Original owner here!

TLDR;
Spend the money on repairs, or trade it in for meager $ (e.g., Carmax offered $500), or sell it to someone with some repair skills I don't have? Plus the A/C sucks, and causes the engine temp to rise quickly when asked to cool on every hot & humid day.

All the wordiness:
I'm having a hard time deciding on spending for repairs approaching $2K. I live in Hampton Roads where summer weather demands good A/C, and after dropping > $1K, combined, on 2 different repairs, years ago, at 2 different places (one an Audi dealer), with only middling system improvement, I fret now as 75 dew points surface soon.

Had the car evaluated by Whitehead's here in Va Beach and he found:
-Need new radiator - leaking coolant - slight leak at oil cooler and thermostat housing
-Need pressure hose at steering rack, slight leak @ P/S cooler line
-Outer CV boots broken - recommend replacing front axle
-Recommend front control arm bushings
-Needs complugs - leaking oil -- also other oil leaks at front of engine

I didn't ask him to eval the A/C, and that might cost more to restore to improved effectiveness than the other items?
So the car has 171K miles now, and the sport suspension has firmed up over the years (so says my aging aching back). Back around 105K I did proactively spend the $4K+ on the whole shebang pitched by the Audi service folks (timing belt, water pump, yada yada yada). Other than that outlay the car's been very reliable, very fun. But it also has some plastic exterior parts showing the need for replacement as well.

When do you know when to put your car out to pasture? Am I crazy to even consider spending well over $1K in repairs?

Thanks!

 

This all depends on the love you have for the car, sounds a little gay haha but true. If you are a car enthusiast and love your car this without a doubt is a no brainer, keep it and fix it!
I've read people out there in the forums say yeah I love my car this that etc and then when some repairs are needed they complain and want justification in spending 1000 in repairs. Well clearly they either are not ethusiasts or don't want to keep the car they apparently love. I've been through it all with my car, have literally blown everything you can, engine, gearbox, suspension, bushings, ac and all has been fixed now and built better to last. I've spent 3 times the cars value in the engine alone. At the end of the day it's up to you, in all honesty seeing that you brought the question up is leading to me that you should get rid of it. In my personal opinion in cars and I mean no disrespect, if you second guess or require justification in your spending in the car whether that be repairs or upgrades, then the car is not for you.