Will you be my car talk?

Meet my car. I call it my baby. (And by my baby, I mean it makes lots of funny noises, completely shuts down when you least expect it, and regularly leaks fluids from really inappropriate places.)

(The guys scraping my car off for me are my brothers. They would call me the baby, but that's a different story.)

So, as you can probably tell or already know, my car and I have a long and tumultuous history together, but it has really only brought us closer. Unfortunately, however, it has driven me and my savings account farther apart. Every relationship, it seems, is a trade off.

Recently, I've been trying to decide whether or not to get rid of my car. I have finally found a wonderful mechanic who, in spite of the fact that he teases me mercilessly and sometimes speaks to me in Portugese, I love. He tells me he loves me too -- because I keep him in business. That right there is our one major problem (a bigger deal than the Portugese). When I ask him to be serious for a second and tell me whether or not to sell my car, however, he says he just can't say. It may have several years left on it. Or it may die tomorrow. Or it may cause my savings account and I to go into a full separation, and then die. All of these are realistic possibilities.

I have a (very) generous offer from my parents on their 2001 Mitsubishi Galant that I could purchase if I sell my car. Whenever I raise this issue with Mario-the-mechanic, he tells me it's not worth it -- the Galant isn't as nice a car, repairs will be more expensive, my car could still have several more years in it, blah blah blah. On the other hand, he says, "It's your life. Who am I to tell you what to do?" Uh, the expert on my car, that's who.

But since Mario won't give me a straight answer, I would love one from you, dear faithful readers (if you're out there). Do I say goodbye to my baby? Do I take the car I don't like as much, but is a very good offer, and save for another car later? Do I run my car into the ground, knowing that I could be losing any value I could get from it?

Will you be my car talk and advise me? I'm afraid to call in, although I love the show, because I know however much Mario teases me, they'll tease me more. Advice, please, and keep the snarky comments to a minimum.