Fix it or buy another one?

[Velvis]

I have a 96 Explorer sport that I bought about 4 years ago for $1000. It had 200,000 miles on it then, and now it has 270,000.

My sticker expired this month and my mechanic says it needs about $700 worth of front end parts and repair. (Mechanic is a friend of the family and is honest..., he suggests getting something new but I think he thinks I have more money than I have to spend.)

Its in decent shape, a little rust, but looks ok.

It always starts and the engine sounds and runs good. (I am not entirely convinced its the original motor, just based on how many miles are on it....)


My budget for a new one is probably max $2500 +sales tax and registry fees.

What I have found on craigslist is anything in the $1000 looks like hell and/or needs work. Around $2500-$3000 look ok, but they all have 100,000+ miles which makes sense given their age.

But its always been my experience that SOMETHING always goes wrong a month or two into ownership, making that $3000 truck a $4000 truck real quick.

I'd like to get another year out of the truck but not sure if I should do the repairs or let this truck go.

I wouldn't mind having a truck with 300,000 miles on it....you dont see that everyday.

Opinions?

 

[R1dd1cK]

What parts are you needing? I have 4 parts explorers and I could probably give you one hell of a deal on some parts.

 

[koda2000]

i don't know. if the miles weren't so high on what you have, i'd say fix it, but at 270k you're kinda living on borrowed time as it is. you don't say which engine you have (96 sport = 4.0 OHV?). will it last another 30k? maybe...

If you could find a clean 2000-2001 V8 with say 150k on the odo for around $2500 it might be a better investment. then again when you're buying used (unless you can really check it out well) you may end up needing to put money into it. i recently bought two 2000 Mountaineers for around $2k a piece. One's turned out to be a really nice vehicle and the other ones turning out to be an ok vehicle. both needed some repairs, but nothing major.

 

[Velvis]

What parts are you needing? I have 4 parts explorers and I could probably give you one hell of a deal on some parts.

I dont have the exact list in front of me, but it needs a upper control arm, left and right ball joints, and links.

 

[koda2000]

Moog upper control arms, lower ball joints and end-links cost about $150 on RockAuto (shipping included). If you do the work yourself, it takes about 5-7 hours (the first time you do it). That would save you a bunch of money over paying someone else to do the work. That would make your old ride worth keeping.