Yeah, I too agree with the you cant call your car a positive investment. Its going to be a loss all around. A better car than you had is less of a loss than you had before.
Fuel, taxes, registration, inspections, SMOG Testing, insurance plus maintenance. You got parts plus labor. You can call your tools an investment, but unless you sell the car for more than you paid it or money comes out the tail pipe its not going to work that way.