When is it time to say goodbye?

[boris_37]

Hey all,

I'm sure there is a million of these questions going around and this is a day older then dirt... feel free to link me if there is an article written somewhere that explains or helps me decide.

My car is a 97 grand am. 6 Cyclinder automatic.

I value the car at about... hmm 1000-2000? Somewhere in there i guess.

Goods about the car:

Good condition
very clean interior and exterior
overall decent car
other then the starter has never died(knock on wood)

bad

Costing me about 500-800 worth in repairs a year(i usually have 1 major or a few minor repairs).
Such repairs are intake manifold, fuel system was rusty(replaced), starter, most recently(as of today) my radiator has a leak in the plastic housing on the side... needs a replacement
Crummy door handle and my passenger side has no lock mechanism and the remote unlock is GONE bah.


Now i drive the car about... once or twice per week. In the summer a fair bit more, 200-300km on the weekend and grocery store/friends and back. During the week i public transit and don't really need to go anywhere too far, i walk, run or if i need to drive.

Is now a good time to say goodbye? Money is not a HUGE issue, but it is an issue. I could buy a used newer car... but my major problem is that it will sit and sit and sit, since i never drive it during the week... not a worthwhile investment especially in a vehicle. However is it worth it to just keep repairs on this car?

Just need a shove in either direction. Winter is approaching and i have been cautioned about this thing... although i am not significantly worried... i don't know at this point.

P.S. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 270-300k KM on it. I actually had my dash die and had the replace it... says i'm at 146 now... i wish!

[Tony Silva]

those are bad cars!!!I've worked on 4...maybe 5 that had rust damage, I remember one was so rusty that the mufflers fell off cuz the car exhaust mount points had been so badly rusted. Definately if you gotta change the fuel tank cuz of rust, then you have more things to think about. Metal brake hose fittings will rust out...shock bolts so rusty they will need to be cut off....rack and pinion damaged...heater core damage!!!oh! these cars are terrible. And once you have electrical problems???fugeddaboutit.

[thephantom1492]

I'ld say: a car that old... you have to seriously take into consideration safety.
You have lots of repairs, and lots of things that might break soon. Try to figure out what could break... But rust can be a serious issues...

As for the leak, you could try to see if you can find an used one on the cheap... might work...

Also, consider how far you're going. Do you trust your car for going that far?

What if something else break, will you have to send it to the scrapyard for scrap metal? or repair cheaply?

A running car have an higher sale value than a broken one, and specially for one that is shot.

Will a replacement car be better? if you trash your car for a trash car, what will that give?

[inafogg]

consider whats already been done...should be ok for awhile
i got a 98 great car,yeah repaired some things(who has'nt) but its worth more to me than its replacement cost.82K so it does get drivin alot

[xeroinfinity]

if its driving ok now, trade that old dog in on something newr!

You should save a lot more in repairs and fuel costs. Unless you buy something w/V8. Not saying a V8 would be more in repairs just fuel and who can afford much of that lately.
Even something 3-4 yrs newr would be an improvment in both.