Larry J mentioned:

"On an infinitely more mundane level, I'm facing exactly the same decision about my wife's minivan. It's almost 10 years old but has low mileage. However, things are starting to break. We just replaced the waterpump last weekend only to find out that the transmission is leaking. I may be looking for a new car for her as soon as this afternoon, depending on how bad that transmission leak turns out to be. It's in a place that would cost over $600 to repair."

---- end quote ----

If your wife's car is Japanese, e.g. a Toyota, then buying used Japanese parts might be an option. Japan has draconian automobile registration laws that force automobile owners to junk their cars with only 50,000 km on the odometer (this is a form of "dumping" to benefit their car manufacturing industry). There's an aftermarket selling these cars as complete automobiles to some countries, e.g. New Zealand and as parts in other countries. If you're ever in Bangkok, you can't help but see these high speed boats zipping around in Bangkok's canals. The motors powering these boats are up on swivels and clearly visible. It's easy to see these motors in a former life were inside Toyotas and Hondas.

Anyway, I've re-engined and re-transmissioned some of my cars with used Japanese parts. They're dirt cheap. One complete engine cost me $125. A 5 speed transmission cost me $175. These parts were barely broken in. One engine that I bought was junked because the distributor points were burnt (the engine had almost new compression and in near new mechanical order). With Japanese cars you need never go inside the engine block or transmission case. If a major component malfunctions, then whack out the whole part and replace it with a low mileage part.

However a word of warning: When doing this be selective. When you go to the part dealer you may find yourself in a warehouse with several hundred engines spread out on the floor. Look inside the rocker arm covers and inspect the oil (also check the dip stick). If the oil is milky grey then that engine got rained on while on top of a junk pile and has water mixed with the oil. Make a point of cherry picking the part you want. Take your time and pick out the best engine from a pile of a hundred. What you buy will last a 100,000 miles and cost only a couple hundred bucks.

Gary