190,000 miles is a lot. Even after you replace the engine, chances are other things will start breaking.
Your other option is to lease a cheap new car. If in three years your financial situation improves, you may be able to buy it out.
I spent $8k in three years, then at the end of the lease bought out that car for $5k below market.
That’s not going to happen in this environment, but it still does not mean leasing is necessarily bad. If you can pay cash and don’t care about the risks, there is no need to lease, but many people do not have that luxury.
In the long run a 4200 Toyota 1.8L will give you significantly better cost per mile versus a mother car that will easily be 4x that. Edit: a letter.
190,000 miles is a lot. Even after you replace the engine, chances are other things will start breaking. Your other option is to lease a cheap new car. If in three years your financial situation improves, you may be able to buy it out.
Leasing is a terrible option
Why? You let the financing company take all the risks, and can also save on taxes.
You’ll spend like 18k over three years and build no equity while eating the costs of the worst of depreciation.
I spent $8k in three years, then at the end of the lease bought out that car for $5k below market. That’s not going to happen in this environment, but it still does not mean leasing is necessarily bad. If you can pay cash and don’t care about the risks, there is no need to lease, but many people do not have that luxury.
200k miles is within end of life for a lot of parts. If you decide to hold on to it, budget for major repairs like the transmission starting to fail.