Tips on Buying Cars: Upside down car, ford taurus, last legs

Question
I have a 2001 Ford Taurus with about $6,500 left in
payments, which equals out to about two years
remaining. My credit score is pretty much middle of the road. And I'm sure its fairly obvious that i owe quite a bit more than the trade in value. So is it even worth it to try and buy a new(er) car?

Answer
How badly do you need a new car?  Is the Taurus on its last legs, about to leave you stranded by the side of the road?  Will it need several thousand dollars in repairs in the next year?  Does your job or lifestyle suddenly require a totally different vehicle?  If the answer to these questions is "no," then you really should hang onto the car until it's paid for, or at least within a few months of its payoff.  Of course, how much you WANT a new car has a lot to do with it, as well.  If you can keep your emotions out of it ("...gee, I just LOVE that new BMW convertible..."), you'll find you're better off keeping almost any vehicle you owe money on, and driving it till the wheels fall off.  But our culture has taken most of the common-sense out of buying a car, and replaced it with emotion.  And making a big-ticket purchase based on emotions will almost always cost you more money than it's worth.  Bottom line: look at this from a cold and rational approach, not an emotional one.