Checking the Structure
The next thing to check is the basic structure of the car. All cars will have a certain amount of surface rust, this is normal. What I look for any heavy rust, especially in the areas where other things mount to it. Things like shock towers, control arm attachment points and other places take a lot of strain and any excessive rusting could indicate a failure in these areas. I use a special type of punch to test frame rails and undercarriage areas to see if any internal rusting is cause weak areas.
Once you have this information, you can better decide if the car is worth a repair. Now any one of these areas, except rusting, may not be enough to condemn the car, but if there are problems in multiple areas, you may decide to take the repair money and put it down on another car.
Now another problem is the car that has no major problems, but a lot of little problems. We refer to it as "nickel and dimeing you to death." This is a car that needs a $80.00 repair one week, a $50.00 repair the next week, a $110.00 repair two weeks later and so on. This can do an effective job of keeping you broke. You may take the attitude of "Well, I fixed all of this, there's nothing else that can go wrong." but believe me, there will always be something else. This makes deciding whether a car is worth sinking money into harder because there is nothing major. If you have a car like this, you might want to get it checked out and see if it is indeed time to get rid of it and into something else.
Another factor is how much you like your car. I just started a poll on this and so far everyone responding does like his or her car. Now this is easy to answer if the car is new or in good shape, but it gets a little more difficult when it's time to shell out some major repair money. The thing to decide is, do you like it enough to keep it going and spending the money that it's going to take to keep it running and safe.
When I have to tell a customer that their old clunker needs an expensive repair, I often hear "The car's not worth it, but I can't afford another one." This is a common problem, people can't afford to keep putting money into a car nor can they afford to get into another one. I don't have an answer for this problem. All I can do is try to help the customer as much as I can as far as price goes. I have, on a number of occasions, reduced my labor price to try and help if I can. In the case of one elderly lady who was (she's passed on now) a regular customer, I didn't even charge her labor. She used to knit me sweaters and give me little presents in appreciation and the smile on her face was all the payment I needed.
So, when is enough, enough? That's up to you to decide. Get as much information on the shape your car is in and you can make a more informed decision. It's your money and your car, decide wisely.
