How do I know if my car is worth fixing?

"How do I know if my car is worth fixing?" Welcome to Mercie J auto care where compassion and craftsmanship come together. I’m Rick Smith, master certified technician. Now my view of the automobile is that it's a tool and so for most situations, do not consider fixing your car as an investment to get a return on your investment. If you’re gonna sell your car or something, I don’t think it’s worth fixing because I don’t think you’ll get as much more for the car as what you spent to fix it is. What I suggest, first of all, if the car is something special like I have a 1955 GMC pick up, that’s a classic, so the value of that’s gonna be completely different. If it’s something that is sentimental to you then that’s something completely different. You’ll have to decide whether you want to really fix it or not but beyond that what I recommend is that you look at the repair as rental. So let’s say the car is serving you well, you like it, you’re going to keep it for a long period of time. Get a good through inspection of the car, bumper-to-bumper see what it would cost to fix everything. Then think if I can make this car last another three years divide that out and if it’s only a couple hundred dollars a month, it’s probably worth a repair if you’re going to continue to drive the car. Otherwise car payments now are running in the $600 range It will be quite an expense overtime so look at what it’s gonna cost to make the car do what you want to do for a length of time, then decide how much it is per month. That should help you decide whether it’s worth fixing or not. Truthfully, the market value of the car is not a determining factor in whether or not you should fix it. I hope this has been informational to you until next time. Safe travels and blessings to you.

[SECX]

I like your calm and thoughtful presentation style sir.

[steverushmore]

Thank you i never thought of it ike that before my van needs some work now im going to get it done

[theglassarrow_]

This is the rule more people should follow. is the repair cheaper than getting a new car. if its a 3k repair on a $3k car, its still cheaper to fix it than going out and getting a new car, as long as you know the car will last. If the car needs constant repairs it might be best to look into a different car, maybe repair it just to sell it.

[TheRealCcE]

Thank you! This is very practical advice. Right now I am working for myself and can’t afford to take on another loan, meaning I need to make repairs. In similar circumstances I can’t even consider moving my rent is significantly lower than the current market and having twice the amount in income is not available for new rents.

[leegnichols]

Thank you for this good advice. I'm just a poor Dogwalker, living day to day, month to month, year to year, but I need basic reliable transportation to get around to my dogs. So i bought a '06 Corolla with 200, 000 miles from a friend for the job. Every year at inspection, i think it's gonna need $2-3000 to keep it going safely😱 but it's usually around $1000, and we're on to another year! It's a Corolla, after all😁 there's no way I could replace it for $2-3000, so I'll just keep maintaining and repairing...till the end of the road!?

[donaldlee]

I find it amusing that in the financial industry, people like Dave Ramsey, The Money Guys, etc, describe cars as the #1 wealth destroyer in America. I recall being in high school in the 1980s and hearing someone say that Chinese people pay cash for their car. I thought that was insane and just stupid. Decades later this is the advice of pretty much every financial advisor.

[Hayzeus]

I need advice on what you might do…. Feel free to respond pls!