Question: How long should I keep my car?

That is a very general question and is actually one you should ask yourself. Do you really like your car? Are you bored with it? Is is always breaking down? Is it worth anything to a collector?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Take a blank sheet of paper. Draw a line down the middle. On one side write down everything you like about the car, no matter how tiny each item is. On the other side write down everything that you dislike about the car. If your like column is longer then chances are you should keep it. If your dislike column is longer then chances are that you really don't like your car and you need to start searching for a new one.

2. Check Mota.net and kbb.com to find out what the value of your car is. A 1986 Ford LTD is going to be worth a lot less than a 1969 Dino 206GT

3. Take a look at how much it is costing you to maintain your current car. My grand-dad was religious about oil changes in his 1976 Toyota truck. When he sold it it had over 1.4 million miles on the original, legendary R22 engine. His maintenance costs were nil so it made more sense to keep it even tough he had other cars to drive. He only sold it because he stopped driving altogether.

Basically if it is costing you more and more money just to keep the pistons moving, then put a little cash into it and sell it or trade it in before it breaks again.

I am still waiting for someone to beg me to take their 1967 Shelby GT500 off their hands.

Stumble It!