Bhoot Nath wrote:

> [...] So, within a year, [repairs] will add up to
> $800+1500+700 = about $3000.
>
> The car is probbaly worth 3500 due to mileage + usual wear and tear
> after 14 years (& some dings), but no mechanical problem. We would
> like to keep this car (we are not itching for a new car smell), but
> does it make sense to put $3000 into a $3500 car?

No. Just try to sell it "as is" for $3K, someone will buy it for their
teenager, or perhaps a retiree who doesn't drive much (I've had personal
experience with both).

> How critical is to
> replace timing belt and water pump stuff every 90K?

Pretty critical, you don't want to stall out on a bridge, in a tunnel,
or outside of easy urban access. There are two types of engines when it
comes to timing belts, one kind self-destructs and the other just stops
working, you can do an Internet search to find more. Having stalled
out myself one morning, with a broken timing belt, on one of the busiest
bridges in the country, I can tell you it's no fun.

> We can afford a new car, without loan, and it won't impact our other
> savings, yada, yada, but I feel crummey having to "throw-away" a
> perfectly good car...
>
> I would appreciate how prudent people who post on this newsgroup make
> such decisions...

Let's not go to extremes. Unless you are on financial life support, buy
a newer used car when the annual cost of repairs to the old car exceeds
50% or more of the car's resale value. And don't forget to drop
collision insurance well before that time.

It's not just the finances, but the personal safety issue of avoiding
mechanical failures while driving in commute traffic, or being pulled
over because your car looks poorly maintained on top of some other minor
violation, plus the image of reliability and sensibility you project to
your neighbors and co-workers (unless you are lucky enough not to have any!)

-Mark Bole

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