I "pre-inherited" a 2009 with the 2.4L engine back in 2012 from my dad (he's still alive and kicking, he just wanted a Ford Transit because it had more room for food bank deliveries) while she had about 72,000 miles. Named after Amelia Pond (she's a ginger after all - if you aren't a Doctor Who fan you could probably care less) and 112,000 miles later she's still doing well, all things considered.
Not pictured below is her bad side courtesy of eldest, who shortly after obtaining his driver license made a not sharp enough turn across a farm culvert and he ended up jumping into a ditch. Did a number on the front right quarter panel, bumper cover and windshield washer pump, but she is still driveable. I need to replace the valve cover gasket but she is running like a champ. That would be the third altercation as she has been hit two other times. Why did I not get the body work done this time around? Our deductible and lack of funds.That was three years ago, and with four teenagers in the house, there were higher priority expenditures since she was still road-capable without any repairs.
Also not pictured is: the hood has developed a substantial peeling issue and the paint on top of the car has lost a lot of clear coat and looks like it will probably start looking like the hood in the next couple of years. Also the clutch plate on the A/C compressor disappeared at some point and I'm doing the 360 degree air thing - i.e. rolling the windows down - which is all well and good, except now the driver window is catching the rubber strip on the inside, so I have a 99 cent walmart spray bottle with water that I spray the window across the gasket, and the window slides down with no issue. Until the next time I need to roll the window down. The headlamp lenses are getting rather foggy but the bulbs are still projecting out at night so other than looking old, it isn't slowing my roll so to speak.
So I'm wanting to take care of all that, but I guess the question is is it worth it scrounging up parts for a high mileage vehicle, or would it make more sense to just trade her in on something else. I like the car, even with the road noise and the not-as-smooth-a-ride as other cars. I like the handling, the 2.4 doesn't give me awesome fuel economy, but I can still hit 30-31 mpg on my good weeks, and I like the fact she gets up and goes unlike a smaller engine like my old Civic.
