it's almost over Options

[Queenie]

At least, I'm pretty sure it is.

My car won't pass smog.

It appears to have a blown head gasket.

Not to mention it still needs a shitload of engine work that I really don't feel like paying for or dealing with.

I have not made a final decision, but I've already started looking for a bug. I'm about 98% sure that cutting my losses and getting out now is the right thing to do. I can't afford to keep fixing the 914. As much as I love driving it, it's killing me to try to keep it on the road.

*sigh*

I so wanted this car to be a good thing.

[lapuwali]

IMHO, it sounds like you need to bite the bullet and get out of old cars period. Driving ANY 30+ year old car is going to cost money to keep up, particularly if you can't do the work yourself. A Toyota will tolerate going 100K miles with little more than oil changes, but a Bug won't any more than a 914 would. In my experience, people who manage to run old cars as daily drivers either spend a fortune on mechanics bills or they have a well-equipped garage and know how to do most of the work themselves (i.e., they spend the fortune on a house and tools). My newest car is 33 years old, and I can do the bulk of what it will need myself, and can afford to pay someone else to do the rest.