When the monthly repair bill exceeds a monthly payment it's time to change. To some degree that goes back to buying more than what you need; or in my case for too long, buying them a bit more used than I should have been running them. I once bought a used Dakota for $7500 cash; spent that much in repairs in just over a year; then was glad to dump it for $1000 in trade. At the time a new 4x4 Ranger extended cab was going for $15000. I got blinded by the "90 day warranty" offered by the dealer... more worthless than the paper it was printed on.Decades ago a friend of mine said he expected to always have a car payment. He said it was built into his mental budget. Nothing too fancy or rarely new. Intelligent well educated fellow making a very good income . Maybe it was how he was raised. I still don’t get it.