Anonymous wrote:My 2012 Fusion with 120,000 miles is starting to spend more time at the mechanic. Some issues are simply maintenance related (tires, brakes) but I'm beginning to see more components failing (rack and pinion, stuck caliper). At what point, financially, do I buy a new car?

Well, this may not answer your exact question, but I can tell you which car I'd buy if I had to. Approx every 4 year or so, a car model will undergo a mild refresh, mostly cosmetic, and approx every 8 years they'll come out with a new design. You've probably heard not to buy first model year due to issues not sorted out yet? Well, we take it the other extreme, we buy the last model year prior to an upcoming refresh for two reasons: 1) last model year in a series, should in theory be "the most" reliable model in that series (which equals lower lifetime cost of ownership) and 2) because the new model will be or has arrived (and everyone wants the latest and greatest), the prior model year has been heavily discounted and you can get a much better bargain on that. So overall, a win-win-win for you......assuming you're ok with the "old" design.....

Now, you seem to contradict my car purchase philosophy, I just looked up 2012 fusion and it appears it was the last model year of the first generation, and you're still having issues.........oh, well......what do I know....

Here you are

https://caredge.com/ford/fusion/maintenance

This site gives you chance of major repairs and estimated maintenance cost by year. Just remember some of the repair with older cars will be a death car- ie car will not start. These only happen at really inconvenient times.

With the average new car price being north of $35k, the right time to replace a used car is when it is totaled in an accident. Anything else? Fix it.