Should I replace my car?

I have this 2006 Ford Escape. It's been a decent first car that I've had for almost 6 years. But my life has changed so much it's basically the family car now. My girlfriend and i had a child two years ago and currently we have a newborn. We fit in it fine but lately I've had to have a lot of repairs on it as it's has close to 250 thousand miles. No serious rust yet and the engine and transmission are fine. My issue is I don't have much in savings for a car because of the kids and we just bought a house last year. And if I did I could only spend the same I bought this for 4 thousand dollars. I could squeeze a small monthly car note but I worry I won't be able to save anything. What would you suggest? Fix or replace?

When replacing a ball joint, must I get my control arm replaced aswell?

About a month ago, I had my ball joint and wheel bearing changed however the mechanic did not align the wheels as he claims he didn't have the right set up. Therefore, the car needed aligning. So, I find a new garage to get an alignment however the mechanic pulls me in the garage area to show me the ball joint wasn't even connected to the anything and that it was perilous if not fixed. The new mechanic also stated that my car (Ford Escape), when needed a new ball joint, also needed a new control arm to go with it otherwise the ball joint wouldn t fit or work properly. I didn't have the money to repair it onsight as I'm a broke student who was faced with paying 430 dollars for a job the previous mechanic botched. I left and called two ford dealerships to get an opinion from mechanics. Both told me that when a the ball joint gets replaced, the control arm must be too albeit one mechanic did say you could get an after-market ball joint without the control arm however it would come cheaper and may not fit properly however in conclusion, all three mechanics recommended and one even stating it's a must to replace the control arm when replacing the ball joint. I ask this question because I don't want to have to spend more money when the initial repair might have been botched or done lazy.

Are the issues on this 2001 Ford Escape deal breakers?

I'm considering buying a 2001 Ford Escape, but it has a couple minor issues.
1) The seat belt warning indicator goes off every couple minutes, even when all the seat belts are buckled.
2) The PRNDL doesn't show what gear the car's in, although the gear shift work just fine.
Are these simple, affordable fixes or would this car be a waste of money?

Things to make my car less boring?

I have a 2017 Ford Escape S (base model). I bought this car because I was looking for a small suv that was cheap and new. It had decent features than what I previously had in a 2007 Focus. After a year I'm bored and I'm starting to look at other vehicles but I need to save my money and not spend it. I've already tinted the windows and I considered a aftermarket sunroof but I'm scared it's going to leak so I'm not even going to bother with that. The wheels are steel with plastic covers. I've considered rims but again I'm cheap and those are expensive. What else do you think I should do? It's black btw so the deep tint on it makes it look decent

2007 Ford Escape temperature issue?

I have a 2007 Ford Escape 2.3 engine. I recently had to change the cylinder head temperature sensor. Now my temperature gauge does not go up and yesterday the check engine light came on. Also, the old model sensor was long and went further into the head, the new sensors do not. Any advice?

2003 ford escape keyless remote not working?

Hello this just happened last week I got off work unlocked my car door using the keyless remote stopped at a store and the remote wasn't working so I figured the batteries must have quit working. Put a new battery in it and it's still not working. I was wondering if it could be a fuse or if anyone had any ideas of what it might be.