When do you junk a car?
 

Car in question is my daughter's 1993 Ford Escort with 110K miles. Used for high school & college transportation by two kids, and badly treated by both. Dented body work, rust in wheel arches, but still basically functional. During the past two years I have spent a lot on it: alternator, brakes, battery, ignition switch, timing belt. The latest thing is broken rear trailing arm, spindle and axle ($580). Considering what I have already spent, I decided to go ahead and have it fixed. Every time something goes kaput, I think "Well, I have already spent $x in the past year, I should spend a bit more and it should be reliable for another few years".... and then a few months later, something else goes bad(*). But at some point I am going to have to make a decison to junk it.
Any good rules of thumb, or more complicated algorithms with which to make a decision?

(*) yes, I am aware of the fallacy of considering sunk cost instead of marginal cost.

Junk it.

Instead of junking it, why not donate it to a charity? Sure it isn't the best car in the world, but someone may have use for it.

Most of the those 'charities" are scams according to the charity pundits. Who could afford to keep that car up if they didn't have any money in the first place? You'll get about $100 at the salvage yard.

But, before you do that, take it out in a muddy field and do some brodies. Well, maybe not. I used to do that and peeled the tires of the rims on one car and rolled another. Probably the most fun I have ever had. No kidding. I'd rather do that than drive my race car. But no place to do it.

if it's a running car that has brakes then you could get $500 easy for it...........then get a "new" car for them to destroy :D

my turbo omni had rotted bad enough where i just didn't feel safe in it......but maybe that was because it was an omni, anyway i parted out the good stuff and junked it :D

Those Turbo Omnis had such great power to weight that NO ONE felt safe in them! Fun though... I had an 87 Shelby Charger Turbo. What a blast! :D

Junk it , get the kid a Benz or BMW

A running car is worth money. My POS 94 escort was a deal at $250 and it had 200K miles on it.

If you were nearby I would be happy to buy it as a spare.

sledgehammer...safety goggles....$5 a swing. Then burn it. Tape the whole thing.

give it to your local high school auto-shop class.

Thanks for all the imaginative replies!
But no one has really answered the question. Given that the KBB "fair" condition market value is $775, is it worth spending $600 to get it back on the road, assuming everything else is in working order? Maybe I am asking for a cost/benefit answer that cannot be given. I suppose one has to estimate the probability that something else will go wrong in the near future ...

1993 FORD escort? you should have junked it in 94. my buddy had one. i think i pushed that damn thing five times.

just kidding, if the kids are still in the position to put some hurtin on a car, fix it, and let them keep it.

The rule I use is "Can I get something better with the money?" If the money it would take to fix it wouldn't get something better to replace it, junk the thing. I had an old Toyota that needed $500 of work. I junked it and used the money to get an old Chevette (ironically called "The Turbo" by my friends) that got me around for next to nothing for 2 years, during which time I saved up and bought a brand new Honda back in 1985.

If you won't come out ahead with something else, you just as well keep the Escort. Though I can't imagine you can find something better for the money, even if it's just $500 in bus tokens or cab fare...

Emanuel

You can pick up a 5 gallon gas can and a road flare and...........http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/...amingdevil.gif