Repair the car you own, it’s cheaper.
At Tony’s we see vehicles in all states of disrepair. A new car will only need basic services and 2 to 5-year-old cars will need bigger repairs as parts wears out. The cars I 
am talking about are the cars over 10 to 25 years of age and still look nice inside and out.
Just because a repair may be larger than the value of the car is no reason to give up and sell your car. I hear this phrase at least once a day. My car is not worth that. If you have a car that “blue books” at $4,000 and the car needs an AC over haul that may cost $1,800. The repair is worth doing, if your car is in great condition.
Repair it!
If the same $4,000 car needs an engine at $5,100. The car is still worth repairing, but only if the car has been correctly maintained. The car must be in “great condition”. “No accident damage”, good paint, interior is clean plus everything works correctly and you love your car.
In many cases if you go out car shopping you will buy a car that is over $12,000 and you will get a loan to buy the car and your license tags will cost more. Plus your insurance will go up.
It’s less expensive to repair the car you already own. Buying a new car is the same as fixing the car you already own. Now you are making payments vs a repair bill. You must be honest with your self, if you are a person that just does not care for your car. Your car will wear out and fall apart.
A “neglected” car is not worth repairing, junk it and move on
The owner of the car is the reason a car is in good or bad condition, not the repair garage. 
Let’s face it, some people don’t care about anything unless it’s broken. Preventative repairs and basic maintenance is not important, but a cat video on YouTube will have front row attention. If properly cared for 80% of cars sold would last 15 years or more. It’s up to the owner to care about keeping it in good condition.
2005 Dodge Neon, yes it has road rash, but it’s fixable. This car needs a $390 dollar repair. Any repair that is less than a monthly payment is worth doing.
Everyone needs a $1,000 Emergency car fund.
The average “break down repair” at Tony’s is around $650.00. With an emergency repair fund of $1,000 dollars, a $650.00 dollar repair is no big deal. My repair fund is $2,000. I 
have 2 cars and a service van. If all 3 need minor repairs in the same month, I should be ok.
If you have more than one car you should “add $500.00 dollars for each additional car”. If you have an SUV or European brand, double the amount in the fund.
It’s a fact, it is less expensive to fix a good used car than go and buy a new one.
Heyanthonyaz.com
The Fairlane Victoria sold for 2,249 in 1956, but by todays inflation % it would be like buying a car for 19,844 
Finding a classic that is in good condition takes lots of work. When you find the one you like, you need to get it inspected before buy it. The rule is, once you buy it, it’s your problem now. Sellers do not have to tell you a thing, they are not lying to you, they just don’t tell you what they know about the car they are selling. 
Holding back information is not a crime, but it should be. An inspection is the only way to protect you and your hard-earned money.
Just because it looks fabulous on the outside does not indicate it’s in good shape underneath the sheet metal. Rust, mechanical wear, electrical faults and body repairs that did not get the attention they needed during the restoration are very common, Flawless paint is a red flag, it may be pretty on the outside, but what is underneath all that paint? This 56 Fairlane was in distress years ago, now it’s a mess of body filler and crap repairs on top of more crap repairs. The body is dead, all the mounting points on the right side are rotten. 
The engine runs OK but the transmission makes noise and the gear shift linkage is worn out to the point it is hard to get from one gear to the next. The doors and hood don’t close correctly and you have to slam the driver’s door to get it to latch. The brakes are a mess too, it’s unsafe to drive. 
The car needs so much work that it’s hard to find a starting point. Getting your car inspected by a certified mechanic with a written evaluation gives you power to negotiate a lower price or pass on the buy all together and keep looking for a good car to spend your money on. So it’s shiny with pretty paint and tons of chrome, but if you can’t drive it, what is the point of buying it in the first place. It does not matter who you buy from, get it inspected…
We re-finish plastic head light lenses all the time.
Not all lenses can be saved. Rock pits, scratches, and plastic cracking can not be fixed with sanding if it’s too deep into the plastic surface. 20% of the head lamp housings I run across in my shop have major damage and need to be replaced.
The process of refinishing the plastic lens is fairly simple, and many parts stores sell DIY kits to sand, polish and protect the plastics.
So here it is in a nut shell, we clean the plastics, wet sand the imperfections out of the surface. Then use a 2 step polishing compound to restore the clear as glass look. Last step is a double coating of wax. Regular car war works fine for this.
