You can get off your soapbox now.
I honestly do not care whether anyone here "believes" I am a cheap bastard or not. I could have bought a new car years ago but didn't. I could write a check for a 5 series but I am not going to. Cheap doesn't mean I have to live off of corn starch and water when I can do a little better. Or more to the point, cheap doesn't mean I have to drive a beat up corolla when I can drive a (OH, ah!) a newer "Accord" (*gasp*) or Sonata ("Oh no he did not").
So what if the items are wear and tear? The car is 12 years old and maybe worth 2.5 grand in the condition its in (i.e., it is beat to hell). Given those facts it does not make sense to continue putting money into the car. At least not to me.
Seriously WTH is up with all the flak? Why is it such a big deal that I want to buy a car instead of fixing up the old clunker I have been driving for the last 12 years? Particularly when I have more than sufficient resources for the purchase? Its not as though I am going to buy a Ferrari on a mailman's salary. Hell, I haven't even decided whether I am going to buy new or used.
Sheesh. Cut a man some slack.
As for me lying to you about my car "dying", for cripes sake I used a figure of speech. Would you have rather I said "my car is a piece of crap and needs to be repaired but I am done putting money into it?" Maybe I should have prefaced the whole OP with the lyrics to Adam Sandler's sang, POS car? Sure, any car can be repaired. The question is whether it is worth repairing to the person footing the bill. And that question is not always answered by purely economic reasoning.
But please, tell me how I can soothe your sensibilities so that we can move on with the discussion.
PS - let the record show that I have not actually purchased a car yet. So it is pretty hard to call into question my reputation for cheapness simply based on the fact that I am considering buying a new(er) car. Surely even Ebeneezer Scrooge himself fancied having nicer things. The important factor as far as "cheapness" is concerned is how much cash one is willing (or not) to part with to get the things one needs. As I have not made the all important decision, it is premature at best to call me out as far as cheapness is concerned.