My 95 Mazda 626 daily driver is getting on in age. At 202,000 miles the motor is still strong but the rust monster is taking over. NYS Inspection is coming up due in April, and its at the point where I need to spend some money to pass.
I need to replace the outer tie rod ends and the windshield. I also need to do the timing belt and water pump, plus fix a coolant leak. The underside is very rusty - I can smell fuel and I think its a miracle the hard lines haven't split in two. There's also a dozen other old car things that I've learned to just live with.
To be fair, its got newish tires, CV shafts, and brakes. And its cheeeeep to insure, great on gas, and "fun" to drive.
When do you throw in the towel?
Buy an identical one from down south or out west and keep the current one for parts
That sounds like "about now" to me...when for the expected cost of repairs you can almost get into a beater that's less beat.
'95 is pretty old now. Even finding an unrusty one down here it's still going to be an old car with a ton of miles. I struggle with the same question on our Forester; 167,000 miles and an incessant Check Engine light because it needs a catalytic converter among some other annoyances. Technically cheaper to fix it than buy a newer, more expensive car, but I'm to the point of feeling I don't want to flush the money down that hole. I think sometimes it's just time to make a change.
My '88 626-LX had a little over 170k on it when I sold it in favor of a larger vehicle for toting kids. Not a speck of rust on it anywhere. No issues whatsoever except that it leaked a little oil.
The rust is the killer in your case. What's your budget?
Edit: I'm losing my friggin' mind. Mine was an '89. Bought it new and DD'd it for 14 years. Great car.
I'd buy another 88-92 626. Make a trip out of it, it'll be fun, cheap, and those cars will not die.
Man, berkeley a buncha rust. That sounds like a big ball of fiery death waiting to happen.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/search/cto?query=Mazda+626&srchType=T&minAsk=100&maxAsk=3000
Yeah, if it wasn't for the rust, this would all be a non-issue. I guess I could say the same about NYS inspection - I'd fix the tie rods and keep driving it - its the broken glass that's expensive.
I should start shopping around for a replacement. Is my 626 worth anything to anybody - sale, scrap, parts, lemons,...?
