ughh... car question, help.

[iamwiz82]

So i posted a thread a few days ago about my girlfriends car overheating. Turns out that it is the head gasket and the head may be cracked, along with a bad radiator. Beginning quote on this is $1100 for just the headgasket, and the sky is the limit otherwise.

It is a 1995 Cutlass Ciera in ok condition with 78,000, KBB rates it at $3500. Is it even worth it to repair the headgasket, or should we just dump it and get another car?

 

[Electric Amish]

If the head is cracked the engine is toast.

If it's just the gasket and radiator it will probably be worth keeping, unless you really have the funds/credit to get a new one.

amish

 

[minendo]

If I were in your situation I would dump the car and pick up a new one. My first car was a 1985 Blazer and I ended up throwing(sp) a rod in the transmission. It would have cost $2000 to fix (rebuilt engine) on a car that was worth no more than $2000.

 

[notfred]

Depends. were you considering getting a new car anyway? Would you like a new car? Was the car fine beofre it had theproblems? If you were happy with the car until you blew a headgasket, keep it and fix it, as it's still the cheapest route. If you wanted to replace hte car anyway, now's as good a time as any to do it.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
If the head is cracked the engine is toast.

If it's just the gasket and radiator it will probably be worth keeping, unless you really have the funds/credit to get a new one.

amish

the head can be replaced at a huge cost to me, he wants to send the head to a shop to have them tested for leaks.

 

[The Stigenator]

From what I have learnt in the past its not worth it. Once a car over heats its never the same unless a lot of repairs are done after that..

My car overheated in 1999 and since then every year I have had a huge bill to settle on the dot .. I do 30K per year and that maybe part of the cause. I got 130,000+ miles on the clock.

Personally get rid of the car and get something newer.

You can fix it if you want to keep it for a little while longer while you save up a bit of money, but I am sure something else will crop up later down the road.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: notfred
Depends. were you considering getting a new car anyway? Would you like a new car? Was the car fine beofre it had theproblems? If you were happy with the car until you blew a headgasket, keep it and fix it, as it's still the cheapest route. If you wanted to replace hte car anyway, now's as good a time as any to do it.

well, i could start a list of issues with the car, but it would be long

drivers side power window - never fixed
cigarette lighter - never fixed
struts went out at 65,000(keep in mind, for 60,000 miles, a 76 year old lady drove it, she didnt exactly slalom) - $600
wheels - $70 plus $ 70 alignment after first shop replaced struts and didnt align properly
tranmission has been having issues when it is sitting on an upward slant while in drive.
passenger side rear door doesnt lock
bumper has started to fall off, it wasnt even hit. A screw fixed that


these are all the problems within the last 6 months or so.

 

[iamwiz82]

i'm looking at civics for her now, i just saw a 1997 with 50,000 miles for $8000.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: notfred
Depends. were you considering getting a new car anyway? Would you like a new car? Was the car fine beofre it had theproblems? If you were happy with the car until you blew a headgasket, keep it and fix it, as it's still the cheapest route. If you wanted to replace hte car anyway, now's as good a time as any to do it.

He's right. The head gasket and head probably only went as a result of overheating, and were not the root cause. There was probably a small leak somewhere, (usually from the water pump's weep hole on an otherwise well kept car) that went undetected for awhile. Low coolant = no cooling to the head(s), and then oops, head gasket(s) go(es), and then the head(s)!

EDIT:

For the transmission, CHECK THE FLUID! It's supposed be idling in park and at operating temperature (like after a normal drive) when you check. See the manual for details.

Looks like this car is really suffering from neglect/indifferent maintenance.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Garfang

Originally posted by: notfred
Depends. were you considering getting a new car anyway? Would you like a new car? Was the car fine beofre it had theproblems? If you were happy with the car until you blew a headgasket, keep it and fix it, as it's still the cheapest route. If you wanted to replace hte car anyway, now's as good a time as any to do it.

He's right. The head gasket and head probably only went as a result of overheating, and were not the root cause. There was probably a small leak somewhere, (usually from the water pump's weep hole on an otherwise well kept car) that went undetected for awhile. Low coolant = no cooling to the head(s), and then oops, head gasket(s) go(es), and then the head(s)!

