should i stay or should i go

[5 Speed Speeder]

i've had my little 3g for about 15 months. since i've owned it i've replaced the cv axles, the clutch, the distributor, the alternator, the ignition switch, a few taillights, and a few tires. it had 304,000 miles when i bought it, now it has about 324,000 miles. the other day it got stuck in gear, and now i am about to drop the transmission to see what is going on. i am low on cash now and need some money. should i drive it to the junker and collect some cash or should i stick with it? anybody want to buy my car? what would you do?

[Dr_Snooz]

The first question is, can you replace the car for less than it would cost to fix? My guess is probably not. You're driving an old car and it will have its share of problems, so set your expectations. You're basically trading your time and patience fixing it for a hefty car payment + insurance. If the payment and insurance sound like a better deal, then you know what to do. The second question is, will the replacement car be any better? If it's $500 to fix the trans, well, you aren't going to get much of a car for that, and it isn't likely to be in any better condition than what you have. Third question is, do you like the car? This is the most important question. It's going to be real hard to keep sinking money into a car you don't really like. The more it breaks down, the less you'll like it and the more bummed out you'll get. If you're not sure, try shopping around and you'll find out really quick. I remember burning out on my bicycle years ago. I thought about replacing it and went shopping. It took one test ride for me to realize how much I love my bike. I left the shop immediately and still own my old bike to this very day.

Hope that helps.

[Fixedit]

Stick with it is what I've always done. To me it's not worth getting rid of a good car that's easy to work on. Every car I've gotten rid of I've regretted doing so, and those were just side project cars I didn't care as much for. I don't even like to think about life without my 3g haha

There was a point in time where I was sure I had a cracked cylinder head and blown head gasket and my situation kind of motivated me to sell my 3g and move on. Instead I persisted and replaced the head. Best choice I could have made

[Shane86]

Stick with it don't give up on it yet

[InAccordance]

Being low on funds is a killer when it comes to these things. I'm in the same boat with you.
You dont want a newer vehicle if you like to fix things yourself.
I had bought a '13 focus and one monthly payment was as much as I paid for the 89 accord I recently bought.
I couldn't do a bloody thing to that Ford either outside of changing the oil and things like that.
The window motors went bad in it not even a year after buying it and that alone was over 1k dollars to fix. Thankfully it was still under warranty.
You get my point though, shit is hellaciously expensive to repair and you pretty much HAVE to take it somewhere to get it fixed.

Owning an old car, especially one with such high mileage does get frustrating. Seems like every other day something goes wrong or a part need replaced.
My wifes 2000 accord is the worst, I've had to fix more shit in that car than my '89 and hers has half the miles on it.
So... very... frustrating... BUT... it's paid for.
I think that's what keeps me going... It's paid for, no payment. Then again, maybe fixing it all the time is a monthly payment in itself :sad2: