Q: Should I repair or trade-in my car?

asked by on November 18, 2016

I have 2003 VW New Beetle that I bought new. I lived in OH where no inspection is needed to register a car, and have had check-engine light on for a couple of years. I have recently relocated to MD for a new job where car inspection is mandatory. Apart from check-engine light, speedometer became inaccurate, and the engine occasionally started to make ticking sound and gets rough whenhumid. Changing ignition plugs and coil (cracked) seemed making the situation worse. Before relocating, I took my car to the dealer to find a culprit, but they gave ma a laudry list of things that supposed to cost me $5k to fix everything, including: (1) Replace exhaust redonator ($1769.12); (2) Parkign brake cable ($518.92); (3) driver's side lower ball joint ($238.04); (4) replace front strut moutns and bearings ($423.44); (5) Rare brake pads ($333.85); (6) Speedo drive gear ($1034.04); (7) Wiper ($34.96); (8) O2 sensor ($315.88). Cosmetically, it has several dings and scratches. Should I repair or..?

My car has 82000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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