So as you may know I've got a '91 Celica with ~120k. I paid $3k for it and I've put in ~$1.5k in new tires, new rear brake cylinders & shoes & p-brake cables, timing belt, water pump, and just little shit like inspections. So I guess that's not too bad, what do I expect from a pretty old, pretty high mileage car, with probably a million previous owners? It drives and works wonderfully, I've never been stranded, it's in nice shape, looks good, I like it, it's fun, etc. but I'm not sure I want to hang onto it. I've had it for a little more than a year, by the way. Anyway, I'm getting it inspected today and they call me back saying that the seal in the rear right strut is getting old, it's pretty messed up, and is preventing me from passing inspection. They're saying 400 dollars in factory parts + 200 in labor...I guess the whole rear suspension needs to come off because of the way it's designed. So even if I halve the 400 to 200 with aftermarket parts, that's 400 dollars. I've also got this spot of rust in the left rear by the wheel, under the mud guard that's grown quite a bit since I got the car. It's not serious frame stuff, but it's in a pretty annoying spot and it extends underneath the car onto some other things...so definitely going to require cutting and welding. I have yet to get a quote, but I'm thinking to get one soon and maybe get the same guy to get the inspection done...maybe he won't notice the strut and I can put that off. And then the AC doesn't work, which sucks, it gets really hot and humid here...that could be another 200 bucks, but whatever, I'm willing to continue putting it off. So the thing is, I can't really afford a better car, I hate spending money on the car when nothing I do will increase its value when I go to sell it, and I'm scared to/simply don't want to run the car into the ground because I could get stranded one day and then I have a useless, totaled car. So I'm tending to go with the spending the money every year to maintain the car approach...it's easier to afford than a new car and less risky than not doing anything to the car. I'm thinking if I can hold on for another 2 years until grad school, I'll do something then when I actually have an income year round. So anyway, does this make sense? Am I missing a good way to deal with the situation?

Don't assume that a newer car would have lower maintenance costs. In my first year with a three-year-old Jetta with 44,000 miles at time of purchase, I've spent $1,500 in maintenance, not including oil changes (new tires, new battery, new rear shocks, new rear brakes, 40,000 tune-up). On the other hand, the Jetta has never left me stranded (knock on wood).

Stick to your original plan, and try to put in as little money possible to keep it reliable.

i agree with moe. and if you really really want to fix it. Learn how to do it yourself and do it yourself. and im sure you can find the oem parts for less than 400.

Good point, but you're comparing a '91 Celica to a '05 Jetta. I think it'd be different if you were comparing a '91 Celica to a say '96 Celica.



Yeah, I knew if you responded you'd mention doing things myself. I just don't love my car enough to take the time away from other things. I've been learning a lot from reading, talking to people, bought a service manual, etc. but I'm not ready to (and don't feel that I'd benefit enough from) disconnect the entire rear suspension from my only vehicle in the nonexistent extra space in my parents garage. When I have more money and space.

What's to gain from buying OEM struts?

You think there's a significant difference in maintenance costs between a 12-year-old car and a 17-year-old car?

If you are not inclined towards fixing the beater yourself then sell it off and get something newer/ simpler that wont break down as much.

In this instance I'd just replace the struts. If it starts to turn into a real money pit then I'd consider getting something else. It's a tradeoff on one hand you already own this car and it's nickel and diming you to death. On the other hand you might have to drop a decent amount of money on a better car that won't require so much work. A personal choice really.

If you like the car, I'd hold onto it since you've already put so much into fixing it up to this point.

I'm half going through this right now. I have a' 95 Civic with ~80k only. But recently I got the brakes and half axle replaced. My power steering pump was leaking too but I'm just putting that off. The kicker is I go to college in 3 months and I'm not taking my car. So now it will sit at home getting dirty and leaking until I drive it on some trips home. There's no way I can afford a new car...I just graduated High School today. But soon, I will have to replace the timing belt, something in the rear suspension i forget what its called, power steering pump.

My solution was just stick it out until I can get a new car because we'll just take the maintenance bills as they come.

Thanks for the comments guys. So I just got the belts and water pump replaced and when I picked up the car I noticed that the car whines louder and louder as the revs go up...is that just the sound of new belts? It actually sounds pretty sweet.



I don't so much think it's a difference between 12 and 17 years but the difference between early '90s cars and late '90s cars. So, maybe not, but there would be much less worry about rust and in my experience there are in fact significant improvements of reliability across that decade (also in safety...not having even passenger airbags kind of scares me in a daily driver).



I would definitely not consider my car as a beater; it's not an STi, but I still take very good care of it...it's not that I abuse it and it's breaking down all of the time, all of the service I have done to my car has been completely preemptive. But anyway, as I said, I can't afford a significantly better car...



I picked up the car last night after the water pump and timing belt and it was glorious. As unspectacular as my car may be, when it feels good I feel good. Haha, so I think being without it sort of convinced me to just stick with it.



Yeah, it sucks. I don't know how much money you've put into your car, but I'd consider selling your car and just borrowing your parents when you get home. It'll suck for a couple years, but if you save your money for a couple of years you can afford something better.

I guess one way to put it is if the cost of repairing the car to keep it fairly reliable goes over the cost of a newer car then its time to upgrade. Till then have fun with what you have. For some reason your first post sounded like you considered it a beater. I stand corrected.