I like it. It reminds me of the appraisal given by Mark Salem, of Salem
Brothers auto repair in the Phoenix area. He was on the radio, doing a show
on car care and repair, when somebody asked whether Mark thought the car was
worth a major repair.

Mark Salem's appraisal was: figure the lease payments for a car to provide
the service your car is providing - compact, full size, van, etc. Then
compare it against the cost of repair. For example, if facing a $1500
transmission repair and a replacement lease car is $300 per month, after
five months the transmission repair is water under the bridge and you are
saving $300 per month (less other repair costs). Leave routine maintenance
costs out of the picture, because all cars need that.

I also like the preventive repairs you mention. It took me a while, but I
finally came around to the "overhaul" approach. One CV boot torn? The other
side isn't far behind so that's a good time to do both sides. The increase
in reliability is amazing when half the repairs are done before there is
actually a failure.

Mike

Interesting specially since you are talking about the same car I have
. The main difference being that I have 1/3 of your mileage.
I have been debating if I should keep it or trading it for a new
Acura.

It just happens that I have in my garage a Jag XJS 1978 that I started
rebuilding but I run out of enthusiasm. My age also became a factor
(76)

I ask a local paint shop to estimate the cost of repainting my Integra
with a different color . The answer was 2,200 provided that I do some
minor work, like removing the door panels.
I proposed to give him my Jaguar in exchange for his Integra work.
He is coming to look a the Jag before making a decision.

Vlad