From reading your post, this is the picture that came to mind.
Have you ever had an old car you loved desperately, but it kept breaking down? You've replaced the alternator, the tie rods, the steering rack, the fuel pump, even the transmission. Then, one day, the engine goes. The car has been around x amount of years and has kind of outlived it's life, and you just can't bring yourself to put that kind of effort and $$ in to fixing it, so you go out and buy a new one, even though it's sad to see the old one go.
Maybe a poor analogy, but that's kind of what I thought of when I read what you wrote. Is that right?