# When is enough, enough?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-is-enough-enough/235>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [June 4, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-is-enough-enough/235 "2007-06-04T19:08:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![munkeygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@munkeygrrl](https://community.cartalk.com/u/munkeygrrl)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-is-enough-enough/235/1 "2007-06-04T19:08:10Z")

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I have a 98 Chevy cavalier and recently I?ve had to put a lot of work and money into fixing it but it just seems every time I fix something, something else breaks. I can?t really afford a new car right now. How do I know when to stop putting money and trying to fix my car? Should I just use it as a trade in and get a new car? I was really hoping the car would last me until I finished college and got a good job. Any advice??

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/1/d/1d47c66a543aa6c5a7873bb2320858f978ff52ed.png) [@system](https://community.cartalk.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-is-enough-enough/235/2 "2007-06-04T19:16:47Z")

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I would keep fixing it. If you get rid of it, and buy another inexpensive used car you will likely go through the same thing.

My personal philoshpy is that I will contiue to keep a car on the road until the body rots out (I live in Maine), even it it means replacing the engine, which is still cheeper than buying another car.

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**Author:** ![SteveF](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/stevef/32/2_2.png) [@SteveF](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SteveF)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-is-enough-enough/235/3 "2007-06-04T20:07:30Z")

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I tend to agree with fixing it. You may not get much more than $1000 in resale value. That won’t buy you very much. You are likely to end up with another used car that also requires regular trips to the shop. Keep the Cav and hope that the next malfunction is a long way off.

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**Author:** ![galant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/77aa72/32.png) [@galant](https://community.cartalk.com/u/galant)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-is-enough-enough/235/4 "2007-06-04T21:16:37Z")

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What kind of repairs are we talking about. Most of the time the rapirs are actually maintenace related to normal wear and tear. You can learn and do some basic stuff yourself and save some money.

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 11:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-is-enough-enough/235/5 "2007-06-04T23:19:17Z")

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In the last six months how much have you spent fixing it? How much do you think car payments for six months would be.