selling the car in terms of total value? A dealer may be able to do those repairs for little money if he buys the car, but I don't want to overspend on a very young used car just to get a reasonable trade-in.