I think you didn’t understand. In order to benefit from itemizing now, you have to have deductions from taxes, charities, etc. in excess of $25,000 to make it worth while. So your comment makes no sense. A less well off person would be even less likely to be able to itemize and would just take the standard deduction where a car donation would not be a factor at all.
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Do what you want, I might do it, but be prepared for the I told you so once you need another repair. Not that any car could be different as far as needing a repair 
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I don’t pay much attention to book value. The important question is whether or not I would be able to get a replacement vehicle for the cost of the repair that would be reliable.
A $2500 used car would be a real crap shoot. I was in a similar position some years back. I was in graduate school and the manual transmission on my 1965 Rambler had to be rebuilt. I didn’t carry collision on the car. I decided to risk not having an accident and went ahead and had the transmission repaired. I sought out the best transmission specialist in the area. It turned out to be the right decision. I got three more years out of the Rambler. I finished my graduate degree, got a permanent job, and saved enough to make the down payment on a house before I replaced the Rambler.
I was in a similar situation almost four years ago. A bearing went out in our 21 year old washing machine. The conventional wisdom would say to replace the machine. However, Mrs. Triedaq hates to go shopping. I called a repairman, gave him the make and model of the machine. He came out and said he could repair it in house that afternoon for $275. I took him up on his offer. I got four more years out the machine. It was developing a few more ailments this past November when our 20 year old dryer had the heating element burn out. I bit the bullet, downed a couple of bourbon and sodas, and dragged Mrs. Triedaq out to buy a new washer and dryer. Four more years of service for $275 seemed like a reasonable deal.
To me, circumstances should figure into a decision, whether it is to keep an older car on the road when a new or late model used car is out of reach, or whether it’s worth repairing an appliance to avoid a shopping trip. It’s a gamble, but I think it paid off for me.
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I don’t disagree and have often put more money into something than the worth of the asset for a variety of reasons. And it is not all measured in dollars, but I look at cost per mile or cost per year and so on. Spending $275 to get four years on an appliance is close to $70 a year. These days a new “improved” “energy saving” appliance will likely last ten years. So the question is can I get a new one for less than $700 without the hassle? Yup.
Getting new appliances was rather simple actually because I’ll only deal with one store. Going together doesn’t guarantee a positive result though. The biggest complaint I get is that the washer is too tall-can’t reach the bottom. I could build a step but I’m not going to. Live with it. Heartless I know.
The decision is tough because it’s a Solara. It resembles a work of art. There is no way to put an absolute value on it but I say to rebuild the transmission and shoot for (corrected) 250,000 miles. Sorry about the 150,000 I previously wrote. If I sold that car and saw it being driven for four more years I would not feel right. If you think it’s a masterpiece, keep it going. If it’s an art class attempt at still life, do whatever seems appropriate to send it to the next plane of existence.
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That’s rather subjective, isn’t it?
I personally feel a Solara is pretty good looking
But not good looking enough to go to extreme lengths to save this car
I feel this is a good time to dump the solara and start using the spare car for full-time use
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It already has 180,000 miles, so shoot for 300,000? Been done before by me, but like I said when I tallied up the numbers, I should have dumped it at 300K instead of driving it to 500K. But the difference was I was driving 3000 miles a month and getting paid per mile. A new car would have been old in a couple years. But hey, that’s why the advice here is free. You aren’t out anything but time.
??? 
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The engine had 60,000 miles in it when it was transplanted into this car two years ago.
Heh heh. Missed that sentence. That’s why I’m not a lawyer. But oh boy, already replaced the engine in the dang thing, and now the transmission? So who knows? Time to dump it was two years ago I guess. Never had to replace a GM gas engine: 500K, 300K, 200K etc. Good money after bad. I still say cut the line, sinker and all.
Dump the Solara . . . the thing’s over 20yrs old and will get progressively more expensive to maintain
make the spare car the daily driver
start saving up for a brand new car, with the latest safety features and much better fuel economy
We’re thinking of dumping one of our cars and buying an EV
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We’re thinking of dumping one of our cars and buying an EV
We’re thinking of buying an ev car . . . not a golf cart
we have club cars at work, but they’re not the fancy ones in that link
The Bolt is affordable. I know a couple people at work with them, and they are pleased. The one big downside I see is charging. You have to use a 240v charging station to make recharging possible overnight. That usually means installing a 240v dedicated line. If you are lucky, the charging station won’t be on the other side of the house from the circuit breaker. I’m pretty sure Chevrolet hasn’t sold enough of them to eliminate the tax credit, and Cali probably has a tax credit too.
The “problem” with the Bolt is that the $7500 federal tax credit, rebate or whatever no longer seems to be available
On the other hand, there are some other high-scoring EVs that still have it available, presumably because not enough of them have yet sold
Yes, there are various state tax credits available, including for used evs, installing a charger, etc.
most of the better dealer websites will factor those rebates into the price. On the websites that aren’t as clear, I guess you’ll have to do the math yourself.
I have a 240v outlet in the garage, but it’s far away from where the car would be be. That’s because the car would be parked outside. But if you’re intent on buying an ev, that’s not going to stop anybody, I would think
What I like about the Bolt is that it doesn’t seem to be based on any car that originally had an ic engine. It seems to be completely clean-slate design, unlike what some of the other manufacturers have done
OP Update! Thanks everyone for chiming in - truly appreciated all the perspectives to help this newbie! In the end, decided not to rebuild. Since it’s unlikely that I’m going back into the office on a regular basis until this summer at the soonest, will save up and casually scan the ads for the next car. (Alas our state doesn’t have EV tax credits, expired a couple of years ago). Took a bunch of pics before they towed her away. Job interviews, 3 house moves, countless road trips: so many happy memories of “my first car” to look back on, I should just cherish that!
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@wae29_173210. Since you won’t need a car until next summer, you made the right decision in my opinion. Don’t become a slave to your possessions. If you needed a car tomorrow, that would be a different story.
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Had to think about first car, I went through 5 cars (paid for by me) when I was in high school.
Bit late to the party but… No mention of used transmission. The only 2 options discussed were rebuilt at $2500 or junk-it.
For me, a used transmission would’ve been the solution to the conundrum at most $700 fitted.
A couple of years ago I was in the same position with my Toyota. Sourced one (the mighty and ubiquitous Aisin A340E) from a wrecker with 1/3rd the mileage of my old one at $130. Plus 3hrs for mechanic to swap in at $85ph & $100ish for fluid & filter.
So the options as I see it for the Solara were actually $5-700 or junk it.
Good choice to move on. I use the 10 year, 200,000 mile rule. Where I live (snow belt) any car with close to or over 200,000 miles that is 10 years old or older is almost never worth putting in a major drivetrain component. The body may look ok but the underside is invariably rusty and every small repair turns into a major ordeal.
People get WAY too emotional about cars. I love my cars but, in the end, they are just transportation. When facing difficult “end of life” decisions about a car it is best to ask yourself if you are being objective about the situation. I too have a story of a vehicle that I kept too long (violating the 10/20,000 rule) and it cost me $3,000 on a vehicle that I sold for $1,800 two months later.
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