Car questions

[Massagegirl]

The situation is I have an older car that I recently spent about $1,500 fixing up so it would be reliable for at least another year. I doubt I could get $1,500 for it, but I wanted something I knew and trusted. Turns out the devil you know may not be better than the devil you don't as the work didn't stop the water from leaking. Got it in the shop now and found out it's probably the head gasket. (Call confirming coming within the hour but it has been running rough for a couple days so I'm sure that's it, water in the engine.) At least a $1,000 job which I normally wouldn't balk at except for the previous $1,500 this year.

Should I try to get a customer to fix it in trade for massages? Or
Should I trade it in on a new car?
Will they take it without checking the motor?
How much do they want down, and what's the deal with financing?
What's a good car to get nowadays?
Should I lease a car instead?
Is it better to lease than own?
Or get another second hand piece of crap?
Or pay the thousand and get it fixed?

I thought it was the water pump so this has caught me by surprise and any advice would be great! Thanks in advance.

 

[EnglishGent]

Car trouble

If I lived closer to Victoria I would definately offer to take a look at it for you.

From my limited knowledge of engines, if your head gasket has gone and have got water into the engine, the resulting damage could cause you even more trouble in the future.

If you trade in, very often they don't look that closely at the car, especially the older cars as they wont be selling it just shipping it off to auction.

I would recommend buying rather than leasing as witha lease, you pay the same as you would for finance but never get to own the car unless you buy out the lease at the end of the agreement (this is never worthwhile as its then cost you more than the car is worth)

Ass for which car to get, there are some great deals about at the moment and its really whatever takes your fancy and meets your budget/requirements.

Hope this helps

 

[Massagegirl]

Thanks English Gent! That's all good stuff! I sure don't want more problems down the road and I was hoping they don't look too closely at trade ins!

Another question ~ Are these hybrid cars worth getting? What I mean is are they really the car of the future or is it that the problems aren't becoming apparent yet? I guess only a mechanic who has worked on them would know how problematic they are or aren't.

 

[EnglishGent]

hybrid

All I know is from a friend of mine who has one!! Costs a lot extra and they reckon it will never pay for itself but they feel that they are doing their bit to save the planet

Generally if you do much highway driving, the gas usage will be about the same, the electric only really comes on when driving in town and even then, the gas is used to help accelerate and to charge the battery. I know gas prices are high but there are better ways to save on energy costs!! If you just get a small car, they are normally reasonably good on gas.

 

[hitrack]

My advice is if you got a POS on yer hands lose it. It's only gonna keep 2 bits'ing ya to death. I mean look already you've dumped in $1500, and now another $1000 or so.

What next another $500 for a fuel pump, $1200 for tranni?? You name it anything can fukk up on an old car.

Some Dealers such as Hyundai offer a middle ground called a buy back option. No limited K's and they give you market value for the car at the end of the 60mos to make up the remainder of the "lease"

You can sell the car privately if you like as long as you pay the remainder.

Buying is O.K. but huge payments of $500/mo is not hard to reach if you want anything above a tin box on 4 wheels.

What ever you buy I recomend the extended warrenty.

My buddies car is about 9yrs old and it's definatley at the point where shit is going wrong. Not to mention just a bit of rust around the wheel wells forming.

My car 3 yrs old. Bought it new. It's so smoooooth and no rattles, no squeaks. Rides like a dream.

Above all IMO don't buy American, get a Jap model.

 

[threepeat]

My $0.02

Should I try to get a customer to fix it in trade for massages?

If he knows what he's doing and if you trust him, you could probably save on labour cost, which is usually at least half of the total repair cost.

Should I trade it in on a new car?

Depends how much you value convenience over $$$. Dealers usually try give notoriously bad deals on trade-ins. If you do decide to trade it in, negotiate your new car price and your trade-in price separately so it's easier to track if you're getting ripped off or not. Then again, if your car's only worth $1500, probably not a big deal either way.

Will they take it without checking the motor?

Probably not. Most dealerships check over a car before offering a price.

How much do they want down, and what's the deal with financing?

Hard to answer this one, it varies so much from place to place.

What's a good car to get nowadays?

I think the new 2006 Honda Civic looks interesting, but that's just me. My step-up car would be an Acura TSX. It's really an individual thing though. Everyone's going to have favourites.

Should I lease a car instead? Is it better to lease than own?

If you're only planning on owning your car for a few years (like five or so), leasing is probably easier. If you plan on owning it longer than that, owning will pay more and more dividends the longer you own it (assuming you keep it in good shape).

Or get another second hand piece of crap?

I think keeping your current car is better than getting a second hand piece of crap. At least it's the devil you know vs. the devil you don't know.

Or pay the thousand and get it fixed?

Yes, if you either love your car and don't want to part with it, or if buying a new or slightly-used car is not in the budget right now.

As for hybrids, I agree with what English Gent said. I would also add that no one seems to have discussed what happens when the rechargeable batteries die on the hybrids, and what the cost will be to replace them. Probably pretty pricey, methinks.

Japanese cars: Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infiniti, Subaru, Suzuki, Mitsubishi

Here is one of the better free new auto review sites I've seen: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/
Also try this: http://www.intellichoice.com/
And here's a quick primer on car buying: http://www.intellichoice.com/carBuying101/CarBuying102

 

[hitrack]

Thats a good point about hybrid cars at this point an time. I wouldn't wanna be the poor sucka whose warrenty on the car has ran out and one or two of the batteries has packed it in.

