I have reached a difficult point in my relationship with my 1994 integra gsr, and wanted to get some feedback on others’ thoughts who might have been at a similar place before.

I bought it in 97 with 31k, and it has been overall a wonderful car. Once it ticked over 120k I started having more repairs, as expected, but the last few months have been brutal, as it hit the 150k mark.

At around 130k I did the following (outside of normal maintenance, which I have done religiously):
New thermostat
New muffler
New Window regulator

At 150k, I was hit with:
New radiator - $300 to fix
Repair on rear brakes (reaming out caliper slide pin mounts – calipers had become stuck on the pins that are supposed to let it slide along with the rotor) - $200 to fix
New brake master cylinder - $200 to fix
New rear motor mount - $200 to fix
New front CV boot – not fixed yet, but I guess about $150
Manifold bolt sheared off (no real problem, but an annoying buzz to the engine sound) – not fixed yet, but needs $150 to fix
Then - in 30k, there will be the second timing belt job....

Also there is the first spot of rust on the rear wheel well

Since I have had it, I have tinted the windows, added a satellite radio, added a cd changer to the stock radio, replaced the stock wheels with kosei k1’s, and have kept the interior and exterior in amazingly good shape over the years. Nobody can believe it is a 94 when they see it.

The car is very comfortable to me, like an old friend, and the only real problem I have with it (in addition to the mounting repair costs) is that it is fairly loud at highway speeds (compared to more modern versions like the RSX).

I look at newer cars, and don’t really want to spend the $18k to get what I really want (a lightly used wrx or rsx) and end up paying monthly payments again, higher insurance, and suffering the depreciation.

I look at even $1000 in repairs per year as a savings when compared to the cost of depreciation of a new car, increased insurance, and even the minimal maintenance that always occurs, no matter how new your car is. So maybe driving my car into the ground is not such a bad thing…I am just torn when it comes to small improvements like having the rusty panel repainted, rebuilding my rear driver’s side caliper to replace the torn dust seal, putting new speakers in the back, since I feel like I am just throwing the money away. If I were not such a perfectionist, this would be a lot easier.

Sorry to ramble on, but I needed to share.

Thoughts? Perspective to share?