UPDATE: PHEW!!!!! I had "the talk" with my auto mechanic yesterday...

[magical thyme]

Last edited Sat Nov 22, 2014, 01:47 PM - Edit history (1)

The "there's a point when it will cost more to keep it running than you will get back" talk. Reminding myself that I haven't worked directly with this particular mechanic before, so not sure how much he may be overstating. He may forget that the increased cost of insurance and excise tax alone on new or somewhat-used can offset quite a bit of repair money, never mind the cost of the replacement car itself.

Waiting for the quote now. Think they found source of banging in back end -- that's apparently not too big a deal.

Strap that holds on the fuel tank on needs to be replaced.

Some other things under the back end need to be replaced -- don't remember their names any more, or exactly what they are. I can sort of point at them, lol.

Leaking oil and coolant -- they can clean, inject die, let me drive around and see if they can locate the oil leak. It's not leaking onto the fuel line, so thankfully not a fire hazard.

Mentally trying to figure out the break point where I look hard for a replacement. Really, really, really can't afford it, but may not have a choice.

To think, just last spring the other guy said, "Still looks pretty good under there..."

Quote came in at like 1/10th what I was fearing! A few hundred, not a few thousand...don't know why he started "the talk." Christmas is back on again

[sarge43]

1. Get a second opinion.

Go to another reliable mechanic for a check.

What's the car's mileage? As Dr Jones said, "It's not the years; it's the mileage."

[magical thyme]

2. 237,000+ miles on a 17 year old civic.

and I can see the wear. What I don't know for sure is how bad the wear really is.

The thing is, I'm happy to pay to have it fixed. And since mechanics make money by fixing, I would think they would not be steering me toward replacing. So when they steer me toward replacing, I take it seriously.

But I don't know that for sure...the former manager of the place (who left after it was sold, and now is retired) didn't hear me ask to replace the timing belt for a couple years in a row. It took until after he was retired to get them to replace the timing belt last year.

So I'm trying not to feel to sick to my stomach. It just seems that every time I see a light at the end of the tunnel, it's another train headed my way. Somehow I always managed to slip through and not get totally run down. But I'm getting really, really, really tired...

[sarge43]

3. Life: Just one damn thing after another.

Well, 250K is getting up there.. Still, go for a second opinion, to be sure

[magical thyme]

4. absolutely...

With new management, this place isn't what it used to be. A lot of their business followed the old manager to a new shop. After he retired from their, they didn't come back.

One advantage of getting it checked out early -- it's not due for inspection until December -- is I have time to get other opinions before they mark it as failing inspection. Here in Maine, once they've put that marked sticker on it, you pretty much are at their mercy to get it fixed with them before driving off with a clean inspection.

[sendero]

8. I tend to agree with the car guys...

.. on this one. So it needs some repairs. Is a new car an option? If not your alternative is another used car. Who is to say it will be any better even if it is a few years/miles younger.

If you have kept your oil changes up to date 250K miles is a lot but plenty of cars go farther nowadays, especially a Honda. If it cost $1000 to fix is that so bad that you'd spend $3-$4K (around here anyway, if varies across the country) that it costs to buy a used care in decent shape.

[magical thyme]

12. I'm prepared to spend $1,000 or more to fix it...

as I did last year and the year before. He just made me nervous. I already had this talk with the other guy last year or the year before, so I wasn't expecting it again. Until now, I've been told it looks good underneath.

I think Jake, this guy, just didn't realize where I'm at. No way a new car, and you don't know where a used car has been.

Yup, the oil changes have never been missed since it was brand new. And the cost of insurance and excise taxes alone, even on a "less used" car make it worth it to throw some money into it.

[csziggy]

17. You can find out where a used can has been

CarFax will tell you. Last car I bought I went through Cars.com and most of the dealers had CarFax reports for the cars linked to the listings. I ended up buying my husband a 2006 Prius II with just over 100,000 miles for $8500. Over the last year we've saved a bunch on gas and the car has been extremely reliable. Buying the car was not a choice, though. My husband was T-boned and his previous car was totaled. We had the pay off from the insurance company to cover most of the cost of the Prius.

But I hope you can get your car fixed and keep it running. I hate buying cars so we run ours until we kill them, one way or another.

Good luck!

[RebelOne]

11. I can sympathize as I have a 15-year-old Ford Taurus.

And replacing it is not an option as I am retired and my only income is Social Security. I just had to replace the starter at a cost of $255. My son wants me to move in with him and his wife. I am seriously considering it because they each have a car, so there will be transportation if I need it. I hate the thought of moving because I have all kinds of convenient shopping within blocks of me, and they live in the boonies in Canton, Georgia about 20 miles north of where I am now in Woodstock, Georgia.

[MH1]

20. Really? How many transmissions have you been through?

I loved my Taurus but since transmission #1 bit the dust at 5 years, and I was subsequently told this is a typical problem for that vintage of Taurus, I was more than ready to trade it in shortly after 10. (Actually didn't trade it in, just passed it on to someone in the family who's more mechanically inclined and less averse to sudden breakdowns.)

