ALL higher end cars will cost more to upkeep even if you DIY most everything as parts are more $$$. its a tough time to buy vehicles + as always your financials govern everything. look for a lo mile simple private vehicle, no turbos or DI if possible + NO CVT trannies. i had luck with older VW's as did my girlfriend, my 2001 jetta 1.8T was going well at 200 thou when i traded + its FULLY galvanized body panels were RUST FREE!! good luck!
What would you do
- Thread starter Britdude74
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^^This. It's like my dad would always say, "Son, that's barely a car payment".
Good words of wisdom.
I’m an Audi tech and I wouldn’t have the 08 Audi any day of the week. It’s going to cost you a fortune. It seems crazy to get rid of one typically reliable car over a $400 repair to buy a car that could end up costing you the same amount every other month. Even more so when the user does high mileage.
My daughter has a 2010 Cobalt that she has had for around five years ago and it's been pretty reliable. It's only needed a MAF sensor recently and that has been it. I think Her's has around 125,000 miles on it.
My Cobalt has almost that many miles and runs like a Swiss watch. Illinois salt will be what kills it eventually.
It might technically be true her car needs new struts, but if it's anything like my car, just replacing the swaybar endlinks will get rid of all the suspension rattles and it'll feel like a new car again. Get the ones from Moog.... They're about $30 each and are easier to service than the OEM originals.
It might technically be true her car needs new struts, but if it's anything like my car, just replacing the swaybar endlinks will get rid of all the suspension rattles and it'll feel like a new car again. Get the ones from Moog.... They're about $30 each and are easier to service than the OEM originals.
this is what happens when you fix cars for decades. huffed too many brakeclean fumes
My two cents here, I say fix the Cobalt and drive while looking.. It will be easier to sell with new parts and buys some time to look for a replacement. If the budget is in the 5k range, I would keep the Cobalt. Doesn't seem like enough to buy a better enough car to get rid of something that has done well so far.
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Crown Vic.
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Well, there's an unexpected surprise. Nice high-performance cars, especially older ones, take more effort to maintain and cost more to repair than a run-of-the-mill vehicle. Shocking!
Get her a Honda or Toyota. If you do not live in a rustbelt state (no winter salt) then add Mazda to the list. Sure they cost more up front, but more than make up for it in lower maintenance and operating cost and they're more reliable.
What is high performance about a 1.8 petrol A3? Will have about 180BHP. Its not even high performance fitted to the smaller, lighter more agile Polo GTI!!! Now if we were talking about RS5 or RS6 running costs yes you would be right.
Was there an A3 mentioned in this thread? By high performance, I am not necessarily and certainly not only referring to engine output but rather to the whole package, the all-over refinement from everything like fit and finish to how things are designed and put together, the complexity of the suspension, number of features, etc when compared to more basic vehicles. Nice things come at a price and at a cost in the long run.
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You need an alignment after tie rods.
I'm in the "fix it" camp. Price quick struts vs standard ones, if paying labor she might break even and wind up with more new parts.
If she is not buying a new car she could end of with worse problems than she has now buying another used car.
For some reason I assumed it was an A3, could be another Audi model but will have even less performance than a A3 if the 1.8 was in say a A5. I agree an Audi is more refined but that refinement does come with expense. I’m not convinced of the refinement of the 2008 (14 year old) car that to have maintained that refinement will have had to be very well looked after. I find Audi cars from before about 2013 are very dated now as well.
I just think going from a car that sounds like it has been and still is cheep to run to a aged prestige brand/ model isn’t wise and running costs per mile will increase.
Not if you measure accurately or count the number of turns when removing. For a 275K beater, it doesn't have to be perfect, just close enough, especially if she might get rid of it.
Car decisions are mostly emotional and sometimes. I’d fix the issues and then maybe make a pass at looking. If her budget is over $8-9 I think she can acquire a decent replacement. Otherwise below that might be quite
Worst.
IMHO the car market is roughly what the price was 2 years ago and add $3.5-5k to price…
Worst.
IMHO the car market is roughly what the price was 2 years ago and add $3.5-5k to price…
