Okay, so this car, much as I love it, has had major issues, likely stemming from an unreported accident and shady practices by the dealer (for sure they faked the smog check to sell it).
In the past year I had to replace parts to pass smog, replace the shocks and struts, one wheel, and then got hit twice so the backend and front end have been replaced.
It's been idling very rough so I had my mechanic take a look, all three motor mounts are failing, and it needs new spark plugs as well as a new coil and a fuel system tune up.
Total $1,472 in work on top of the 800 I put in a few weeks ago to replace the control arm that was failing.

I paid $8,000 for it at 75k, it's at 125k now, and if I do this new repair I've easily spent a total of $12-13k

What say you all? If I do these last repairs should I be free and clear for awhile besides maintenance? Or should I let this beauty be someone else's headache? I've also put in new tint, weathertech floor mats, and a hitch mount.

 

Completely depends on your financial means. Sometimes it's easier to just make a car payment and not worry about your car.

Flip side is it's almost always more financially responsible to fix what you have.

Give us an idea of the financial side of this equation. Could you just drive to a Honda dealer, trade this thing in, and then afford payments on a new Civic Sport Hatch for example?

If that would be a stretch, keep what you have and do the work yourself. Plugs, motor mounts, and coils are easy. There's no such thing as a fuel system tune up, so ignore that.

 

Financially I can handle both easily, it's more the long term. I love the car when it's working, especially being able to haul and camp with it. Also the ease of parking since I live in Southern California.
But how much of a gamble am I taking that there will be more major repairs in the next year, at which point I could have been driving a new car on monthly payments for the same or less money over the next 2/3 years.
I'd hoped to keep the car to 300k possible, or at least another 50k, but the idea was nothing more than tires and fluids until I let it go, if it's going to take another $1-2k to keep it running then it would seem better to put that cash into a new car instead.

 

I would put the money into the car IF you have already replaced all the fluids in the car, put new tires, put on a new serpentine belt on AND done all the other things you listed in your note. I am a bit concerned about the accidents you have encountered (ie: can you get a proper alignment done or will you just chew through tires?)
Given that money is not tight, I would have told you to dump the car once you had found out that the dealer screwed you over and the car was going to need shocks, struts, etc. But since that ship has sailed, I'd keep the car and put the money into it as long as the accidents won't cost you additional repairs down the line.

 

It sounds rough..... I have 120000 . I have been through lots of tires, batteries, and replaced the spark plugs and coils. which was badly needed. coil replacements are easy. You can reach in the back and pull them out. The roads must be rough in your area to need front end parts and shocks. I dont know the whole story so much to consider.

 

Sunken cost falicy is a thing. Honestly, if financially it doesnt make a difference: I think you're better off taking what you can for it and applying that as a down payment on a new fit. If the car has a hidden history of "who the fuck knows" the laundry list of problems yet to face is also "who the fuck knows". It's a gamble eitherway, I'd vote to save the headache and pick one:
+ Get a brand new fit
+ Put aside some money for the next round of "wtfnow"
+ rebuild it

 

I'm betting it's never had the valve adjusted either. It should have had two at this point.

I have to lean towards a new car and maintain it well from the start. The current Fit would be better off in the hands of a DIY'er that can bring it up to proper condition for very little money.

 

Get rid of it and move on. Buy new. Pay the money up front and — surprise, surprise — the money stops leaking out the back.

Good luck.

 

 

That is always the tricky thing isn't it?
Not too rare, that people get stuck in the "I've invested this much into it already" cycle, hoping that the next series of repairs will lead to extended reliability. But you never know.
You can't get the money back, you've already invested. And it's really at this point impossible to know whether further investment would be throwing good money after bad, or not. So my advice is....do what YOU want to do.
If you think you've reached your breaking point, and that a newer Fit would be a better investment at this point? OK. If you want to take the gamble that you've finally reached a tipping point where repairs and maintenance should be leveling out? OK.

 

 

yea I feel your pain. I currently have a 03 Tiburon V6, and I've sank about 2k fixing it up. Now I have CEL and airbag light (wife tried to jack open glove compartment). I'm now looking at another $1,200 estimated repair cost. I just dont' get why it cost so much to have work done on cars. In other countries mechanic labor cost less than the parts.

 

For anyone who takes car to the shop for every repair the rule is to lease a new car (perhaps Mercedes or BMW which adds the prestige) every 3 years.If you want a long lasting car buy Russian Volga M21 (in KGB option)
Majority of people should be able to do most repairs except engine or transmission rebuilds (although on Fit many "general" repairs are very time consuming (starter, alternator, etc).