If you've managed to make it this far on your original transmission, count your blessings ... and pay attention to the first sign of slippage.

[Lars39]

5. Get a *written* second opion.

Anything less and it's too easy to be scammed.

[KMOD]

6. I'd wait for the quote

Honda's and Toyotas can be driven forever. As long as the frame is still solid, and it's still running sound, you should be able to get some more mileage out of it.

In college my son had an older Camry that leaked oil. They never could find the source, but he was diligent about checking the fluids, and replacing them. He bought it when it had 230k on it, and drove it til about 280k, and only gave it up because the frame was rusting out, and it wouldn't pass inspection at that point.

Good luck.

[elleng]

7. I have a good, reliable mechanic,

who has told me my '93 Toyo camry wagon can last for another 30 years. (Unfortunately, the mechanic is about to retire!)

I'd get another mechanic, if I were you.

Good luck.

[DebJ]

9. How far do you drive on a regular basis? And oil leak? So what?

Sometimes an old clunker is still good unless you have to go on a long trip,
then you could rent a car.

I now drive only about .5 mile two times a week, LOL, then some routine 4 hour round trips
once a month (good for purging the exhaust, etc).


As far as oil leaks, for decades I worked almost an hour from home, and my old clunkers
were ALWAYS leaking oil. I'd buy a case, and keep it in the car, and just keep topping it off.

Didn't make for a pretty driveway, but it never really effected me other than the oil top offs.

[A HERETIC I AM]

21. The old Constantly self changing engine oil gambit!

Had a few of those myself.

Named one the "Exxon Valdez"

[DebJ]

23. LOL n/t

[Scuba]

10. "The good news is that your glove compartment and sun visors are in excellent condition."

I hate it when they tell me that.

[mackerel]

13. You left out vanity mirror :-P

[Joe Shlabotnik]

14. Comes a time,

[IMG][/IMG]














[IMG][/IMG]









....sniff

[Brigid]

15. A Pacer!

Did you used to have one of those things?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

16. A buddy of mine did in high school in the 80's

The funny thing we noticed one day, (while high) was that the driver and passenger side doors were entirely different sized and shaped. A few years later, my girlfriend (his cousin) bought a car on her own, it was a yellow AMC spirit with an oohgah horn. I shit you not.

[fizzgig]

18. i hit that point with my girl at the start of this year

we'd been together for 16 years but it was time to say goodbye. her whole electrical system was shot and re-wiring her was not an option, so i sold her for parts. the guy who bought her got one helluva deal and i cried as she was pulled away on the wrecker.

[necso]

19. The strap sounds like it could be corrosion,

or just wear and tear.

And if there's a big problem with corrosion, this could be grounds enough to retire the vehicle. Otherwise, the engine and the transmission/drive-train (in whatever form) tend to be the car-killers (or the dreaded electrical system problem, but which can be less of a problem if you have the factory manuals*). Although a bunch of relatively minor stuff (including just routine maintenance) needing work at the same time can be killer too. So it helps to be able to identify what might need to be done or probably shouldn't over the next year and beyond.

But a minor oil leak could be nothing big... as long as the oil is leaking and not burning. (I've had a very small amount of oil loss for a long time (before that I never really had to add significant oil between oil changes, which I do, did pretty often), but have never seen a drop underneath. And I don't seem to have been burning it, as my (actually tested) emissions have passed, except for once when I tired some new (expensive garbage) plugs.)

Also, the worst coolant leak tends to be from the engine block or into the working parts, but this seems unlikely (they probably already checked the oil for being watery; and the former seems even more unlikely). The other stuff (hoses, heater, radiator, water pump, etc) can be a hassle but generally no really big deal as long as you've been keeping enough antifreeze in it.

I don't know what inspection entails thereabouts, but commonly there are steps you can take to improve your odds without spending much. (Check the internet, if you want to go that route. The internet can also be helpful to diagnose problems, particularly with a popular model.)

That could have been a pitch to prepare you for spending a bunch. Or it could reflect concern about working on a vehicle where things can escalate (eg, you replace the brakes and then brake fluid starts to leak on you) or that they otherwise would rather not work on.

And I'd keep track of what's already been done; some things shouldn't need done again very quickly. (On my ($500?) car I figure $500 a year plus whatever I can do myself is a deal.)

*: A buddy of mine had this vehicle where the previous owner had "customized" everything, including the electrical system. You took one look and were very surprised that even the basics worked (nothing else did). It quit starting once, and it took me the better part of a day to figure out that there was no reason whatsoever for the ignition wires to run everywhere they did. ... The previous owner having hooked the wire to various things out of a sense of whimsy or suchlike.

And there was this one hookup that was supposed to be to some sort of a secret security system; only the piece of crap was effectively just a straight through wire -- it could only interrupt current if one of the wires had a bad connection (as was the case). "He said that the wire has to run through there or it won't start." I wire-nutted the input and output wires together, and there was never that problem afterwards.

Just being familiar with a vehicle can be worth a bunch.

[KMOD]

22. Great news!!

Merry Christmas, MT.