Is my '99 Ebony still worth it?

[11justsomekid]

Hi, I've had my VX for about 2 years, purchased on Craigslist. It drove well and got the approval of my parents to buy. Months later, the transmission decided to start act up, leading to a total overhaul. So far, this is all I've invested (excluding the many quarts of oil and other fluids), which is currently at about $6200. I'm 19 years old, heading for college, and I don't know what to do with the car. I love her dearly, but all she does is give me problems. Here's a list of current grievances:

- My mysterious battery-draining electrical system (Even with a new battery, it only lasts about a week. Alternator works and no lights are on. No idea what could be doing this)
- Power steering leaks (replaced hose, but still leaks)
- Washer fluid leaks
- Blower stopped (just happened yesterday!)
- Door/window seals are poor & let moisture in
- Window rails are broken (one of the looked removed???)
- Cassette deck doesn't work (I collect them, OK?)
- General cosmetics (worn leather, speckled paint, cheaply tinted windows, chrome is half gone on the wheels and all the cladding has turned chalky? I think the previous owner mistreated it)
- General old car things (burns oil, 12 MPG, few parts, bad tires)
- And probably much more in the future!

My parents, happy for me two years ago to find a 4WD car that wasn't a Subaru or CR-V, are now recommending me Mitsubishi Mirages and other dinky econoboxes. I've been forced to face the music on whether or not I should keep this. Should I change to X-Terra, some high mileage recent car, or even another Isuzu? Or should I keep the car I love to drive, that I've been told is a rattletrap AND a money pit. I'm not flush with cash, but I hope a new job will fix that. Should I continue with the VX life that I've known so long, or should I sell the 118,XXX beauty, knowing I'll never see one again? Is what I love a waste of time and money?

[Thelgord]

Owning any vehicle that is more than 10 years old is going to bring a never ending stream of issues. Even classic muscle cars require frequent attention. There will always be something to do to it. That is just the reality of owning an older vehicle. No one online knows your situation better than you, and I get it. I love my VX (also a '99 Ebony that I am trying to save from the salvage yard), but there I times I want to burn it to the ground out of frustration. Basically you have three choices:

1) Keep it
2) Sell it
3) Get a second vehicle for while you're in collage to use as a daily driver and keep the VX as a project vehicle.

The best advice I can give you from the internet is this.

- Decide what you want to the VX to do for you. Daily driver, off road rock crawler, overland vehicle, show car, fun toy, whatever.
- Come up with a plan to get it to where you want it to be. Don't worry about cost yet. Just build the plan and the order of things that need to be fixed, modified, or fabricated to get it where you want it to be.
- Sort the list by what is most important/most needed to you.

Once you have this list you can figure out if you can do collage and make the list happen at the same time. I know it isn't easy, or cheap. While myself and others have chosen to keep our VX's, many do not. However, should you keep it, I would recommend option 3, keep it and get a daily driver to use while you fix up the VX. You can get a used reliable car that gets good fuel economy which frees up the VX to really be ripped into for major repairs and upgrades. But even this advice may not work for your specific situation. Whatever you decide, please keep us posted.