 

[everydayjoe]

as a mechanic, the head gasket job isnt a hard one, but its all the little extras that add up. i would gladly exchange the job but you would have to come here, lol. as far as extended warranty goes, im sorry , i have to disagree. insurance is almost always a bad buy. you are betting that your car will break down and you are saying it will do it right after the warranty is up. for the costs of the extended warranties now, i feel you would just be better off saving that money, if you can, lol, and investing it somewhere. then if the day does come, you will have it. todays vehicles are starting to be built alot better than the past few years. i highly recommend a fuel efficient car, preferably a diesel, but they do cost a little more. well if you feel like driving it to the mainland, i would be more than happy to have you stay with me while i tend to your car. pm if interested. good luck and have a wonderful day.

 

[Bruddha]

... well if you feel like driving it to the mainland, i would be more than happy to have you stay with me while i tend to your car.

WOW ... that was quick response from

. Looks like your in sista! I hope they give you the full low-rider-boom-box upgrade. I can see it now ... cruizin' in the massage ride ... a custom low rider built for full on speed on the highway and smooth relaxin' on the bi-way. Just check out the pull out massage table ... made for rockin' every perberts world. Ya mon ... dis sista's ride has been pimped!

 

[Walk Softly]

Lucy: Another option would be a late-model (say '98 or newer) used car from a reputable dealer. Most offer some warranty protection so you know it doesn't have any immediate problems. Check out the "Lemonaid" book at the library or a bookstore. Good Luck!

 

[rambler6]

My two cents

Should I lease a car instead?
Is it better to lease than own?
Or get another second hand piece of crap?

I would check with your accountant about that. I don't know what your situation is, but your accountant does. Leasing is good and bad. People forget that with the lower payments come a large buy out at the end of the lease. Unless you want to give the car back. You can make the lease payments larger to reduce the buy out, but then it may take you into the same payments as owning outright. Basically just saying do your homework and find out what kind of write offs you can get, and check payments and buyout of both options.

My accountant told me in my situation it would be just as good to buy vs lease. Considered an asset and don't need the write offs at the moment. Again everyone is different.

Buying a car a couple of years old is also an option. Almost brand new but you can save on the first year depreciation. I have a friend over there that is in the business. He should be able to offer advice if you're still stuck. Pm me if needed.

 

[rambler6]

I'm a practical woman, are there any other alternatives out there?

fifty seven window peasant wagon (aka: BC Transit)

 

[BIGblackstudd]

What about one of these? I hear they're good on gas, but I don't know who sells them or how much, but they'd probably be practical as hell in the city.

 

[AsianWay]

try to do without?

No joke... just try. Many people can really do without owning a car. If you need one for a day or two the local rental car place (not the airport one) often has $20/day deals that are far better than owning. They also keep "regular" cars for rent at much reduced rates compared to typical new car rates. Bus, friends, cabs, etc work for some people (like me) supplemented by rentals. I guess I spend about $2000/year on short-term rentals, and that is far better than the $6000 minimum cost of a car plus insurance.

As for trading services, that can work and can get funny. I know of several cases of trading and they go different ways. It seems best to trade "maintenance" in a way that he takes care of you regularly as you do him. That way he has some interest in keeping your car problem free (instead of having a drooling serious interest in having it break - so you need his help).

Now keep in mind that it is TRUST that makes relationships work... over time, you develop mutual trust and things can get good. He proactively protects your car (getting you good deals on parts, free attention, basically watching out for you) and probably you will end up buyinh him a birthday gift, getting to know a bit about his life, etc.

And sometimes things get whacky (as with all relationships). He temporarily needs more and looks to you for it... or he gets the feeling you are taking him for granted, or vice versa.... and with holding starts, trust erodes, you know the drill.. same old story. Everybody's human, right?

 

[sdw]

The Smart Car has a lot more against it than just a lack of available spare parts. It's a Chrysler product. This is the land of Aspen, K Car, etc. There are no Chrysler dealerships that aren't owned by Chrysler. When nobody is willing to/can't get a bank to lend money to, buy a dealership; you know there is something wrong with the way the company does business.

The cars that are on top of the reliability index every year are the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Accord. A new one is 15,000 to 21,000 depending on options.

It's pretty easy to know for sure if the head gasket is gone. Let the car sit overnight and then pull the dipstick and check for water droplets in the oil. No water, head gasket is OK. Water, head gasket is done for. This test can't be done right after the car has been driven because the heat of the engine running evaporates the water out of the oil. The cylinder pressure tests are usually to see if the valves are sealing. That would be the probable cause of the problem if the head gasket isn't leaking.

 

[shadowfx]

Here has been my experience, a used car is ok. I have a 12 year old car that only has 178, 000 km. I guess the question I ask my self I have to ask every time I have a whopping bill to pay on maintain the car. Is will the repair going to last me another year, simply divide the bill by 12 months, is it less then a car payment? Two do I still enjoy driving the car, in my case yes it is not the prettiest but it is fast. Three usually people keep investing money in a car until they say I will not invest any more, usually by that time you have fixed everything on the car to the point that that you are just giving away a good car. My advice is it sounds like you want a new car so cut your losses and get rid of it now not latter. Also I my personal opinion is this I work in the computer industry and certainly visit SP’s and have help people with there computers on many occasions I never want or expect something in return. Service provided means service guaranteed will you get that if you trade one service for the other.

 

[mick_eight]

First spend 5 bucks on some engine seal at Canadian tire,may work for long time... I did it to friends toyota with water running out tailpipe...stopped it and 2 yrs later still good ,Its 5 bucks, not much to lose and lots to gain... ps .. use the stuff in round tube.

 

[hitrack]

Acura RSX

Sweet little unit.