Advice on what to do with unreliable car
Hi, here's the situation I find myself in:
I drive a 2017 Subaru Forester with 143,000 miles. I have a long commute to work and put about 27,000 miles on annually. I had to buy high during the worst of the COVID years due to life events and owe $13,580 with 3 years left on my loan, monthly payment of $420. At the time I also was not commuting as far as I am now, so the mileage wasn't a worry (I bought at 55,000).
The car is turning into a money pit. I just had to replace my CVT valve body in November for $1700, and now my torque converter is slipping and will eventually let go. There is no saying exactly when this will happen. If it fails, it is a $4800 repair and the car is worth nothing.
My problem is that the car is only worth $5500 or so trade in, so I'm severely upside down. I have some people telling me it is worth it to buy new and roll in the $7500 or so to avoid further maintenance costs and to trade in while the car still has any value, but I can't bring myself to believe that is the right course of action. I told myself I would never shop for a car with my back against the wall again because that is exactly how I got into this situation.
What is everyone's opinion? Thanks
Edit: Just wanted to add that in my opinion going further upside on a new vehicle is a bad idea, but I have family members insisting my math is wrong so I wanted to collect additional opinions.
Edit 2: Thanks for the responses everyone. I will move forward with my original plan of driving the Subaru until it is paid off. For those saying I should move closer to my job, I wish that was a possibility but unfortunately the combination of my wife's demanding schedule and having a young child make that unrealistic for the time being.