Why a $14k used car? Plenty of reliable used cars under $7k, including most MB 124's. Spending $3k on an Old's with 150k+ miles that at best is worth $2500 fixed makes no sense. She got the car for nothing and drove it for a couple of years, cut your losses and move on to something that runs good with lower mileage. How many more thousands in addition to the 3k motor job are you prepared to put into that Old's to keep it running another 3+ years?

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