How to know when it is time to get rid of a vehicle?

KCLAVIJO

MEMBER
2002 TOYOTA AVALON
200,000 MILES

Our beloved car listed above 2 is being driven by my daughter. We recently spent $4,000.00 on it. Yesterday on her way to work she said there were several lights flashing on the dashboard. When she returned from work she took this video. Can you please help me understand if it is time for us to donate the car? Is it advisable to take it to a shop, and put more money into it? Thank you for your advice? Our concern is the reliability and cost of the car. It has had a good life.

Videos (Click to make bigger)

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

This is a question that many people wrestle with, so thanks for asking it.

Basically, in a vacuum, this is a relatively easy decision. However, when you bring in the fear of the unknown with buying another vehicle and making the wrong decision, then that decision gets harder. Plus, if the vehicle has any emotional attachments then that makes it even harder.

The way we need to decide these things is to always start with getting the vehicle diagnosed to figure out exactly how much money we are talking about, otherwise we are just guessing. So, it is worth paying any diagnostic charges to get that dollar amount.

This means we need to start with at least getting the codes.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing
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Also, the gauges flickering and lights coming on could be caused by a weak battery, so we need to also have the battery tested.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test

A parts store can do both of these free of charge. So, this is an example of why we want to have it diagnosed first. Many people react too quickly, and sell a car when it turns out to be a very simple and cheap issue.

Let's assume that these check out, and the issue is serious. At that point, we simply take two numbers and do the math. First is the cost of the repair and the second is value of the vehicle in a repaired state.

If the cost of the repair exceeds the value of the vehicle, then we never repair it. It is always a better idea to take the money you would put into a vehicle and then sell the vehicle as is, and combine that money to buy another vehicle.

The only time this is tough, is when you get a number of smaller repairs that would add up to being more then the cost of the vehicle. This is where you use your emotional side, and decide if you want to continue with repairing it. However, we can only deal with what is broken and not assume that it is going to continue to break down, but if you have reached your limit with the vehicle, then I find people sleep better knowing they are done with it rather then fearing what is coming next.

Let us know what questions you have on this. Thanks