I need your advice, mylotters  

Hi Joyce, This is a difficult one and one I have experienced myself on many an occasion. When you move into a house all the lightbulbs are new so therefore it makes sense that that should all start blowing at the same time so when a vast amount of money needs to be spent on an older car I look to what has been replaced and the bits that haven't are likely to also go wothin a short space of time. $2000 though is a lot of work so I guess the majority will have been done and it is a car you are familiar with but it has 210,000 miles on the clock too. A new older car, you really don't know what you are getting unless you get a full service history with it and you then take a chance that nothing major is suddenly going to go. What is your intuition telling you to do as that is the one I would go with. Good luck, whatever you decide. Huggles. Ellie :D

I would say your present car might or might not be worth $2000, by its book value. I paid for my 1993 Buick $1500 and it's blue book value is over $3,000. Your car is old. Chances are that when you pour your money into it, something else will break down. It might just end up being a money pit.

You have $3,000 to spend. You can often find really good cars sold in the paper, where people have to get rid of them for whatever reason. I just wouldn't be in a hurry, but check out some and have a mechanic look them over.

My car needs tires, and I will get them... but it's a 93 and nothing has ever been wrong with it. I got mine from a personal owner who sold it to me for what he paid for it.. he didn't make any money. I could easily sell it for $3500... and I have less than half that in it.

If you know someone that wheels and deals in the used car business, and they won't charge you an arm and a leg, like I do.. you might can get a good buy on a used car.

I think you should try a different car if you know about cars. I mean if you can predict about the engine condition and all. That will be a better option because the mileage would be less around 100k and the price would be a bit more than the repair price. Your nissan needs repair may be in the near future it will need more repairs. so i think you should look for another car. But you have to be careful while buying it. I hope this will help you. Keep smiling

A difficult choice.. and I am not a "car person" but my husband is and he would say to keep the one you have and fix what is wrong because since you will only be able to get a comprable car (i.e. not a newer one or a most quality one or much less miles) if you put the money into the one you have you at least know what has all been done to it, what has happened with it and all that. If you get a new one - you haven't a clue as to what has already gone wrong with it, what accidents it has had, how the owner cared and maintained it... but the one you have - you know everything about it, so there will be no new surprises and more expense as would be with a new one. If you put $2000 into the new one, few months down the road you might have another huge repair bill for womething you didn't know was wrong. At least you know what you have with the one you got.

Good question, and I'd be hard pressed to answer it because I don't drive, but good luck whichever choice you pick

I am driving the best car I ever owned, which is a chevy cavalier. It has about 123,000 miles on it and I am hearing some strange noises, especially in the cold weather, I figure I will have to do some repairs, of which I have limited income to provide for or find another one. I been looking for a part-time job just to cover the cost of a car payment.

Toyota sounds good to me. I hope to get a toyota next time.

As for you, I am green about buying cars as you can probably tell by this post. Sounds like your nissan has done very well. But like you say the reputation for long life on the Honda and Toyota makes it a possible choice for me as well.

And you might buy that other car, then have to put $2,000 or more into it. It is just a very sticky situation, buying cars, I mean. I dread the day I will have to make this decision for myself.

I am wishing you the best of luck, but I know I have not been much help here, I am just very green in this subject.

I have one question, what is wrong with the car? Depending on what needs to actually be fixed you might be better off just getting it fixed.

Make sure you get a second opinion on the repairs if you can. But, if it is as bad off as you have been told. You might be better off getting a different car. But, check additional options first.

Now, here is a suggestion, I know you have a budget set, what about this, look into a new car. A very good car that is also economical when it comes to needing repairs, the Hyundai. Payments are normally around $150 a month, you can use your current car as a trade in and if you don't care about the "bells and whistles" you might even be able to get the car for lower payments. Also the Hyundai has a ten year full warranty so no matter what happens to it during that time, it is taken care of. Put the rest of the money into a savings account that will draw interest.

Right now, many of the car companies, aren't looking at credit. They are looking at selling their autos.

I think you should just sell your current car... because if you will just have it fixed... there is a big chance that something will be broken again... so maintenance can be quite costly... when buying a second hand care... just be sure to take with you someone who is really good car mechanic... so that this person can give you a good advise at what car to buy... that is what my father did... so now... the second hand car he bought is working like a brand new one...

I think you've made the right choice in keeping and repairing your car. You said you had bought it new so you have been the only owner and there is nothing hidden about its condition. The things that you mentioned that are wrong with it are things that usually have to be replaced in time anyway so it is really a matter of maintenance more than repair. If you but a 'new' used car you will not know what has already been replaced and what is in need of repair but hidden. With older cars most of the time a person has traded it in or sold it because of some problem they did not want to fix. The last vehicle I bought used seemed to be in good shape. I drove it about a year before the head gasket blew. When I took the engine apart to replace it I found that one of the head bolts had been broken off. Now I know you said you weren't mechanical so to make a long story simple I will just say that the only way the head bolt could have gotten broken was if someone had already changed the head gasket and broke it putting it back together. With a broken bolt it was not fixed and they should have taken it back apart and replaced it then when it could have been removed. By not doing that they caused the motor to be ruined because now the bolt can not be removed without damaging the motor.

So anyway, knowing exactly what your car has had done to it is a blessing.

I'm a bit late. But that's a good decision to keep it and have it repaired. It's good that you have a mechanic who would charge you at a minimum. It's better than to buy a used one. Aside from it being second hand, you're at risk of hidden defects and since it would be a old as well, you'll have to maintain it and on top of that, you need to figure out how and what needs to be maintained.

I'm still doing the same for my old 1994 toyota. I'm not using it that much (it only has 63k miles) so I would be better off maintaining it since budget-wise, I'm still incapable of buying new one. But if you'd have a chance to buy a new car and have the budget for it, then it would be ok to just go ahead and sell your old car.