Rough week with older cars

A

andrew_j

Joined
Jun 4, 2005
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4,165
Location
Cow Hampshire
My poor wife , went to work and vehicle 18 Tiguan near overheating about 30 mins away so drove home slowly backroads.

Next day no biggie we have a spare 13 Acura ILX (daughter college abroad) albeit not run in a frigid month. No start due to weak battery. I decide to work from home and charge battery in garage with my 1 amp trickle.

I gave wife my $5k beater/commuter, 2013 Acura RDX with 177k to take for her 35 mile commute /way.

End of day wife stranded with no start in RDX!!!! Would not turn over.

I drive 45 mins to get her home.

Thankfully brother lives in area of 2nd breakdown suggested honest shop who arranged $65 tow said starter , battery cable and battery need replacement $1300(only use OEM parts).

Definitely cons of older high mileage(150k+) vehicles. But we have 4. Wife frazzled
 
You can definitely save money keeping vehicles a long time however these factors you’ve experienced can not only be inconvenient, these situations are taking a safety risk with family. There’s no planning where the inevitable breakdown will occur.
 
I survive with two of them. I understand the frustration. I am lucky they both keep rolling along a long commute every day. A surprise breakdown is a legit fear. My cars run like new , don't burn oil, one breakdown in past 5 years when a radiator hose blew off and had a terrible set of front wheel bearings that snapped off a speed sensor. But, all in all they are great, fun to drive and just need full maintenance like any other vehicle. I service every fluid and transmission serviced every 30k miles, coolant, brake fluid, power steering, and everything else is up to date and fresh. Ignition is on time.
~2008 Toyota Corolla 184k miles
~2003 Ford Focus 174k miles.
 
I gotta question your maintenance approach when three out of four cars break down on the same day. Also offer a major challenge on using OEM parts on a car that is near 200k. That goes doubly for prosaic parts like battery cables and starters where you can easily approach OEM quality with other decent brands. For batteries on this car, OEM doesn’t even mean anything and would consider WalMart or Costco. Other parts from Amazon or Rockauto. Also, would seriously consider battery replacement rather than charging if the battery is more than two years old. I have both Acuras and VWs but find the overheating Tiguan to be shocking. The good news is that the ILX and RDX are so solid that you should fix them and reach starship mileage.
 
TomYoung said:
I gotta question your maintenance approach when three out of four cars break down on the same day. Also offer a major challenge on using OEM parts on a car that is near 200k. That goes doubly for prosaic parts like battery cables and starters where you can easily approach OEM quality with other decent brands. For batteries on this car, OEM doesn’t even mean anything and would consider WalMart or Costco. Other parts from Amazon or Rockauto. Also, would seriously consider battery replacement rather than charging if the battery is more than two years old. I have both Acuras and VWs but find the overheating Tiguan to be shocking. The good news is that the ILX and RDX are so solid that you should fix them and reach starship mileage.
Click to expand...
OP is a ROI focused guy when it comes to vehicles-- he only performs the bare minimum to keep a car running.
 
I'm all for owning older cars. You hedge your bets by having multiples which the OP did but sometimes a perfect storm happens. I like to have a newer car in the fleet though that my wife drives. She calls my car the peasant car. I'm good with it.
Also it was stated before about using oe parts when possible. I try to do that always. Aftermarket parts are generally garbage.
 
In my case $50 to $100 a week for a new car payment with a refresh every 3 years equals a Happy Wife and a Happy Life! Me not having to do anything to fix a old car and deal with a stranded wife is PRICELESS ! However it took 20 years of old cars to figure out I can drive a old bomb ( "IF" required ) the wife not so much...
 
dishdude said:
How old were the batteries in the Acuras?
Click to expand...
The Acura ILX under 1 year albeit Walmart.

The Acura RDX duralast unsure but looked new/clean compared to rest of under hood when I got year ago. It has no issue starting vehicle in -15f to 0F weather. Sheer guess the entire issue was the cable to starter they said was rotted had a few strands left. Guessing starter is original and they are changing for good measure.
 
OP. Don't feel bad.
I just had an 11 month WM Plus go in my pickup yesterday.
The truck is spending the weekend at my mechanics, after being towed in yesterday as he was closing.
It is on the agenda for first thing Monday.
I want it gone over, because I suspect the battery is not the only culprit.
 
Not attacking you in anyway. That reliable dealer is nuts though for a $1300 bill. What are we to do... I always keep a good nest of money for these breakdowns to ease the pain of getting it into a shop if I can't fix it myself or need quick repair.
 
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