I've had it for three years now, love it to bits! It's the Commonwealth Games Edition 2002 Auto
It's currently got about 257,000 kms on the clock, as far as I know the engine is fine, I've just put new front rotors and brake pads on it and next it needs the rear ones done and new tyres.
It wobbles a bit on long smooth left hand corners doing 80+kph which I've gotten used to but I don't know what causes it. Also needs new hand brake cable as it's stretched.
I'm not aware of anything else being wrong with it other than cosmetic stuff.

I really love this car and would like to fix it up and then customise it but my "all knowing" father says I'm better off buying a newer car because of all the K's it's done and he thinks older cars are money pits.

Am I crazy for wanting to keep it?

Why spend all that money on it and give it the flick? Hold onto it and worst case - if you don't want to spend money on it - run it into the ground as its worth nothing as a trade, or on the other hand with minimal outlay you may have a nice looking ride.
Take it to a tyre or suspension place to sort out the wobble, it may just need an alignment.

It is after all's said n done a personal choice but im in a similar boat except only 120000km on clock, mine needs a respray to make it smick & id rather fork out for a repray then buy a new car because itl cost a fortune to find another car with same performance/refinement/looks/character as mine in a newer car price bracket.
So if you really enjoy driving it id keep it, thats my 2 cents.

It is after all's said & done a personal choice , im in a similar boat but mines got 120000kms, it need a respray to make it smick but id rather fork out for a respray then buy new because to find a car with the performance/refinement/looks/character in a newer price bracket is impossible, thats my 2 cents anyway.
Good luck with your choice mate:happy:

Yeah, sure, your dad is right.
I mean, Magna engines have been known to go for only 350,000 km so yours is doomed, and it is so much cheaper to buy a newer $20K car than spend $5K doing up a Magna. Numbers speak for themselves, really.

Seriously, you do what you think is right. (keep the Magna on the road, in other words. lol)

buying new cars is for suckers who like donating $$$ to govt's revenue.
For the benefit of "new car smell", just the amt of GST/stampduty/taxes paid
(&/or depreciation in Year 1) is ample to fixup & renovate current heap


if your car has never been in a frame-affecting accident & doesn't track straight,
get a suspension mob to check all bushings & shockers; do a proper 4W alignment.
Occasionally can be a bent swing/control arm if its ever hit a wombat
but that'll usually show by uneven tire wear - did it?


TJs are pretty well built. Imho best car ever Oz-built & better than later bigeye successors!

If you sell up you will get very little money. A new car would be a huge outlay and you wont get the same performance and space from a modern 20k 4 banger. You would need to spend big coin.

I would keep it but if you decide to sell, I would be interested.

I have a 1999 TH Advance and it's been excellent. 429,000 kMs on the original engine and transmission. You have lots of miles left in yours.

Yeah, sure, your dad is right.
I mean, Magna engines have been known to go for only 350,000 km so yours is doomed, and it is so much cheaper to buy a newer $20K car than spend $5K doing up a Magna. Numbers speak for themselves, really.

Seriously, you do what you think is right. (keep the Magna on the road, in other words. lol)


I would keep it but if you decide to sell, I would be interested.

I have a 1999 TH Advance and it's been excellent. 429,000 kMs on the original engine and transmission. You have lots of miles left in yours.

My TH is about to turn over 400,000kms and I've decided to spend some money on it rather than buy a newer wagon that will smell newer, look better in the cafe car park, but wont do anything more than mine does.

I'll never get back what I spend on it, but I bought it for $15,000 all those years ago and I could never sell it even for 1/3rd of that so I might as well keep it.

But it is up to the individual.

I really love this car and would like to fix it up and then customise it but my "all knowing" father says I'm better off buying a newer car because of all the K's it's done and he thinks older cars are money pits.
I think this depends on how mechanically inept you are. I was spending a lot of money fixing up my TJ before I eventually sold it. It was costing me a lot of money because I was paying for a mechanic's labour with everything that needed replacing. It got to the point where I couldn't justify spending so much money on a car worth so little. Of course, this will be different if you or your dad can fix most problems yourself - it'll be far less of a money pit. But if you're going to pay a mechanic to do your next major service, you'll be spending more than what the car is worth on the service alone lol

Mightn't hurt to take a 380 for a spin though. They are getting ridiculously cheap to buy, and for the price, you get a helluva lot of car. Especially worth considering if you're looking at 'customising' your Magna - I prefer driving my stock 380 to my old 'customised' TJ VR-X.

Some people buy a new car every three to five years and swear that it's the only way to avoid expensive problems.

Other people buy an older car because they are cheap and they don't mind fixing it up every now and then.

BUT most people are somewhere in the middle. Takes all types to make the world go round, a personal choice thing, etc, etc.

OP: decide for yourself, in other words.

old cars are no more of a money pit than new cars, in my opinion. with the exception of warranties on new cars, you'd still end up paying the same amount of money for labour and the only real difference in price would be parts. good condition magna parts are going to be harder to come by as time goes on. there's no stopping that unless you switch out bits and pieces with after market stuff. you'll also find that the older a model gets, the more experience you have to draw from people who own/have owned that car.

dare i say magnas are in a similar situation to classic cars and hot rods in the sense that they've started to become something of a novelty. people buy them and restore them or do them up to a standard far beyond what most others would consider doing for a car that is both comfortable to drive and looks good. what you do with the car is ultimately your choice.

old cars are no more of a money pit than new cars, in my opinion.

