Question of the Day

I've been pondering... when is it actually time to get a new car? I've always thought that 2 conditions needed to be met in order to get a new car. 1) you worry that the car you have will not get you from point a to point b. 2) you can afford a new car. (The second taking precedence over the first.

I bought my current car brand new in 2001. It runs great, it just has a couple of minor issues.... if you roll the windows down, they don't roll back up, the passenger door handle broke off in my hand yesterday, the little trim pieces inside the car are all slowly making it into the glove department and it has a minor oil leak in the timing belt system.

All of these things are relatively minor and with some adjusting on my part (i.e. not going through drive thrus) are completely manageable. To fix any of these things would cost a pretty down payment on a new car, yet the car still gets me from point a to point b (knock on wood...) and sadly the biggest reason I can't afford it...

So.... in your opinion, when is it really time to buy a new car?