However, I just got the oil changed/tired rotated and the free inspection that came with it found $2,500 worth of repairs that need to be done. I will take that to my normal trusted mechanic to verify, but let's assume that this is correct.
Why should we assume that Jiffy Lube or whoever, who literally makes their bread and butter on upsells ("Clean your air filter? Change your blinker relay? Replace your muffler belt?") is actually correct? They usually just look at the miles and list everything that should have been done, and charge you through the wazoo for it in the process.
Take it to your normal mechanic before even thinking further about it, because those places are somewhere between "sketchy" and "pure scam if they think they can get away with it." I take a car to a quick lube place once every 5 years or so, and remind myself why I don't do that. Crap like not putting the air filter back in properly so I have an unfiltered air leak, not putting bolts back in, not bothering with a crush washer so the car pisses oil any time it's parked, and somehow managing to charge me 4x what it would cost me to do it myself in the process. While informing me of all sorts of other rubbish I've already done. If I've changed the air filter in the past 3 months, I'm pretty sure that it doesn't need changing again, thanks.
Another thing that would need to be done soon after is replace the tires. I would also choose to buy a new paint job for it if I put all that money into it,, because the paint is peeling and truly looks embarrassingly horrendous (and I'm not one to care about appearances...but really..it's bad. No body rot, though.
Look for sales. You should have cheap tires, so shop around a bit and look for newspaper coupons. Some number of years ago (2006 or so), I got a set of 4 new tires for an old Subaru (13s) for something like $120 installed. I'd stacked a few coupons/discounts/incentives, and the guy at the shop couldn't find anything saying I couldn't combine them like that...
Anyway, how do you go about figuring out when it's not worth it to pour money into an old car? I'd hate to pay for this work and have something else big go wrong six months later. What's your calculus for this sort of decision? Any advice?
Well, there's no guarantee at all about something big going wrong in 6 months, no matter what you do...
Personally, I'll scrap a car for (serious) rust, or if it's a beater that I'm deliberately doing the minimum on and it's got a few semi-major issues. But I do a lot of my own work, so my repair costs are far lower.
Certainly seems like a sensible response. How many years do car dealers have to provide parts for cars? Ever try to find parts for an old Packard or AMC Rambler.
Counterpoint: The car under discussion is a
Honda Civic. It's not a Daihatsu Charade or anything exotic. The decision is which of the 15 aftermarket companies you want to buy parts from, not "Can you find parts for it?"
People fall in love with their cars and do not view them as machines with a finite life.
Sure, but a 1998 Honda Civic is nowhere near end of finite life.
Cars used to be designed for 3 years. This was planned obsolescence. It was Detroit's way of keeping the cash flow going. Today they are designed for a longer life, but it is still finite. After you spend the $2500, other things will break.
Right, but the $2500 is almost certainly a load of upsell rubbish. :)