Fix up my 1996 Ford Taurus or replace it?

[jc0481]

I'll try to make this as short as possible. I own a 1996 Ford Taurus LX. It has 151,000 miles on it. The car mechanic I trust quoted me $1,100 out the door price to fix it up. He's the owner of the auto shop by the way. A month ago the owner of the apartments I live in hit the back of my Ford Taurus with his snow plow. The appraiser came out and gave me the value of my Ford Taurus $1,700 and to fix up the damaged part of the car came to be $750 dollars. I was kind of shocked that my Ford Taurus would be worth that kind of money.
I got a check in the mail a few weeks ago for $750 from the insurance company.

I don't know why I still signal when I'm changing lanes to the right or making a right turn. The rear tail lights are fully broken lol.
Time is running short. It's due for safety and emissions in March.

I just need some advice on what to do with my vehicle. Fix it up or replace it?
The private car sales I have seen have had good prices. But I don't want to get a car and spend a fortune to fix it up.I've been down that road before some years ago.
I don't want anything fancy either. Just a reliable car to drive me from point A to point B. Not looking for a car loan either. That's out of the question.

Thanks in advance.

 

[shinji]

You're better off just replacing it.

Toyota will reliably get you from point A to point B.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I'll try to make this as short as possible. I own a 1996 Ford Taurus LX. It has 151,000 miles on it. The car mechanic I trust quoted me $1,100 out the door price to fix it up. He's the owner of the auto shop by the way. A month ago the owner of the apartments I live in hit the back of my Ford Taurus with his snow plow. The appraiser came out and gave me the value of my Ford Taurus $1,700 and to fix up the damaged part of the car came to be $750 dollars. I was kind of shocked that my Ford Taurus would be worth that kind of money.
I got a check in the mail a few weeks ago for $750 from the insurance company.

I don't know why I still signal when I'm changing lanes to the right or making a right turn. The rear tail lights are fully broken lol.
Time is running short. It's due for safety and emissions in March.

I just need some advice on what to do with my vehicle. Fix it up or replace it?
The private car sales I have seen have had good prices. But I don't want to get a car and spend a fortune to fix it up.I've been down that road before some years ago.
I don't want anything fancy either. Just a reliable car to drive me from point A to point B. Not looking for a car loan either. That's out of the question.

Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately the only way to answer that is to the what the rest of the car is like. You say it's high mileage, but what else have you replaced in recent years? If quite a bit then it's probably worth fixing. If you've not had much done, there could be a load of work waiting for you.
Also you say you don't want a loan (a policy I fully agree with), but what funds do you have available?
If you only have $1500 to spend you're not guaranteed to get better quality (other than the tail light of course!).
You could fix the light yourself. Get one from eBay or a car breakers. Either way you'll get more when you sell it/px it.

Cars always cost you. Buy new you lose money in depreciation.
Run an old car it costs you in parts.
The trick is to buy nearly new and keep it until it becomes a liability in servicing costs. Of course that will vary with each car you own.

 

[Huntn]

If it's your only vehicle, I'd sell it, if you can afford the $20-30k cost spread out over time. However, an argument can be made that it would be less expensive to maintain it. But you could reach a point where concern about reliability may wear on you. What shape is the body in rust wise?

 

[JamesMike]

Do good research before you get rid of your present vehicle.

 

[Mousse]

If you live in Texas, check out the Texas Air Check program where you can trade in you old jalopy and get $2500-$3500 credit toward the purchase of a new or newish car.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I would replaced with a very low mileage used one (<10,000 mi). They often go for a good price, especially if they have some minor visual damage (if you're like me and don't care).

 

[an-other]

There's been a lot of advances in auto safety since 1996. I know that's not particularly sexy, however it is something to add to your decision process.