to sell or not to sell

[Roger M. Woodbury]

You haven't indicated that the car is giving you any particular amount of
trouble.  If it starts when you need it to, and runs without leaving you
stopped someplace you don't want to be dumped, then what you are describing
sounds like pretty normal maintenance items to me.

I drove a friends Ford Explorer yesterday.  It has 194,000 miles on it right
now, and she was worried about it making a "sound".  The "sound" she was
hearing is an exhaust system in the final stages of its life, but the
vehicle itself runs like a top.  It has been maintained to within an inch of
its life, and runs and feels like something with about 75,000 miles on it.

There is NEVER a good reason to discard a well running car of any age or
mileage, because you think it might cause trouble later on.  Your car sounds
like it is running well, and working for you.  If the engine isn't using
more than a quart of oil in, say, 800 miles, then I would say that the
engine is probably good for another 75,000 miles.

If the body on your car isn't full of rust holes, in the fenders, rocker
panels, and up underneath along the main frame members, then the body will
probably hold together for another couple of years.

The starting problem that you mention in passing (when it is cold), can be
fixed, I would imagine.  So also the air conditioning, although the cruise
control might involve some time chasing down what the problem is, or
replacing something electrical that could be expensive.  Maybe that is
unnecessary.

If you had a brand new car, you could catch a rock on the open road, and
need a new windshild, so your windshield problem is an easy fix.  As far as
painting is concerned, at 210,000 miles I doubt that there are many cars on
the road that don't need repainting.

The bottom line it seems to me is, if you WANT a newer car, then buy one.
Just don't use the old one as an excuse.  I have done THAT many times, and
it is always just an excuse to get something else, and is a very expensive
way to justify another set of wheels.

Roger