We need rust pics to better understand.
A lot of the things you mention are routine maintenance.
A lot of the things you mention are routine maintenance.
point where its not worth the fix
- Thread starter bowlofturtle
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You guys all missed the fact that the car was purchased with a SALVAGED title. That means that the car was already totalled-out and rebuilt. This fact combined with it's age, miles, and what is described as being wrong with the car, IMHO the car is what it is, unsafe worn-out junk. Don't throw good money after bad, put your money towards something newer and SAFER. BTW, I wouldn't let MY parents (or anyone else whose life I value) drive that car! Be done with it.
Originally Posted By: wag123
You guys all missed the fact that the car was purchased with a SALVAGED title. That means that the car was already totalled-out and rebuilt. This fact combined with it's age, miles, and what is described as being wrong with the car, IMHO the car is what it is, unsafe worn-out junk. Don't throw good money after bad, put your money towards something newer and SAFER. BTW, I wouldn't let MY parents (or anyone else whose life I value) drive that car! Be done with it.
This car was hit in the front. I dont know the extent of the damage. I know this because obviously the paint didn't match. I bought it 10+ years ago as a first car because i didn't know what salvage meant at the time. It was dirt cheap at the time, i got my money worth it. But i wouldn't say its a death trap. Maybe now because i didn't get a good look at the brake lines and etc.
The rear suspension is shot, torn and rusted to [censored]. I would need a torch to start the work. I've tried but the lower bolt is beyond rusty for my DIY skills. But we dont care about that. Windows we dont care for. AC and heat work, both front windows work thats all.
The oil leak is what is annoying, it used to be 1qt/month. I stop by before work and top off near the 1st of the month. Then 2 months ago it started to need 2qts. Parents have a fair amount saved up for a new to them car.
After what most are saying here, I might be willing to say lets try to keep this til 2016 and figure it out then. Stickers are due in NOV at $201 or something like that. Just the back of my mind and my parents is that the car will randomly fail on us.
Yes you can say i neglected the car but i dont think i have. I only did the repairs that were a MUST. Exhaust, oil leaks, rear shocks will not keep the car from going A to B.
You guys all missed the fact that the car was purchased with a SALVAGED title. That means that the car was already totalled-out and rebuilt. This fact combined with it's age, miles, and what is described as being wrong with the car, IMHO the car is what it is, unsafe worn-out junk. Don't throw good money after bad, put your money towards something newer and SAFER. BTW, I wouldn't let MY parents (or anyone else whose life I value) drive that car! Be done with it.
This car was hit in the front. I dont know the extent of the damage. I know this because obviously the paint didn't match. I bought it 10+ years ago as a first car because i didn't know what salvage meant at the time. It was dirt cheap at the time, i got my money worth it. But i wouldn't say its a death trap. Maybe now because i didn't get a good look at the brake lines and etc.
The rear suspension is shot, torn and rusted to [censored]. I would need a torch to start the work. I've tried but the lower bolt is beyond rusty for my DIY skills. But we dont care about that. Windows we dont care for. AC and heat work, both front windows work thats all.
The oil leak is what is annoying, it used to be 1qt/month. I stop by before work and top off near the 1st of the month. Then 2 months ago it started to need 2qts. Parents have a fair amount saved up for a new to them car.
After what most are saying here, I might be willing to say lets try to keep this til 2016 and figure it out then. Stickers are due in NOV at $201 or something like that. Just the back of my mind and my parents is that the car will randomly fail on us.
Yes you can say i neglected the car but i dont think i have. I only did the repairs that were a MUST. Exhaust, oil leaks, rear shocks will not keep the car from going A to B.
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
This car was hit in the front. I dont know the extent of the damage.
The damage was SEVERE, the car was totaled!
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
The rear suspension is shot, torn and rusted to [censored]. But i wouldn't say its a death trap.
Oh yes it is! IMHO it was when you bought it. You got very lucky.
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
It was dirt cheap at the time, I got my money worth out of it. Parents have a fair amount saved up for a new to them car.
You have certainly gotten MORE than your money's worth out of that car, and you have been very lucky. All the more reason to be done with it. Your parent's lives are worth more than that worn-out POS car! Don't try your luck. IMO NOW is the time for them to spend the money that they have been saving on something SAFE and something that won't leave them stranded and needing another car immediately.
This car was hit in the front. I dont know the extent of the damage.
The damage was SEVERE, the car was totaled!
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
The rear suspension is shot, torn and rusted to [censored]. But i wouldn't say its a death trap.
Oh yes it is! IMHO it was when you bought it. You got very lucky.
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
It was dirt cheap at the time, I got my money worth out of it. Parents have a fair amount saved up for a new to them car.
You have certainly gotten MORE than your money's worth out of that car, and you have been very lucky. All the more reason to be done with it. Your parent's lives are worth more than that worn-out POS car! Don't try your luck. IMO NOW is the time for them to spend the money that they have been saving on something SAFE and something that won't leave them stranded and needing another car immediately.
Salvage title doesn't NECESSARILY mean the damage was major, or that the car is unsafe. It simply means it was cheaper for the insurance company to total it out than to fix it. If the car was almost new and worth $20k, and it got into an accident and had $6k worth of damage, it would get fixed good as new and still have a clean title. That same car 10 years later, now worth $5k, gets into an accident and has the SAME $6k worth of damage, would get totaled.
Originally Posted By: exranger06
Salvage title doesn't NECESSARILY mean the damage was major, or that the car is unsafe. It simply means it was cheaper for the insurance company to total it out than to fix it. If the car was almost new and worth $20k, and it got into an accident and had $6k worth of damage, it would get fixed good as new and still have a clean title. That same car 10 years later, now worth $5k, gets into an accident and has the SAME $6k worth of damage, would get totaled.
