Thru thick and thin
 

So I was about to pull the trigger on a new vehicle and decided to keep the old beast instead and ride her into the sunset.
She's only got 89k on her so I hope I'm doing the right thing and I won't go bankrupt trying to keep her afloat down the road.

I wish there was a glass ball you could check out the future to see if I made the right decision.

To a solid finish with my '06 4.4i.

Not worth selling it when i had around 90k on the clock i wanted to sell but i made the right decision to keep mine is 06 4.4i as well just be ready to change the control arms if you havent yet like 160 and DIY :D

My '05 has just turned a bit over 81k miles. Drives so well it is hard to imagine another vehicle that could replace it and perform nearly as well... <crickets>

Thanks that's reassuring. I have not replaced the control arms. I'll have to look into that. Are there warning signs as far as when they need replacing?

Vibrations in the steering wheel, usually at higher speeds and/or braking.

Many variables, needs and desires by each of us...but imo, a car you 'know' that is running well, esp a car that is paid for, (or nearly so), is the least expensive car one can own.

'Some cost' of most annual repairs/maintenance is much less expensive than a new car.

Fwiw, I asked the Magic 8 Ball and it displayed, ;)
GL, mD

MD got the Magic 8 Ball :thumbup::D

I've run lots of numbers on this. Even with major system refresh and rebuild work, my take has been that keeping and maintaining beats selling and replacing, at least with anything else I'd want, by a lot of dollars. Hell, I might be saving enough to pay for that supercharger....

The problem you have to deal with is timing and human emotion. Instead of a nice, predictable monthly payment with the comfort of turning over your problems to a dealer and a warranty, you get unpredictable failure events. That's emotionally difficult to deal with. The $2,000 repair bill you get surprised by this month somehow causes a lot more angst than four $500 car payments would have.

What can you do? Others have made good suggestions here. Keep a designated cash cushion for your car and keep filling it up as you go along - that's the "put the monthly payment you would have made in the bank instead" strategy. Works pretty well, if that's what you need to do. I've been able to just roll with the surprises and have reconciled myself to not getting into a twist about it, I'm fortunate that there's enough cash cushion in my life that I can do that.

Another is to do the work that's going to need to be done before it's needed. Everything is going to wear out. You can replace it when you want, or when it wants. I've cracked 110,000 and am working my way through everything with that approach. Cooling system is fully refreshed, suspension and steering refresh is nearly all done. I get bonus points for the suspension and steering work, since she drives and rides great now that everything is new and tight.

Anyway, good luck with your decision.

Or when you go over a bump you will hear like a cracking sound and it will get annoying so i suggest when you notice the vibration when you brake just change it, it is like $80.

Thanks guys, great advice. I do have a bit of a shake. My shop was telling me that I might need new rotors but the control arm seams to be what you guys are describing.
I'll have to do a search for control arms replacement. I'm sure it's on here somewhere with guidance and info where to pick them up.

Thanks again.