Another Car Question

[RobertInOntario]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but your neighbour sounds like an idiot (and owner of a a big-3 product) . He probably throws away anything that stops working, rather than getting it repaired. Another example of the throw-away mentality far too many people have today.
A 1998 Honda with less that 200K on it is just getting broken in. Actually, even most non-compact North American cars of that vintage/mileage still have a lot of life left in them.
Is the body still in good shape? Is the interior holding up? As has been mentioned already, you can do a lot of repair work for less than the downpayment on a new car. As Mikey said, only when the repair bills start rivaling the monthly payments for a new one should you consider ditching ol' reliable. I'm guessing this car has long-since been paid off? If the car's still doing the job for you, save your money.
I'm driving a 1995 Civic with 310K on it (and snow tires ). In the last 3 years, the most expensive repair I've had to do was replace the head gasket. Everything else I've done is replace normal wear items (brakes, exhaust). My buddy has the same car, and he's owned it since new. He has 360K on his, and the biggest repair he's had to do is replace the rad. And we both average 45-50 mpg (imperial).
So I could trade in my car, get a thousand credit, and buy a car that, while newer, will be smaller and less fuel efficient. OK, so maybe the exhaust is a little cleaner, but I'm still burning less, so that's a bit of an offset, but I'll stil be out of pocket a few hundred bucks every month for the next 3-5 years.
Keep your '98 if you're happy with the car. Unless you feel a radical need to downsize/upsize, spend a couple of thousand on new brakes, a major tuneup, struts and snowtires. You'll think you've got a new car.
And next time your neighbour tells you to buy new, ask him how deep he's into the bank for his new wheels

Thanks, Squid. I think our neighbour's way of "looking out for us" ... they have two cars, one of which is a Nissan but I can't remember if the other is a Big-3 though.

But I still agree with the advice given here. Yes, our Civic was paid off 8 or 9 years ago -- since then, we've had brake repairs, a new clutch (which cost $1,000 or so) and just general wear & tear. I was thinking that I could try to get 220-240K on it but -- as you say -- we could probably get a lot more. AFAIK, it's in good mechanical shape and we've certainly maintained it mechanically. We haven't had it undercoated or "Ziebarted" much and there is some rust at the bottom of the driver's door and a few very small spots on the body. Like you, we average 45-50 mpg (Imperial) on the highway and around 30-35 in the city. So I think we will seriously consider keeping it going for awhile -- but, at its next servicing -- I might get the garage to check its brakes and suspension.

One of our other neighbours is an avid car enthusiast. He owns 5 vehicles, the most interesting being a '65 Cobra that can go from 50 mph to 100 mph in just seconds ! (He took me for a ride in it a couple years ago -- I'll never forget it!) At any rate, he basically echoed the advice given here as well.

Cheers, Rob