Rant: moral support for denial enhancement

[Dan Cordon]

Doyt wrote:

 > Looking for advice/experience/etc.: do I get all
 > this
 > stuff fixed? (prolly not all at once, but monthly
 > based on funds and triage level) Sell it for a wee
 > amount? Get a better "trouble-free" one? (

My opinion on this is biased. I like a lot of different car types, and 
depreciation can be quite significant on some of the 'funner' cars. The 
thing I like best about my 200 20v is that it's pretty well done 
depreciating. (This one in particular was purchased for cheap...) Prior 
to the audi, I had a new Accord Coupe. It depreciated about 
$1500/year...which was pretty incredible (not much). I figure I can pay 
$1500/year in parts for the audi, and I'll still be ahead of the Accord.

Another car I have is an EG civic si. It's worth a similar price to a 
nice 5k, and has been extremely reliable...virtually nothing in repairs 
in 4 years. However, it's kind of a POS compared to the audi. Sure, it's 
a fun car to drive, and has a ton of space for a small car, but it's 
noisy, ride is harsher, and overall quality of parts is lower than the 
audi. When the civic was new, it was a $13k car. When the 5kcstq was 
new, it was a $35k car. It shows.

If you need/prefer AWD, look at what else you can get for under $4k. 
You're looking at older audis and suburus. If AWD isn't necessary, 
there's a whole big world of options out there.

Unless you expect the car to be a huge money pit, it may be best to keep 
it. And if it gets to the point where repair is likely to cost more than 
it's worth, it can always be sold/parted out so the rest of the 5k's can 
stay on the road :o)

-- 
Dan Cordon
Mechanical Engineer - Engine Research Facility
University of Idaho



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