When do you stop putting money into a car?

[flycy]

General rule of thumb is when your monthly maintenance expenses exceed projected monthly payments and higher insurance premiums on a newer car of similar class and style, it's time to go newer. But you can't go by just one month where a bunch of repairs hit. You have to look at the average over some period of months.

If you do buy, by all means, buy used. Look for something with 50-60 thousand miles on it, 4-5 years old. Those are the best values out there, along with "program" cars (usually former rental cars) that are a year or two old and priced quite a bit off new sticker.

If you woud ever buy a rental car, you have obviously never ridden with me in a rental

[flycy]

Correct!! Brakes are easy to change.

My point was if the surface of the rotor is rusty, the caliper is probably seized up and the pad is not making contact with the rotor. Then you have to replace the caliper which he would have to have a shop take care of.

No, you can buy calipers for not too much (probably around $40), and replacing them is not that hard either. I would always replace in left, right pairs. You just have to bleed the brakes more afterwards. Water collects in brake fluid except for the silicon based fluid, DOT 5, so it is best to replace the brake fluid when you do your brakes anyway. A simple inexpensive pump can help you do this easily. Just find a competent friend to help and it should be half an afternoon.

[Cyclonesrule91]

No, you can buy calipers for not too much (probably around $40), and replacing them is not that hard either. I would always replace in left, right pairs. You just have to bleed the brakes more afterwards. Water collects in brake fluid so it is best to replace the brake fluid when you do your brakes anyway. A simple inexpensive pump can help you do this easily. Just find a competent friend to help and it should be half an afternoon.

What do you mean by left and right pairs? Surely you don't mean replace the front left and the rear left I hope. Also if you have a proper sealed brake system, brake fluid will not collect water unless a line goes bad or your cap does not seal correctly. I have changed brakes 100's of time and the only time I have replaced brake fluid was when I replaced a line or replaced a caliper that went bad, otherwise it don't need to be done.

[ISUAlum2002]

I have no idea about this particular business, but there are some shops out there that will list absolutely everything that could use some attention. I'd ask to what degree the damage is in each case. Is the repair absolutely necessary (about to go out), or are they just worn to the point where you should be concerned? I'd get that information, and maybe get a second opinion if something is questionable in your mind.

I agree with this. Back in my younger days, before I knew how to do my own work on my cars, I took my car to Tires Plus just to get the tires changed. They then basically tried to scare me into replacing a bunch of items by showing me a massive list/quote of parts that were about to break down.....totaled up to a few thousand dollars and included similar items to your list:

Ball joints
Tie rods
Brake calipers were oh-so-rusted
Rotors/brake pads
Shocks/struts were "leaking"
Wheel bearings

Obviously, they were trying to get me to say "duhh, OK, I need my car to keep running, so go ahead and replace all those things." But even back then, I knew better....took the car home, drove it for another few years and never had an issue with it other than regular maintenance.

Your car is old enough to where some of those parts you listed are going to look old and worn, but may not necessarily be on the verge of snapping.

And replacement of the brake parts is insanely easy. Do you have any friends who are mechanically inclined at all? You can save a ton of money just by tossing a few bucks to one of them to spend a couple of hours changing them out. Your driver's side window is likely not too difficult/expensive to fix either.