Fix or Discard?

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

  A car is a consumable device. Such things are only worth what's left in 
them at the time of purchase. This value is adjusted automatically by the 
market to account for interesting and often imponderable variables such as 
actual and expected repair costs, insurance costs, paint colour, 
availability of cars of the same or similar attributes at comparable 
prices, and so on.

The question is not how much it costs to fix on any given occasion, but how 
much does it cost to get a replacement in the same condition that does not 
need the repair in question, or more properly any repair costing as much. 
Replacement theoretically includes replacement with a satisfactory model 
from another manufacturer. If you love ALFAs your choices are extremely 
limited.

Cars always cost a lot of money to run, because they are consumable 
devices. The only sensible question to ask yourself is "do I like this car 
enough to repair it, or should I buy another?". I have done this financial 
analysis many times as I run a car for my business and keep track of the 
expenses. Cars  almost always cost less to repair than to replace. A used 
car that you've had long enough to know it's not a lemon will always be 
cheaper to run than a new comparable car, because the market recognizes the 
real costs of new machinery by depreciating it rapidly. Also, the interest 
costs or opportunity costs (if you pay cash, whatever that is) are very 
high for a new machine.  Interestingly, commercial vehicles generally 
depreciate more closely to a straight line depreciation. The moral of this 
story is buy a two to three year old car before you go for a new model, 
fashion costs a lot in the personal car market!

Bottom line, if you like the car and you can't buy a replacement  known to 
be in good condition for less than the residual value of your car plus the 
repair, then you really have no choice but to repair it. Unless the body is 
badly rusted, or the interior crapped out entirely, then the fixing rest of 
the car is really just routine maintenance, no matter how horrible the 
repair bill seems to be. Remember the mantra: can I find another in THE 
SAME CONDITION for less?

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End of alfa-digest V7 #1113
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