Well there comes a point when it doesn't make sense to keep "on top of things" with a car anymore. Shouldn't get too attached to a car that's giving you and your wallet a hard time.
A big malfunction in the engine can happen even if it was taken care of properly. Replacing some parts of a modernish car can be difficult or downright impossible to a point where the cost for fixing it goes up just too high. I know I have to do some welding if I want my car to have plates next year. No doubt about it. Just have to see if I can fix it or let the car go. You can weld a properly old car more easily because it's made of thicker steel but a car like mine it sucks. It's like welding paper... Guess I just have to practice welding more before I get to it
Do they not have junkyards in Europe? You can find car parts for like $15 dollars, you can buy alternators, radiators, whole engines, blocks, wheels, doors, the list goes on for cheap, like around 90% of the normal price. A new alternator i had blown cost me $120 dollars in a Honda Civic, i found one for $15 shortly after in a junkyard....sigh, oh well.
on a side note, i actually sell car parts on a car forum, and still do have some parts, kind of a good way to give back to people who want them and have the same car, as ill not ever need them again. (please go stalk me lol, i use the same user name)
Doing work on your car sucks, especially if you dont know what you are doing, like i did, or still do some of the times, but when you do it, its free. Buy a pack of beer and recruit a friend to join you in your shitty endeavors, thats how half the work was done on my ride lol.