The week my car broke down 3 times and the numbers finally clicked

Last Tuesday my alternator died, then Thursday the coolant hose burst, and Saturday the battery gave out. That's $1,200 in repairs in 5 days on a car I bought used for $4,500 last year. When I added up the cost of every fix over 12 months, it came to $3,800 total. That means I'm paying almost as much to keep this thing running as it's worth each year. Has anyone else tracked their repair costs against the car's value and realized it's time to just buy something newer?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_kim977h ago

Wait $3,800 in repairs on a $4,500 car? That's insane! I didn't even think about it adding up like that, but once you lay it out it's so obvious.

ward.anna7h ago

Tbh once you hit that tipping point where repairs are eating up the car's value every year it's just a losing game. I had a similar situation with my old Corolla where I spent more keeping it alive than it was worth on paper and finally had to accept I was just throwing money away.