my 89 Honda CRX has 186K miles, and is great for getting me to and from work, Costco runs, etc. also, it's nice having a small, beat up car that I really don't give a crap if someone dings it (entirely unlike my other car ), but some of the wear-n-tear repairs I've had to do lately are starting to add up, and it got me thinking as to when exactly is the time to sell her (while she's still running) and buy another used Honda (possibly a Toyota), or should I still keep repairing/replacing parts until she just dies? buying another car does likewise entail a risk on inheriting someone else's repair problems, and the saying "better the devil you do know, then the devil you don't" comes to mind.

I'd go into details as to some of the repairs I've had to do, costs, etc. but I'd rather get a general feel for how others do the cost/benefit analysis? is there a good formula out there for analyzing when it's time to move on?

 

My rule of thumb is "Whenever the average monthly costs of repairs equals the monthly repayments on a new Corolla ($200/month??)".

If you are spending that much month in and month out you may as well buy a new econobox.

 

that's a very logical way of looking at it. i'm surprised i never thought of that...

 

also, imo, a beater needs to be reliable when getting you from point a to b. if you're beater has the potential of breaking down in the middle of your commute causing you to be late for work, appointments, etc., then it is definitely time to retire it.

 

[QUOTE=VTEC_Junkie,Jul 11 2004, 02:21 PM] that's a very logical way of looking at it.