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Maintenance & Repair To Fix Up or Trade Up, That is the Question
536 messages, Last post on Jul 24, 2009 at 9:12 AM
You are in the Maintenance & Repair Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
| It's almost always cheaper to repair the car that you currently own. Most people just want a new/different car and they will use a couple of expensive repairs as the economic justification for trading. I usually buy a 2-3 year old vehicle and put 150000 miles or more on it before I sell it. | |
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I need some advice. I have a 2003 Acura MDX that has a crease in the liftgate and a scratch on the bumper. The body shop estimate is $600 to fix. I will be purchasing a new vehicle(not another Acura) soon and trading the MDX in. Should I fix the back end or trade it in as is? Thanks.
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for several reasons. If it's traded/evaluated with the dent in place, you have to understand that used car managers are not body shop managers, and don't estimate down to the penny. They may decide that what you have an estimate for of $600 is actually a $1600 hit. Driving up with a damaged vehicle also prompts going over the vehicle with a fine tooth comb. That little ding or scratch that wouldn't have been noticed on a normal walk-around gets seen and there's a few more hundred dollars lost. Having "curb appeal" is priceless. Get the dent fixed, get the vehicle detailed, and drive up with a clear conscience and a beautiful rig - a quick walk-around, and you'll get all the money for the rig that you deserve. |
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| Thanks so much for the advice. I will do that. | |
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long story short, but in reality, that $600 dent could cost you $2k at trade-in...
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I've had my 93 SL1 (and associated headache) for a year now. The week after I bought it, something happened and the car was overheating ... extremely. Since the sales lot I bought the car from mysteriously vanished (the entire lot!), I took it to a Saturn dealer. The dealer replaced the water pump or a sensor or something - can't remember now - total bill $650. When I started up the car on the Saturn lot, the car was shaking vilontely (had not done this before). I shut it down and walked back inside. The informed me that my timing chain had skipped (funny they didn't notice it when they had my car in pieces). So they wanted another $1,000 to fix that). Total bill now $1,650. I came back a few days later and started my car again which now puttered (evidently to a bent valve). They said that it would cost another $950 to replace the valve. I was now completley out of my savings. So they said that it would be ok to drive the car as long as I didn't mind the puttering at an idle. On the way home I realized that my accelerator now had a point after an inch or so of being pressed down where it became stiff. I figured out I could push harder to get past the point I needed to be able to merge into traffic without being run over, but that the power I had when I first drove the car was now about half. I took it back to the dealer (3rd time in one week) who said that I had a bad throttle box (of course I don't even know what these parts are). They wanted another $900 to fix that (funny how every repair is $900!!). I figured I'd tough it out until I could afford to have it repaired. Until about another week goes by and the alternator goes out. A friend of mine knew how to replace the alternator so he did. I can afford free  But now as I'm driving down the road the headlights (and dash lights) just sporadically dim out for a second or so and sometimes the car nearly stalls just idling. My friend doesn't know what the problem is. The alternator was a new part. So now, I have a bent valve, dimming headlights, sticky accelator, sometimes have to jiggle the battery cable to start it, and on top of it all it seems to burn oil quickly. Here's my question. Am I just a glutton for punishment hanging on to this car, or is it worth saving up the money to fix all these problems? And are these problems normal on a car this old with 146,000 miles? Do I keep the car or get rid of it like a hot potatoe?
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| Given the car's resale value and mileage, and given that you have no used car lot anymore to sue for being ripped off to begin with, I would definitely pull the rip cord, take the painful hit and put your money into something worthwhile. | |
| So much money wasted-- what a shame. I vote with Mr. Shiftright. | |
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Replying to: junglyboi (Feb 12, 2005 10:40 am) |
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High mileage vehicles are like time bombs waiting to go off...
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