When to call it quits.......

[Gatos]

My car went down the tubes this weekend....My wife backed it out and oil was everywhere on the ground, and it started making awful sounds....The fix cars that are like 15 years old?

 

[ctcsoft]

when i have an old car. first i evaluate the other conditions of the car.

if everything else on the car is good, then fix it. If you have a cheap labor/dependable mechanic that is.

I can get engines dropped in for really cheap since my brother is a mechanic. I pay him for his time but not the 60-80/hr shop wage.

 

[Gatos]

UPDATE:
Mechanic called me back today

Timing Belt needs to be repaired
Front pads and rotors need to be replaced
Transmission Fluid needs to be repaired
Spark Plugs need to be replaced: Tune UP
Oil Pump is leaking and something else is a little wrong....needs to be replaced..

All of the above (except oil pump)

550.00.....IS this worth fixing on a 15 year old car with 120,000 miles???

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

I'd have given up on it, oh, about 1994

 

[So]

Only you can answer that. How soon were you going to replace the car otheriwse? You're not going to get a decent new car for $550, but if you were going to get a new car reasonably soon, it's probably worth it.

 

[NutBucket]

What's bluebook on the car? Probably about $1000. You decide based on your current finances. If it was me I'd get something else.

 

[imported_malcontent]

Originally posted by: Gatos
UPDATE:
Mechanic called me back today

Timing Belt needs to be repaired
Front pads and rotors need to be replaced
Transmission Fluid needs to be repaired
Spark Plugs need to be replaced: Tune UP
Oil Pump is leaking and something else is a little wrong....needs to be replaced..

All of the above (except oil pump)

550.00.....IS this worth fixing on a 15 year old car with 120,000 miles???

Provided everything else was ok with the car, I would fix it.

 

[Black88GTA]

You have to consider your own situation. Is $550 a lot to you? Do you have other disposable funds right now to get another car?

You could go out and pick something up for $500-600...but that can be a gamble. I just did this about a month ago, and the car I got has been pretty good, but not without a couple (minor) problems. The last car I bought ($700) before this one was an absolute mess, and the car I got before that ($200) lasted me 4 years with almost no trouble. YMMV of course.

Or, you can fix the car you have with that $550 - that way, you know the car's history, you know about the car's maintenance, you know what has been serviced recently and what hasn't, you know about other things that may need attention on this car, etc. It's a lot less risky.

I would probably fix it, if the body was ok and everything else was in decent shape.

 

[TrueBlueLS]

Fix it. If you're the owner of the car from day one, you know what kind of maintenance you've put into it. GM's 60 degree V6 can go a long way before it'll crap out on you where you'd need a new car granted you take care of it.