I own a paid off 2008 Ford Focus. I've driven it for 11 years now, it has about 110,000 miles, it's worth about $2,500, and it runs pretty well (or so I thought).
I took it into the dealership (who I trust a lot...family relationship with owner who is also actually a client of mine) because the A/C was busted and I was hoping for a cheap fix. Turns out that there are a ton of problems with my car (even though I've followed the service schedule). In summary:
-Fixing the A/C would cost $2,400. There are substantial leaks and it pretty much needs an entirely new system. This system requires an update to the computer system. I would think this was ridiculous if I didn't take it to my friend from high school first who told me it was f***ed and that pretty much everything that could go wrong with it simultaneously went wrong.
-New brakes and pads (within a year or so they said): $500
-Spark plugs, filters, miscellaneous: $600
-New tires probably by the end of the year: $700
Fixing the A/C is discretionary, but I feel like my car is at that point where it's going over a hill of costly repairs. In addition to the above, I've read a lot the last few days about Ford Focuses and apparently the serious engine and transmission issues are related to time rather than mileage. Car repair message board posters seem to be in agreement that the transmission starts to go in year twelve or so. My Focus has actually started to rev pretty hard while in idle; I'm not sure I know what that means, and I'm not sure I want to find out.
Anyway, I'm currently in year 11, meaning that if I did all the maintenance to keep my car running well for now ($1,500), I'd be looking at even more expensive repairs within the next year or so.
In terms of a new car, I have enough set aside for my trade-in plus cash to total $10k. I'm looking to buy something in the $15k-20k range (used CR-V or something similar).
If you've read this and thought I'm an idiot for wanting a new car, that I'm over-rationalizing this, and that I should suck it up and do the repairs, then don't hold your breath. But if you think, "Ya, go for it," that's fine too. I think you can tell which way I'm leaning but I wanted to be confident with my decision.
Thanks.