Odometer (Legend): 534,432
Odometer (ILX): 139,755
A 2013 Acura costs half as much to maintain long-term as a 1993 Acura. And I can prove it.
Let’s talk about maintenance costs. I love to ‘geek out’ about facts & figures, so bear with me here. My friends and I frequently comment about how owning an old Legend gets pricey – like this recent dialogue with Kevin from Georgia, who I’ll see at NALM in a few weeks:
Well stated, Kevin. And we love our expensive hobbies like your 1994 LS coupe. Last Wednesday, I dropped another $250 on maintenance for the ILX. This got me wondering just how much the car has cost overall to keep on the road since new. That total is $4651.26. Considering that it has 139,755 miles on it, the cost-per-mile comes out to 3.3 cents. Here’s a detailed spreadsheet look at my ILX’s complete maintenance history since new (on June 12, 2012 @ 16 miles on the odometer).
If the ILX has taken $4,650 to get to 140,000 miles, how much did my other cars cost to get there? Luckily, on 4 of my 6 current Acuras (most of you haven’t ‘met’ the most recent – but you will soon), I have complete records back to brand new. And for each of those cars, I’ve created an Excel spreadsheet just like the one you’re looking at for the ILX, so it’s an easy calculation.
- 1992 NSX: This car only has 101,000 miles on it, but has already cost $16,908.74. [17 cents per mile]
- 1993 Legend sedan: Cost $9,777.44 to get to 140,000 miles. [7 cents per mile]
- 1994 Legend coupe: Cost $7,403.56 to get to 140,000 miles. [5.3 cents per mile]
Conclusion: The average cost of getting a 1993-94 Acura Legend from zero miles (brand new) to 140,000 miles was $8,590. When compared with what the ILX has cost me so far ($4,651), this is a substantial savings – especially considering 20 years of inflation! Did you know that $8,590 in 1994 dollars is $13,831 in 2015 dollars?!
So why is it that my new car is so cheap to keep on the road? How can it be that you’ll spend HALF as much getting your new Acura into the 100,000+ mile range today as you would have spent in the 1990’s? I have a few ideas:
- Cars are more reliable in general. Fewer things break. Contributing factors might be: Enhanced durability testing techniques, higher quality materials, more rigorous development processes over the last 20 years.
- Scheduled maintenance intervals are longer. While my Legend grew up on 3,000-mile oil changes, it’s not uncommon for my ILX to go 3 times that distance thanks to longer-lasting “0W20” synthetic oil.
- Fewer “major” services. The Hondacars of yesteryear required strict adherence to a 90,000-mile change interval for timing belt & water pump replacement. My ILX, on the other hand, has a timing chain, which requires little/no upkeep. This is a $1,200+ savings for me every 90,000 miles!
- Improved technology. Thanks to the many computer systems at work in today’s cars, we leave it to the car to tell us when it needs something, rather than leaving it to a mechanic who may just want extra money.
- External conditions: Are roads less likely to put wear and tear on suspensions today than they were 20 years ago? Am I a more careful driver than my Legends had when they were new?
- Or is it that the Legend was simply a more complex car than my ILX is (it did have two additional cylinders) and thus was inherently more involved to keep on the road?
There’s so much to consider, but these are just a few ideas that I had. I know we have a lot of other road warriors in the audience out there. What do you think? Are cars of today more economical to maintain than cars of yesterday?
Chew on that while you look at this safari-ready, lifted 1998 Acura SLX that a friend sent me.
Finally, the Phoenix area has been getting hit hard this week with late-summer “monsoon” thunderstorms. We had a pretty severe one roll through town on Monday night.
I was out to dinner with a friend in Old Town Scottsdale when I noticed that every time the restaurant door swung open, people were ducking indoors to seek cover, soaking wet. The rain outside was coming in sideways and the wind was howling. Sadly, when I went back out to my car, I saw that a dumpster had rolled into it.
The pics were taken AFTER I had rolled the dumpster away and folded the dented sideview mirror back out.
Somehow, miraculously, the mirror took the only impact and the door has zero damage. The dent mostly popped out and I threw some touch-up paint on it Tuesday. This will have to do for now!
Poor car has been through a lot in the last year – I got backed into overnight at a Motel 6 parking lot in Las Vegas, a busted out rear window in Salt Lake City this summer, and now this. Always an adventure! Hope everyone is having a good week!
drivetofive 