Fix it up or trade in and get new car?

[jpiniero]

I decided to get it fixed but...

You need a shop that will discuss with you, how far shot the rest of the undercarriage is from rust.

Not just one that would like to bill you for xyz. So, get a second opinion. At the same time if the rear subframe is rotten and you can't DIY any of it, then it is probably cost prohibitive to keep repairing it. That is just a guess, yet the first shop could be trying to milk you for all the money they can. It probably isn't "too" bad or else they wouldn't even want the liability of offering to repair it at all.

The $2700 includes putting in a new rear subframe.

I could have had it towed home, tried to get the control arm off, and if successful and it was still technically drivable, taken it to a different place and seen how much they would have charged. Not sure how realistic that would be and be substantially less. Realistically towing it home means buying a new car with no car.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

If it's a Corolla with the reputation it has, I'd say it's always worth it to fix up -- call it repair & maintenance, or call it restoration.

Start an Excel spreadsheet, and if possible, locate all the repair orders you've had since you acquired it. Enter them with the dates and mileages. You may have expenses that are lumpy or which inconvenience you as "setbacks" here and there, but you will see that keeping the old car is much less expensive. Than buying a new one every time you think a repair costs a lot.

 

[jpiniero]

If it's a Corolla with the reputation it has, I'd say it's always worth it to fix up -- call it repair & maintenance, or call it restoration.

It's a 2010 Elantra. The Corolla is what some people are suggesting I should have bought new instead of getting the Elantra fixed.

 

[NutBucket]

So, any updates? Or not in the shop yet?

 

[jpiniero]

So, any updates? Or not in the shop yet?

I haven't gotten it back yet. I have to say that you guys might be right and that it's too rusted underneath to think I'd get 2-3 more years out of it. Even with low mileage.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I haven't gotten it back yet. I have to say that you guys might be right and that it's too rusted underneath to think I'd get 2-3 more years out of it. Even with low mileage.

Sorry about the confusion. I understand this business of living in areas which get road salt and the corrosion. I once knew a family living on a shoestring. They had a Ford Fiesta -- an old one -- and the sheet-metal of the uni-body where a front strut was mounted had actually corroded to the point where the strut was no longer anchored to the vehicle. It was just banging around in the uni-body. They were driving it on the freeway like that! I was so relieved when they replaced it.