Lizzie's reflected one of my sentiments I've told many people over the years, when asked "why do you run that old car- don't you want a newer one?"
"How much does your new 'better' car cost you? £200-300 a month? So if I spend any less than that per month (averaged out over the year, some months will be free, others may incur a larger bill) I'm up on the deal ...
and my car has electric everything, is comfy, smooth riding, corners very safely and predictably, sewing-machine engine note, is customised entirely to my taste and reliable. Is your car all of those?"
There's not many people that can hand on heart say 'yes' to all that.
The first year was the most expensive as I was doing everything as it arose, and nothing was 'bodged until tomorrow', I wanted to do it once and do it right... it's cheaper in the long run. I've just added up all I've spent - it works out at about £61 per month!
A large chunk (almost half) of that is in paintwork, and also many (many, many!) parts that aren't fitted, or really silly extras that let's be honest I/the car didn't need.
If you're going to pay a garage to do all the work every time - forget it; unless you have deep pockets. But there's very, very little that's daunting to anyone willing to 'have a go' and much help on this forum when you do need it