In October, I bought a 2002 s60 for $900. It runs and drives, but needs some work. It needs coil packs, an instrument cluster, new tires, and needs painted. My husband is against fixing the car, due to the age and approximate mileage.

Is it worth fixing, or should I just sell it and get something better?

 

First consideration is do you do your own repairs? If so the cost to maintain is mostly about the parts. Here's my cost estimates:

1. Coil packs - after market parts ~$125. do it yourself install.
2. Instrument cluster - ship out to electronics repair shop ~ $200 do it your self install.
3. New tires - $400 installed including alignment
4. Paint job - Maaco full car jobs (no body repair) $300-$600.

So at the end of the day you'd have a daily driver for about $1200 invested. With the required repairs, the trade in value of your car is about $600-800 - the $900 paid is about right for the condition of the car. Skip the paint job and you can get another few years of driving for about $800...