My Ford Mondeo 115PS TDCI with 60,000 miles just broke down - NSR brake caliper binding. Last year it was front spring.

I asked RAC man whether I should keep on repairing or replace the car and he was emphatic - keep it, as repairs are much less than depreciation.

Fine for him - he can fix anything - but I've read that the design life is only 70,000 miles, so presumably everything is about to fail soon, my wife is unhappy at waiting in laybys for RAC man to come, I'm unhappy at the mucking about involved in breakdowns. Equally, one of my key concerns is economy!