Would you replace this car?

[takeahike]

2001 A6 2.8 quattro. Bought it used in 2004 for 12600 usd. It now has 220,000 miles/354000K.

I was planning to drive it another year or two, so this past spring i installed a hitch to pull my vintage Boler and had it wired for towing.

My main issues with the car:

-A fuse that blows so much that most of the time I can't be bothered to replace it. (I might get to drive it one way to work before it blows). So, can't roll down any windows, use any interior lights, or set my alarm. I keep a large box of "10" fuses in my car.

-My coolant keeps leaking out of my car to almost empty. Obviously a crack somewhere in there. It doesn't run hot tho.

-The a/c or heater makes a god awful loud sound regularly. I shut it off for a few.. turn it back on and it's fine for a bit.

-I think I need rotors or new pads.. so an appt to the mechanic in my immediate future.

Engine is running louder.. maybe that's belt noise.. not sure.. but absolutely no issues on the highway so far.

My summer and winter tires probably could last one more season. Timing belt has time on it still.

Would you just suck it up.. get new routers.. drive it another year? Whenever I need to take it to the mechanic I start perusing autotrader, which completely overwhelms me.

[AZDude]

Hard to know without a better picture of your overall financial situation. If you have steady, reliable income, no debt, and a large amount of savings, then you can afford a "new" car. If you have CC debt, etc... then suck it up.

[takeahike]

Oh.. I have no debt.. I'd pay cash for another one. I have 70K cdn in savings. I make about 50k cdn / year. My expenses are about 14K a year.

My problem is I'm not knowleageable about cars.. so it's not so much a financial issue as it is an issue of making the wrong decision to keep it.  At what point is it considered a money pit? Is there a rule on that?

[lbmustache]

I don't think there's a hard and fast rule but:

If you're fixing it more than driving it (unless you bought the car as a fixer-upper and/or enjoy doing this).
If you're dumping large amounts of money in it to only keep it running for a short amount of time.

For example, SUPER BASIC EXAMPLE, let's say the car needs a new battery that is $200. You expect to get 3 years/12k miles a year out of the battery for a total of 36000 miles on the $200 purchase. Obviously, you got your money's worth.

If you need $5k worth of repairs only to drive the car 2 months/1000 miles before it needs something else major, that's a very high cost per mile and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If you need $5k worth of repairs and imagine that the car will last 5 years on this part, it makes more sense.

Conversely, if the car is too unreliable it may also be time to ditch it. I think the majority of us do need reliable transportation to get to work and home on time.

[takeahike]

Yeah those are good points. I find it creepy that I can't roll down my windows. The electrical and a/c issue I have no plans to fix but if my heater dies in the winter I will have to fix or ditch the car because Canada. I think it's a gamble to wait a year but I guess I have no real reason not to. I'll have to fix my brakes at least.. and just suck it up on the other issues. I could probably limp this car along another year.. which would probably be the smart thing to do.  The car is worth $500 bucks if that lol.

[daverobev]

Stick it on kijiji, I'm sure you'll get $1500 for it. Then buy a Corolla/Matrix/Vibe :)

[Scandium]

That old and high milage german car... ehh,yikes. After hearing about my dad's string of audis (most younger that yours) I'd get something more reliable, and cheaper to fix!

[takeahike]

Found out the car needs 3500 in repairs. Not going to happen. Guess it's official. I have to find another vehicle. I need a vehicle that can tow about 2000lbs. I prefer a wagon since I think that will make loading kayaks practical. I do not like car shopping.

[alsoknownasDean]

Found out the car needs 3500 in repairs. Not going to happen. Guess it's official. I have to find another vehicle. I need a vehicle that can tow about 2000lbs. I prefer a wagon since I think that will make loading kayaks practical. I do not like car shopping.

You've had eleven years out of it, it's earnt its retirement.

Should be able to find something, be it a smaller wagon or even a small SUV (would something like a CRV work for you).

Even a Scion xB, or a Prius with roof racks (although that's not ideal for towing)?