Remember learning about the time value of money, that concept that a dollar now is worth more than a dollar in the future? No matter how hard I try to make proving that my life’s work—using cars in place of dollars—I keep running into exceptions to the rule. Actually, the older I get, the better I realize that time is …
Fix it. Just take care of whatever's ailing it. If that satisfies you, keep it for a while longer. If it doesn't, sell it and "get your number" because you fixed all the stuff that needed fixing, unlike the guy who sold you the Focus.
Cheapest way to own and operate a vehicle is buy new, maintain religiously and drive it until it can't be economically repaired. For me, living in the salt belt, that means repairing until the holes hit a size where I give up.In Florida that point is much,much further down the road. Fix the Ridgeline and buy the new version when it eventually comes out.
Or, if you really want to give up I'll give you $1K for that POS.
The payment on a new one is going to be $500+, and then you have higher insurance, and taxes. Your $3000 last year sounds higher than expected for that car. But it is still not half the delta to a new one with taxes and insurance factored in. Don't waste money on new cars, invest it wisely in racing activites!
The big thing is to fix problems as they pop up, don't wait until the pile of fixes is so big you just say "to hell with it" and let it go.
My father in law bought a truck new. Drove it for five years. Maintained it perfectly. Sold it to my brother in law. A window stopped working. He ignored it. AC went out. Ignored it. A laundry list of small things that would have been simple to fix on their own finally prompted him to send it to the crusher when Cash for Clunkers was in effect. It was the automotive equivalent of death by a thousand paper cuts. It pissed me off.
Reliability is # 1 for me. That said, I've never had a new car. I buy something I want to modify/ improve, 3-7 yrs old, do the mods. Then, every 5 years, all rubber gets replaced (think of it...what gets you stranded most often? a leaky piece of rubber/ hose/ gasket, not a "hard part"). At 10 years, water pump, T stat, ICV, coils, radiator, brake hydraulics. Sure, sounds like a lot, but I do it when I want to schedule it, then 5 or 10 years of 90% reliable as "new", in my experience. I also get the car I want, the way I want it it, and drive it all the time. Unlike the "buy it new" poster, I'd suggest that depreciation on a new car is still excessive. Most of my cars/ projects are in the $10-18K range, and go 15 years or more. Currently a 1991 E30/ S50 swap (since 1997), 2000 MRoadster (3 years), 89 E30 track car (since 2002), 1999 F250 diesel (since 2006). YMMV.
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