Should I keep my Car or trade in for a used one?

Your car is coming to the end of its useful life. However, if your repairs, not including regular maintenance that you would pay on any car, is only amounting to a couple thousand a year, then you are better off keeping the car you have for awhile yet.

Think about it: A new or newer car is going to cost $400 a month for your loan and the insurance will also be much higher than your current car as you will have a higher value vehicle and with a loan, you will have to pay for collision and comp insurance. those together will cost you perhaps $500 a month. You come to the $2000 repair bill in just 4 months.

Investigate exactly how much a new or newer car will cost you and do the math. Don't throw stuff like oil changes and inspection fees into the mix, you will pay those costs for any car you drive. It might help to have another independant mechanic look at your current car and give you an opinion as to what major costs might be upcoming.

A car with that many miles is worth $500 to a dealer. That's all they are going to get for it. If you decide to get a new or newer car, sell this one directly, but don't expect much more than $1000.

If you can keep this car for another year or even two, start paying yourself the cost of what a loan on a new car would be. Save that money every month or a portion every paycheck and use that money for a down payment. This will reduce your loan significantly when you do have to buy a car and having a significant down payment will make a new car purchase go much easier.

Unfortunately this is a gamble situation. Since your current car is nickel and diming you, you could just keep up with repairs and run it until something major dies like a transmission or engine. You may get lucky and see anothe while year or two out of it before that happens or you may have a couple of weeks left. If you decide to get it fixed you should have your mechanic throughly check over the car and see what else may potentially fail in the future.

If you buy a new car I suggest something that's not a luxury car. New or used they can still cause headaches and just minimal repairs are expensive. If that's the case choose something that's less likely to break like a fully loaded Honda civic or Toyota Corolla. Good luck in your choices

Dealers really don't want high-mileage trade-ins. They can't resell them on their new car lot, so they go to auction or straight to the auto salvage yard. They are offering you $500 just because YOU demand something for your junker.

Sell it yourself. Put an add in Craig's List or the local paper and find someone who will give you $800 for your current car. THEN take that money and go buy a newer car from a dealer.

Never put more into a car than what it is worth. Sell it through craiglist or just put a sale sign on it. Also, keep your eye out for car dealers offering thousands off for "any" trade in.