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Saturn is dying at 160K
- Thread starter Solo2driver
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Solo2, these comments may not apply to your situation, they are directed more abstractly:
There's another way to look at this problem.
First, "book value" is pretty meaningless. I lose money no matter what. I "make" money by keeping it in daily service as long as possible(although agreed that some cars are better off gone due to poor design or manufacture). One can never predict when it will be totalled. Our Jeep was, and I collected 20% higher than book due to records and practices.
Second, this is pretty classic "didn't maintain the older car" stuff here. Many of the small parts and procedures mentioned should have been done near or just past 100m miles to keep the vehicle going like new not a wearing down state. Eleven years is about right on the life of this vehicle, and mileage is as well.
Repairs and maintenance on a 130m car should be no different than one with 30m on the odo; it shoul only be more painstaking as to uncovering potential problems.
Keep a new car 12-15 years for however many miles and be in a position to pay cash or at least 75% cash on new car purchase (where a new car may also be 1-3 model years). Get completely out of having to finance.
The cost of financing a car is so high that my "gas-guzzling" pickup is cheaper to own/operate than a Toyota Prius at $3.25/gl.
Due to the age of this Saturn I would not spend any serious money because the electrical harness/terminations are also about to start giving problems due to vibration, corrosion and design life (a general rule-of-thumb, not necessarily Saturn-specific)
Best to do the cheap fixes and plan for another one.
There's another way to look at this problem.
First, "book value" is pretty meaningless. I lose money no matter what. I "make" money by keeping it in daily service as long as possible(although agreed that some cars are better off gone due to poor design or manufacture). One can never predict when it will be totalled. Our Jeep was, and I collected 20% higher than book due to records and practices.
Second, this is pretty classic "didn't maintain the older car" stuff here. Many of the small parts and procedures mentioned should have been done near or just past 100m miles to keep the vehicle going like new not a wearing down state. Eleven years is about right on the life of this vehicle, and mileage is as well.
Repairs and maintenance on a 130m car should be no different than one with 30m on the odo; it shoul only be more painstaking as to uncovering potential problems.
Keep a new car 12-15 years for however many miles and be in a position to pay cash or at least 75% cash on new car purchase (where a new car may also be 1-3 model years). Get completely out of having to finance.
The cost of financing a car is so high that my "gas-guzzling" pickup is cheaper to own/operate than a Toyota Prius at $3.25/gl.
Due to the age of this Saturn I would not spend any serious money because the electrical harness/terminations are also about to start giving problems due to vibration, corrosion and design life (a general rule-of-thumb, not necessarily Saturn-specific)
Best to do the cheap fixes and plan for another one.
Solo2driver
Thread starter
The car WILL be replaced, no doubt about that, but not until Christmas....but that doesn't mean that the service that has been neglected shouldn't be taken care of. We will be getting a late '90's Accord for my wife, and I may end up driving this car. I will be driving the Saturn, more than likely, while we reconfigure the engine management on my Porsche...which will undoubtely take more time than planned.
The car saw very little regular service over the past 6 years while my wife was in college (her dad owned the car and only had it serviced when it came back to Texas once a year for registration), and we've been playing catch-up with service items for the past two years, now that we can afford such service. I don't see a problem at all to keep replacing the wear items, I just don't want to "dump" huge amounts of money into problem areas like the autoslushbox.
The car saw very little regular service over the past 6 years while my wife was in college (her dad owned the car and only had it serviced when it came back to Texas once a year for registration), and we've been playing catch-up with service items for the past two years, now that we can afford such service. I don't see a problem at all to keep replacing the wear items, I just don't want to "dump" huge amounts of money into problem areas like the autoslushbox.
Then by all means do the ARX treatment in every fluid system (except brakes); get some RMI-25 or SCHAEFFERS #258 for the cooling system. Replace all the fluids, filters, hoses, fasteners; going thru each system carefully with your end point in mind. Clean and otherwise replace the major electrical cables underhood, and clean and protect all grounds.
I also like to replace all lamps, relays, fuses and fusible links as apply. If the component is mounted to the firewall (as is ECM in mine) then dismounting and establishing a cleaner ground has been good for me (done per book specs/warnings.)
Be sure to stock up on FP60 FUEL POWER. Consider the use of LC-20 after the double-dose of ARX you're needing. I hit the chambers with MOPAR COMBUSTION CLEANER Aerosol, per directions, and soak each, hot, cylinder overnight with 3-oz LC-20, start and idle on old plugs until xhaust clears. Then fresh plugs/oil/filter to do the ARX runs. When finished, then LC20 as prescribed and ARX every 20-25m afterwards.
Good luck.
I also like to replace all lamps, relays, fuses and fusible links as apply. If the component is mounted to the firewall (as is ECM in mine) then dismounting and establishing a cleaner ground has been good for me (done per book specs/warnings.)
Be sure to stock up on FP60 FUEL POWER. Consider the use of LC-20 after the double-dose of ARX you're needing. I hit the chambers with MOPAR COMBUSTION CLEANER Aerosol, per directions, and soak each, hot, cylinder overnight with 3-oz LC-20, start and idle on old plugs until xhaust clears. Then fresh plugs/oil/filter to do the ARX runs. When finished, then LC20 as prescribed and ARX every 20-25m afterwards.
Good luck.
Solo2driver
Thread starter
UPDATE-
Head gasket is now blown, lubricant in the cooling system. We made a bonzaii run to Tucson from San Diego on Saturday morning and met the wifey's parents there (from Austin), and picked up the '97 Accord LX-V6.
Lots of varnish in this engine, will need ARX right away, time for an internet order. New thread coming soon when I have time!
-JamesW
Head gasket is now blown, lubricant in the cooling system. We made a bonzaii run to Tucson from San Diego on Saturday morning and met the wifey's parents there (from Austin), and picked up the '97 Accord LX-V6.
Lots of varnish in this engine, will need ARX right away, time for an internet order. New thread coming soon when I have time!
-JamesW
There ought to be a company who sells, in small quantities, the connector shells and terminals for the various electrical connectors commonly used in vehicles, so that harnesses can be rebuilt or repaired. They could have an online catalog with photos of each connector and terminal as well as a logo identification guide (so that, for example, you know whether you have an AMP, a Delphi, or a Sumitomo connector).quote:
Originally posted by TheTanSedan:
Due to the age of this Saturn I would not spend any serious money because the electrical harness/terminations are also about to start giving problems due to vibration, corrosion and design life
In several cases I've found the manufacturer of the connector shell and terminals only to find out that if I want one, I need to order 1000 of them.
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