At what point does it not make sense to keep an old(er) car?

[hanoverphist]

people seem to think that repairs add value to a car. they don't.

if i were looking to get an older cadillac, had two possibilities and one had a long record of repair and maintenance, as well as a rebuild or two and a front end replacement listed, youre damn right it has more value than the other with no high mileage replacements or rebuilds. if done right, that cadi will last another 100k miles.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

people seem to think that repairs add value to a car. they don't.

by the same token, a car needing more money in repairs than it has in fair market value is not necessarily junk. you can put 2k into a 2k car, or sell it and buy another 2k car that is also going to need repairs. unless you're going to make the jump to new, don't condemn the car quite yet.

It will add value in the sense that a running car is worth more than a non-running car. If you got a smog cert in California, you're pretty much guaranteed to be able to find a buyer for $1k.

 

[brblx]

that's not what i mean. i mean 'this part broke, i fixed it' is not any different from 'this part is not [known to be] broken.'

of course a car that doesn't work is worth less than a car that does. i'm just saying that when repairing a car, the only consideration should be YOUR specific options and you should not be guided by generalizations. if you put more into a beater than its worth, and that allows you to avoid paying for a new car for 2-3 years, why not?

beater mentality is totally different from new car mentality, since you may very well throw the car out when you're done with it.