There are no leaks anywhere, externally, at least. The coolant level was fine. The thing that i think started it was that it sat for a few days, something it hasnt done in a long time. I think all the crap in coolant got caught in the radiator, which stopped the flow. The mechanic did say that the radiator was pretty badly fouled with garbage, now including oil.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Garfang

Originally posted by: notfred
Depends. were you considering getting a new car anyway? Would you like a new car? Was the car fine beofre it had theproblems? If you were happy with the car until you blew a headgasket, keep it and fix it, as it's still the cheapest route. If you wanted to replace hte car anyway, now's as good a time as any to do it.

He's right. The head gasket and head probably only went as a result of overheating, and were not the root cause. There was probably a small leak somewhere, (usually from the water pump's weep hole on an otherwise well kept car) that went undetected for awhile. Low coolant = no cooling to the head(s), and then oops, head gasket(s) go(es), and then the head(s)!

There are no leaks anywhere, externally, at least. The coolant level was fine. The thing that i think started it was that it sat for a few days, something it hasnt done in a long time. I think all the crap in coolant got caught in the radiator, which stopped the flow. The mechanic did say that the radiator was pretty badly fouled with garbage, now including oil.

Bummer.

Ignore my horrible ranting about bad maintenance.

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
i'm looking at civics for her now, i just saw a 1997 with 50,000 miles for $8000.

nice deal, thats what I'm looking for right now

Sounds like that car is junk, I would get a newer car if the funds are there.

 

[iamwiz82]

i'll never buy GM again

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
i'll never buy GM again

Good call. I would consider a Vette or a full size pick-up/SUV, but not any of their passenger cars. Blech.

 

[ttn1]

Actually there doesn't have to be any other reason than the head gasket blew. If you do decide to get it fixed, I would recommend flushing and refilling all fluids, including the transmission. The oil and coolant will already be replaced, but it never hurts to make sure they flush the systems first.

My car has a design flaw in the head gasket that has caused it to blow twice now. Granted my car has 175000 miles on it. I consider putting a thousand dollars or so in it a year as normal maintenance at this point. It's still way less than the cheapest new car payment I could get.

The big question here, is do you feel comfortable getting another car that you know nothing about. At least with this one, you will know what has been replaced and begin to learn it's quarks. I will keep my car as long as it doesn't leave me sitting in the middle of nowhere, but since I do alot of preventative maintenance, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Edit: added some comments.

 

[iamwiz82]

well, civics are looking mighty promising. We coudl afford one pretty easily and the gas mileage is MUCH better than the Olds. We are talking 10+ MPG more from a civic. I just have to find some guy who will buy the olds from me for $1750. Think that is a fair price? $1750 + $1100 = $2850, BB is $3400.

 

[Thegonagle]

Yeah, that's pretty fair. . . for you. (Good luck!)

EDIT: I'm just saying it can be difficult to sell repairables.

 

[LAUST]

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[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Garfang
Yeah, that's pretty fair. . . for you. (Good luck!)

EDIT: I'm just saying it can be difficult to sell repairables.

yep, i know. A friend of the family buys them all the time, repairs them in his garage on the weekends, and then sells them. He just bought a 1992 cavalier for $200, replaced the motor for $1000 and sold it for $2000.

 

[LAUST]

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[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: LAUST

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
well, civics are looking mighty promising. We coudl afford one pretty easily and the gas mileage is MUCH better than the Olds. We are talking 10+ MPG more from a civic. I just have to find some guy who will buy the olds from me for $1750. Think that is a fair price? $1750 + $1100 = $2850, BB is $3400.

Didn't read this post before I replied.. well you know my opinion then Civic's are great, just take care of the underside of the older bodies if you get one, the only problem I ever found was they like to rust on them fenders.

rusting is almost a given since i live in michigan. Rock salt loves to eat cars. Ya know, for all the trouble its worth, i really enjoy getting expensive new toys

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Garfang
Yeah, that's pretty fair. . . for you. (Good luck!)

EDIT: I'm just saying it can be difficult to sell repairables.

yep, i know. A friend of the family buys them all the time, repairs them in his garage on the weekends, and then sells them. He just bought a 1992 cavalier for $200, replaced the motor for $1000 and sold it for $2000.

Then you know that people who buy repairables are only looking to spend a few hundred bucks on the car. I don't know what else to tell you.

 

[LAUST]

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