Let me see if I can lay this doozy out for my mustachian family to make some sense of it.
We have cars in various states, but it's well-agreed they have lots of miles on them and are starting to cause some headaches.
2004 Kia Sorrento 158K miles. Just recently was the victim of a catalytic converter theft. Currently in the shop for.....8, 10 weeks?
2011 Ram 1500 174K miles. Runs well, but DW has been driving this one lately and she's ROUGH on transmissions. Drove it last evening and noted some difficulty getting the shifter out of Park. I saw dollar signs.
2004 Nissan XTerra 127K miles. No A/C. I live in the desert SW. It's summer. Looking like it's about $1000 to fix, so planning to fix that.
Now, keep in mind this has happened over the last few weeks...so all at once it feels like. So for those of you ready to say, "you shoulda saw this day coming!" I really didn't.
3 drivers, me, DW and 20 y/o DS (working part-time and going to college again next semester). We all 3 need to have a vehicle. I have a stupid commute (80+ miles r/t), DW ferries my youngest to school, dance lessons and other activities.
The question. We need 3 cars for our busy lives. These cars seem to be nearing the nadir of their existence. Do we get 3 newer cars? (REALLY feels like a financial setback even if DS can help out a little). Keep dumping thousands into 3 iffy cars? Keep 2 get 1/get one keep 2?
The Kia is the one causing the pinch right now because of it's length of time in the shop. They have to litterally build a custom exhaust for this...can you believe the lack of wisdom from the insurance company? Almost $2600. Sheesh. And, I meant to add, it also needs $1200 in A/C repairs!! You see where I'm going or not going here?
I used to love car ownership. I really hate it right now. I've never had this many cars before, and certainly not 3 cars that conspired at the same time to cause such indigestion. Any help, condolences, gentle shaking is greatly appreciated.