Get it fixed. you know its faults, it would be expensive to replace.

Thanks for the input folks.

I've bought a used engine once from the weckers and regretted it in 3 months.

One bitten, twice shy. The stupid part is I have loads of credit limit and I have the cash. But I've thrown good money after bad before. I could go out and buy a new Caliber tomorrow. Car salesmen would come in their pants when they ran my credit.

But I've had the old beast for 13 years and done everything to it from one end to the other.

But I guess the main thing is that my 19 year old daughter suffered from depression for many months until I figured out it was caused by her hormone therapy. (Thank you doctors for not being able to figure that out). What pulled her through it until I cured her through my research and by getting her put on a different hormone therapy, was a recurring dream where she was in her 40s and driving that car. Through several suicide attempts as well.

So for now, its parked beside the house until I find out how much student loan she can get for the next xemester and how much I have to spend. We're Canadian living in the US and neither government can help her. We have to go to commercial lenders.

But so much about my problems. I really like the power stuff in my 2002 Miata but lets face it when you drive a Miata, you need a practical car too. So I guess when I get back from the Consumer Elecronics Show in January I will take up the offer by my regular mechanic, for problems I don't want to handle myself, to do it for $1600 all in. And I will tackle up to a head gasket myself.

Even though I'd be tempted by the Caliber if they hadn't made it so ugly with those plastic skunk stripes down the sides of the roof. And screwed up the continuously variable transmission my making it mimic a 6 speed.

Dan