An age old question with no right answer in my opinion without divine wisdom. Conventionally the answer for many car guys would be that a car is beyond hope when the cost of repair exceeds the value of the car.
OK, so then what’s the value of the car? That depends completely on the devotion of the owner. Many, many times the owner can’t part with it nor bear the cost of repair so the car kinda just melts into the ground like the one pictured above in hopes that one day the owner will have the money to restore it.
For some the car is just a resource a piece of metal. A sale value will do and if a car can’t be sold for more than the cost of repair then it beyond hope. Perhaps, but how much will you have to invest to replace it and how far would it have gone if repaired without further major expense.
Here is another way to look at the equation but it’s not necessarily right either.
First 5 Years deprecation
$30,000: Original investment
Minus- $10,000: Value after 5 years and aprox 75,000 miles
$20,000: Amount of depreciation/Loss
$20,000/5 = $4,000 a year loss
Next 5 Years
$10,000: 5 year value
Minus- $2,000: Value after 10 years and aprox. 150,000 miles
$8,000: Amount of depreciation/Loss
$8,000/5 = $1,600 a year loss = $2,400 savings by keeping it
You could have spent $8,000 in repairs and still saved $3,000. Add the interest, property tax, higher insurance costs the conventional wisdom gets more expensive.
Using this formula saves many folks a ton of money but that may not be the answer either…
The question is what brings you life? The following audio strikes me as an answer not just to marriage but to my relationship with Jesus first and foremost but also in my case I love, “Old Red”.. So I enjoy my life more because I have “MY Truck”.. Listen and see what you think….
So now you see where prayer comes in if you are following me… When you come to that cross roads. Only the Wonderful Counselor can guide me here to what is best financially and what is best for my life and my walk with him…
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