Agreed.
But, here is the problem that I see with many (but not all) salvaged vehicles, they typically get repaired by non-professional people that are just out to "make a buc" by whatever means necessary, so these people do everything as cheaply as possible, take shortcuts, and cover things up to accomplish this. A large percentage of these vehicles were not put back into a state where they can be even remotely considered safe. They have to do things this way because they are selling the cars very cheap, so they can't afford to fix them correctly. In other words, they do that $6000 repair for maybe $1000. How well do you think the car was fixed? I can tell you horror stories from what I have seen with my own two eyes.
Salvage title doesn't NECESSARILY mean the damage was major, or that the car is unsafe. It simply means it was cheaper for the insurance company to total it out than to fix it. If the car was almost new and worth $20k, and it got into an accident and had $6k worth of damage, it would get fixed good as new and still have a clean title. That same car 10 years later, now worth $5k, gets into an accident and has the SAME $6k worth of damage, would get totaled.
Agreed.
But, here is the problem that I see with many (but not all) salvaged vehicles, they typically get repaired by non-professional people that are just out to "make a buc" by whatever means necessary, so these people do everything as cheaply as possible, take shortcuts, and cover things up to accomplish this. A large percentage of these vehicles were not put back into a state where they can be even remotely considered safe. They have to do things this way because they are selling the cars very cheap, so they can't afford to fix them correctly. In other words, they do that $6000 repair for maybe $1000. How well do you think the car was fixed? I can tell you horror stories from what I have seen with my own two eyes.
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Yet it lasted 10 years. Shoddy repair or not, it went another 10 years.
What's the typical driving pattern for this car? If it's just runs across town, then maybe it's worth nursing along. Doing the barest minimum. And renting a car once in a while if some need arises.
2 quarts of oil per month, inside 800 miles? 800 miles per month driving? It sounds to me like it's lightly used.
What's the typical driving pattern for this car? If it's just runs across town, then maybe it's worth nursing along. Doing the barest minimum. And renting a car once in a while if some need arises.
2 quarts of oil per month, inside 800 miles? 800 miles per month driving? It sounds to me like it's lightly used.
The rear suspension is probably about $500 parts and labor, or about $200 parts and alignment if you DIY.
CAT is probably about $150-200 in parts, another $100 in labor (or $150?)
Power window, you can buy parts online and fix it yourself? $100 parts (cheaper if you go ebay or junkyard) and $100 labor?
Keep adding supertech oil and ignore the leak if the car is starting to rust.
I think it is worth fixing, but if you sell it now it make sense too, depends on how much time is worth to you and how much you want a newer car.
CAT is probably about $150-200 in parts, another $100 in labor (or $150?)
Power window, you can buy parts online and fix it yourself? $100 parts (cheaper if you go ebay or junkyard) and $100 labor?
Keep adding supertech oil and ignore the leak if the car is starting to rust.
I think it is worth fixing, but if you sell it now it make sense too, depends on how much time is worth to you and how much you want a newer car.
Clean it up for an entire weekend until it looks as good as it is ever going to look. Then take it and demand a dealer gives you $2000 on a trade for a CPO used 2010 or 2011 Honda Civic LX that you can get for $13k with less than 40k on the clock.
They won't give you $2000 but they might give you $1000 or 1500.
They won't give you $2000 but they might give you $1000 or 1500.
Originally Posted By: Doog
Clean it up for an entire weekend until it looks as good as it is ever going to look. Then take it and demand a dealer gives you $2000 on a trade for a CPO used 2010 or 2011 Honda Civic LX that you can get for $13k with less than 40k on the clock.
They won't give you $2000 but they might give you $1000 or 1500.
Let's see what he has to offer them, his trade-in is...
18 years old,
has over 150k miles,
the CEL is on,
the rear suspension is shot,
has bad rust in the rear,
has 2 bad rear power window regulators,
it won't pass an inspection,
and last but NOT least, it has a salvaged title.
And we don't even know just how bad this car looks!
To a dealer it is a junk yard car, they can't retail it, and it is ONLY worth what they can get from a junk yard, MAYBE $300 and a free haul-off if they are lucky. $1000 for this car as a trade-in on a nice under 40k mile used Honda Civic is HIGHLY unlikely unless they have it priced $1000 too high (forget $1500 to $2000, you are dreaming Doog). The dealers that have any nice used Honda Civics are not going to give them away, they don't HAVE to! Maybe he can work a deal on a Ford Focus or Dodge Caliber that they are desperate to get rid of, but NOT on a nice Honda Civic.
Clean it up for an entire weekend until it looks as good as it is ever going to look. Then take it and demand a dealer gives you $2000 on a trade for a CPO used 2010 or 2011 Honda Civic LX that you can get for $13k with less than 40k on the clock.
They won't give you $2000 but they might give you $1000 or 1500.
Let's see what he has to offer them, his trade-in is...
18 years old,
has over 150k miles,
the CEL is on,
the rear suspension is shot,
has bad rust in the rear,
has 2 bad rear power window regulators,
it won't pass an inspection,
and last but NOT least, it has a salvaged title.
And we don't even know just how bad this car looks!
To a dealer it is a junk yard car, they can't retail it, and it is ONLY worth what they can get from a junk yard, MAYBE $300 and a free haul-off if they are lucky. $1000 for this car as a trade-in on a nice under 40k mile used Honda Civic is HIGHLY unlikely unless they have it priced $1000 too high (forget $1500 to $2000, you are dreaming Doog). The dealers that have any nice used Honda Civics are not going to give them away, they don't HAVE to! Maybe he can work a deal on a Ford Focus or Dodge Caliber that they are desperate to get rid of, but NOT on a nice Honda Civic.
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