Watching the for sale ads of late i've seen a lot of very acceptable looking motors get canned, and I think i'm now close to that point, but the question is when would you give in.
I have a '99 2.5 Elite (mini), owned it for the last 8yrs and it has been rock solid, very rarely letting me down. The problem is now the MOT is soon up and I know it needs work, front shocks went soft a few months back, self levelling compressor no longer kicks in, had a new cat back exhaust a year ago but it sounds like the cats are making a noise, it has a tick that sounds like exhaust manifold, it leaks from the pipe behind the inlet manifold, 1 door strap has gone, it no longer flashes the hazards when the alarm triggers, ABS ECU went 2 weeks back (doh!) and to cap it whilst it looks ok from a distance almost every panel has some sort of dink from the peons at ASDA's car park. Oh and it will be due a cambelt change within a few K miles.
I can spare £5-600 this month for repairs if needed but the fact is i'm thinking should I just give up and use that money to buy an interim vehicle? I kind of have to decide inside the week as I need a legal car to get to work.
What would you do?
Baz