A man is going viral on TikTok after sharing that he’s spent more than $10,000 on repairs for his 36-year-old car.
Without giving away too many details, Bodhi (@bodhijako) said he recently bought a 1988 Volkswagen Caravelle with a 1.6L turbo diesel that cost way too much to repair. He then showed screenshots of his last three mechanic bills: one for $6,486.65, another for $2,954.57, and a third for $2,731.67.
“‘Buy an old car,’ they said,” he wrote in the accompanying caption to his clip. “‘It’ll be fun,’ they said.” Bodhi’s video had amassed more than 437,100 views.
What’s wrong with the content creator’s vehicle?
Bodhi didn’t post any follow-up videos showing what his car looked like and why repairs were so expensive. The Daily Dot has reached out to the content creator for additional comment.
In the comments section of his post, though, Bodhi suggested at least one bill was the result of a dishonest mechanic who “took [him] for a ride.” The remaining two bills, he said, were due to other workers having to jump in and fix the first mechanic’s mistakes.
Are old cars more expensive to repair?
Not necessarily. In fact, older cars generally cost the same, if not less, to repair.
In a 2022 Quora thread, one commenter asked whether older cars are more expensive or cheaper to fix, and the results were unanimous.
“Older cars are more repairable. I can’t even do a simple task like changing the brake pads on my new Jaguar without it having to be plugged into a computer,” one now-retired mechanical engineer wrote. “I still have an older Mercedes E320 and can do that same job in about one-and-a-half hours and costs [$50]. Jaguar had to be in the garage for the day and cost me [$231].”
Another commenter said older cars are generally easier to fix due to their simpler design. Older cars, they said, tend to have simpler mechanics with fewer electronic components, which makes any problem that might arise easy to diagnose.
Plus, older cars may require less specialized mechanic expertise, which could lead to lower labor costs.
But as Bodhi said, there are instances where older cars could be pricier to fix. For instance, if a specific part of the car is no longer manufactured, finding replacement parts could make fixing it harder and more expensive. And if you need to get major repairs on your car, like completely overhauling the engine, that can also cost a pretty penny.
“Typically there’s a lot less things to break, and when they do break it’s easier to figure out where the problem is,” one Quora commenter said.
@bodhijako “Buy an old car” they said, “it’ll be fun” they said
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Viewers advise against buying older cars
In the comments section of Bodhi’s clip, viewers advised against buying older cars unless you’re a mechanic who knows how to fix any issue that might arise.
“Never buy an old car unless you can work on it yourself,” one man said. “I’ve saved myself tens of thousands [of dollars] by doing my own work.”
“You’re supposed to work on it yourself,” another added. “Hope this helps.”
“Don’t buy an old car unless you’re prepared to work on it yourself,” a third viewer said.
To this comment, Bodhi quipped “I’ve topped off the oil.”
Others who said they too drive older cars claimed to have no issues with repair costs.
“I have a 65-year-old classic car which I drive often I do 95% of the work myself,” one commenter said. “So far, I’ve owned it for 4 years, just the parts cost me 11 grand.”
“30-year-old Toyota Camry has cost me less than one of your bills,” another wrote. “$2,000 and spent maybe $800 on it in services in 4 years.”
“Me in my 2010 car that never gave me any big problems, maybe just $500 worth,” a third person added.
Indeed, not everyone was sympathetic to Bodhi’s plight. Some commenters said he was simply reaping the consequences of his actions.
“You deserve every bill,” one commenter said. “Great choice you made.”
“Bro just HAD to get a Scooby Doo van cuz he’s a surfer,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Bodhi via TikTok comment.
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