Folks on the piloteer forum and reddit (and AI for whatever that’s worth…) generally seem to think this sort of vehicle would be worth investing in since the transmission seems to be working well and it is pretty light on rust.

It very much depends on what “pretty light on rust” means. I’d hate to dump 5-7k into a car just to have it rust out in a couple of years.

My mechanic is absolutely willing to do the work but they haven’t really spoken forcefully one way or another if they think this maintenance is a good idea.

Most mechanics won’t give you a strong opinion one way or the other, in my experience, unless they really don’t think it’s worth doing the work.

My coworkers however have said if it was their car they would trade it in and get a newer used vehicle.

This is the American way for a lot of people.

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I grew up driving old cars, and in general I think you come out ahead financially keeping a well-maintained car on the road instead of buying a new one. That said, there are very good reasons to buy a new car. Fuel efficiency, emissions reduction, and safety being the biggest ones in my opinion.

My wife and I are in a similar situation. Our 2003 Subaru Legacy needs all three catalytic converters and the entire exhaust manifold replaced. In a vacuum, I’d 100% drop the cash to keep this car on the road. We’ve maintained it well and I know exactly what’s been done to it.

However, we’re also trying to start a family soon and are starting to be more concerned with safety features. The industry has made a lot of progress in this area over the last 20+ years.