When the Junkyard Cars Look Better than Yours
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
T o fix or not to fix. Is it worth your money? Is it worth your time? Will your car ever be the same again, or is it just time for its retirement?
Your car was involved in a fender bender.
What an awful way to lose a car. Provided you get through without injuries, and don’t go crazy over insurance and medical billing phone calls, you are still without a car. That’s a car that could have very well lived on to a ripe old age if only that stop sign hadn’t existed. So can you fix it? Should you even try? Here are some things to consider when trying to decide if your damage is worth the money to repair:
-How many miles are on your car? If your car has low mileage, it’s almost painful to think about scrapping it. It could still run for years and that could well be worth the money to fix it. You bought it, after all. You don’t want all that purchasing money to go to waste. It’s even worse if you financed it and still have payments on it. However, if you figure that it was going to give up on you in a few years anyway than the amount of money involved in the repairs would be better off saved for buying a new ride.
-How much will repairs cost? Of course to determine whether the mileage is worth your money would mean knowing how much money that is exactly. Can you find new parts to replace damaged ones? Can you do the work yourself? Being able to do the work yourself saves a ton of money. Determine how much work is necessary. If you are on a budget, look at what parts of your car needs to be fixed in order for it to be able to run, be safe and be road legal. Skip the new paint job, it’s not really necessary. If your car is older anyway, having it look flawless isn’t worth it and the imperfections will make you less tense about hail storms or your neighbor’s 16-year-old driver.
Your car has routine wear and tear.
The same checklist can apply to a car with any sort of problem but you have to remember that basic car part wearing is inevitable with the age and the miles on the car. You can’t expect a car to run perfectly forever, but be conscious of who you’re putting behind the wheel. If the car were to break down, do you want your teenager sitting on the side of the road or your wife with your 2 small children? If you’re air conditioning is broken, you might want to get it fixed before you let your 85-year-old grandfather get a ride in the dead of summer.
With the proper care, research, and a bit of luck, you can get a car to run for many good years, despite what problems may arise. It’s just up to you, whether that hole is worth patching.