My mechanic gave me some bad news the other day--my 03 Honda Civic (sitting at just shy of 178K miles) is showing signs of needing about $4K worth of repairs. Specifically, the clutch is wearing out (to be expected), and a possible head gasket leak (he's not sure yet, and it's very much not expected and not welcome). Plus some other minor repairs, but those are the two biggies.
I've always kept up on the maintenance, and this Honda has been a good car for almost ten years. The timing belt was replaced three years ago, and I just had all shocks/struts done. Overall it's averaging about 15 cents per mile on maintenance costs. Not bad, but not great. So now I'm down to the big question: is this car worth investing another $4K into? Or should I be saving that towards a new (used) car, possibly in the $7-8K range instead?
Doing these repairs myself is not an option--I have neither the expertise, the tools, the space, or the time. What would you do in my shoes?