When is it time for a replacement?

By Doug McAllister

Q. How do I know if my car is worth fixing?

A. This is the age-old question and one that gets asked a fair amount! It is also a question that is often thought through incorrectly.

Some folks believe the deciding factor is the car is not worth fixing if the repair exceeds the book value of the vehicle. Another point of view would be to take the amount of money needed to fix up the current car and go buy another used car - or use it as a down payment on a new car.

Here is my 2 cents on the matter:

Assuming the car you own meets your needs and is not a total pile of junk, it may make sense to spend some money fixing it up. It doesn't make sense to buy another used car because you already have one of those and you know it's positives and its shortcomings.

This is where we have to try and use the logical side of our brain. Sometimes that's hard when it comes to cars because they can be a very emotional purchase. Let's say $4,000 takes care of everything wrong with your car and puts it in perfect running condition. Let's also assume the car is worth about $4,000. To my way of thinking, most people would be willing to pay $4,000 for a perfect $4,000 car.

Typically though, someone goes out and pays $3,000 for the $4,000 car and thinks they got a deal when in reality the used car still needs $4,000 worth of work. Pick your price range and a good percentage of the time this is what happens and exactly why the car is for sale.

If you spend the money on repairs you know exactly what you are getting.

The other option is to buy new and most of us don't have the money to pay cash for a new car, which means we are making payments. According to Edmunds, the average new car payment is $479 per month. In 10 months you will have paid the equivalent of the $4,000 worth of repairs but you still have four or five years of payments to go.

If you are trying to keep good wheels under you for the least amount of money, it is clear repairing the old car is the way to go.

Q. When you do a complete flush (removing nearly all the transmission fluid), do you also drop the transmission oil pan and change the filter and pan gasket, as well?

Would this work for my 2004 all-wheel-dive Mercury Mountaineer with about 52,000 miles, and a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country minivan (about 61,000 miles)?

My Chrysler dealer made a comment that Chrysler only recommends dropping the transmission oil pan and changing the filter. Since this is handicap van with a lowered floor and slide-out ramp, I need to keep it a long time and in top condition.

A. When you perform the transmission fluid exchange you do not have to drop the transmission pan and you still replace most of the fluid, approximately 98 percent of it.

If it's been a while since the fluid has been changed or if the fluid seems really dirty, I would consider doing both services so you have a clean filter, also. With the mileage on your vehicles and if the fluid still looks pretty good, you could do the fluid exchange now and then do both services at the 90,000-mile mark.

However, a shop could advise you better after an inspection of the cars.

• Douglas Automotive is at 417 W. Main St., Barrington; 123 Virginia Road, Crystal Lake; and 416 Northwest Hwy., Fox River Grove. For information, visit douglasautomotive.com. Send questions to underthehood@dailyherald.com.