We're offering our inexpert advice in all things automotive.

We might discuss your question on our podcast. Yes, this means that we've run out of ideas for episodes and are too lazy to do research.

Edit: Thanks for the questions everyone. We didn't have time to answer all of them on the show but I'll try to answer all of them on here. The episode probably won't be out for over a month since we've got a backlog of editing to do.

    • aaro [they/them, she/her]
      ·
      8 months ago

      going thru this myself right now - here's some questions to ask yourself to help you decide

      • do you hate it? Do you dread getting in it and going places, and would a nicer, newer car fix that?
      • does it present immediate safety liability?
      • do you fix it yourself? If not, and you want to, would now be a good time for you to learn to? If you do fix it yourself, is it a drag, or do you get any joy out of it?
      • are your repairs reactive, or proactive? Has the car being broken ever impacted your plans?
      • is it cheap to fix, or is it expensive?
      • would there be a significant difference in fuel economy from switching?
      • how are insurance rates on your old car versus your new car?

      Spend like thirty seconds each thinking about these questions and you might have your answer

    • CarsAndComrades [comrade/them]
      ·
      8 months ago

      That depends. If you're paying a mechanic every 2 months, a car payment might be cheaper. If you can fix it yourself for cheap and you enjoy the car, I'd say keep it.

      We went into more depth on used cars in these two episodes: Used Cars Part 1 Used Cars Part 2

      • HumanBehaviorByBjork [any, undecided]
        ·
        7 months ago

        i've been fixing it myself, and only recently got a job where i can take public transit. Coolant just turned to chocolate pudding, so I'm gonna replace the head gasket and then decide what I wanna do with it.