Exactly I ended up paying $25,000 for my TH by the time I paid it off, I can't imagine what spending that much on my old TN Elite Wagon would have created. But it would have stood out more than the TH does.

If you love your car its worth spending money on, if you don't like it much don't spend the money on it as the chances are you will sell it after you have spend the money on it and you wont get the money back on it, but yes if your happy with it keep it and spend the money on it. My brother bought a VT S Commodore about 6 years ago for $16,000 was a lemon broke down a lot the clutch was had it, he lost his job and the car was repoed, I sold him a TS Advance I had for $800 with 176,000 k's, The motor in the Advance was had it due to a timing belt failure but i found a great motor on ebay for $150 and fitted it myself and that was over 3 years ago, the TS is still going great and uses no oil and he uses it to tow his trailer for odd jobs he does, moral of the story you don't have to spend a lot to get a good car.

I've had it for three years now, love it to bits! It's the Commonwealth Games Edition 2002 Auto
It's currently got about 257,000 kms on the clock, as far as I know the engine is fine, I've just put new front rotors and brake pads on it and next it needs the rear ones done and new tyres.
It wobbles a bit on long smooth left hand corners doing 80+kph which I've gotten used to but I don't know what causes it. Also needs new hand brake cable as it's stretched.
I'm not aware of anything else being wrong with it other than cosmetic stuff.

I really love this car and would like to fix it up and then customise it but my "all knowing" father says I'm better off buying a newer car because of all the K's it's done and he thinks older cars are money pits.

Am I crazy for wanting to keep it?
It doesn't sound like there's much wrong with it and if you love it then it's a heck of a lot cheaper up front to fix it now than buy a new(er) car.

That doesn't mean your dad is wrong, far from it. I have done an analysis and depending on your finance structure it's cheaper to trade and buy new every 3 years. That's because of depreciation and maintenance costs compared to the changeover costs. But your car is much older than that, so it doesn't apply to you, and your dad needs to understand that.
Your dad may have other reasons for his position, such as worrying about the lack of up to date safety features of the car or worrying about your long term costs in running older cars all your life.

In your case it's a balancing act because of the increasing risk of expensive breakdowns and repairs which depends on the age of the car and k's and condition. Only you can understand the cars condition and history. It might pay to spend a few bucks to have a good mechanic check the car over and give you their opinion.

A brand new car would reduce the risk of expensive repair bills to near nil but cost you a lot. I think this is a good option if you have the money because it can provide huge benefits such as ESC and additional air bags. These are very valuable benefits and should not be underestimated. The down side is the huge cost, so depends on your financials. If you can spare the money without any concern and you drive regularly then I'd recommend it.

A recent car, say a couple of years old, might reduce the risk quite a bit as well, but there are other risks, such as not knowing the history of the car with possibly unknown problems, such as chassis damage, rust or other structural damages, or severely worn transmission or engine or other big ticket items. Depends how it's been driven and maintained in the past. Most of the time you will be fine with a recent car that has service history, so this is a very good option if you have the money and choose carefully.

Given that you said you love the car, then from purely a economic position I don't see any issue with paying for a few low cost repairs every now and then compared to the high cost of buying a new(er) car, at least until something big breaks. Trade in value is not much anyhow, so the risk of losing value at trade in is extremely low.

But otherwise you should consider an upgrade if you can afford it for the newer safety features. Everyone should.

In my case I bought my "new" AWD recently and carefully chose it based on low k's. It has 4 air bags in it compared to only 2 in the KH and a few other minor safety benefits and very low k's. Doesn't have ESC, but does have AWD... Time will tell if the strategy worked (I.e low k's to reduce risk of expensive repairs and improve reliability and low purchase cost compared to new...

Anyhow, hope this helps, good luck with your decision!

As above, depends on your attitude and financial situation.

NEW car: plusses -
Not likely to need things like battery, tyres etc for a long time.
New car feel and smell. Shiny paint, fresh interior.
Warranty.
Great if you think a car should be like a washing machine, it's there and works when you need it, rest of the time you can ignore it.
Lots of safety features, traction control, multiple airbags, etc.

NEW car, minuses:
No character at all.
Massive depreciation cost, financing cost unless you buy for cash, insurance costs.
Servicing needs to be done by a dealer to maintain warranty, but the model may be new to them and they may make mistakes or overcharge.

OLD car, plusses:
Character!
Little depreciation.
Low insurance costs.Comprehensive insurance will be cheaper, third party property insurance becomes an option.
Service mechanics are familiar with the car. (assuming DIY is out of the question)

OLD car, minuses:
Fewer safety features.
May not look the best paint or interior wise.
May suddenly need new battery, tyres, brake discs, pads, suspension bits.
Big repair bills like engine, gearbox failure may make the car uneconomic to repair.

Up to you, really.

PS. I can afford to pay cash for a new car, but I DON'T WANT TO, luv my Magnas too much!