I have a 2002 Taurus with 170k miles on it. Obviously, it's an old car and it's not super exciting, but most of my driving is around town and I mostly walk to and from work so having a reliable vehicle is not super important to me-- it's paid off, it gets me from point a to b. I drive fewer than 10k miles a year so I rarely need to do maintenance on it. I'm happy. You're in r/frugal, you get it.
However, it needs a new gas tank, and I've been quoted $1000 for the job. I'm trying to decide if I'm willing to put that into it. Engine wise, it's doing fine afaik, but I live in the northeast and there's definitely some rust going on on the body and undercarriage. The tires are also getting older. I doubt I could sell it for $1000, so in that sense it's not worth the fix but on the other hand it might be the most frugal option to just stick with the beater I know and fix it for $1000 rather that spending two or three times that on a car that might not be in much better shape.
If I were to junk it, I would probably look to buy a new used car in cash for 2k-4k. I am not interested in going completely carless at this time.
Thanks!
July 27, 2017 at 05:20PM
