Advice, Please, for my car dilemma??

[VHunter]

I'm in a quandry, and my hubby isn't a great deal of help on this one.

My 13yr old 'bazoo' aka 'cadillac' (stationwagon LOL) is in intensive care LOL

My prestone/anti-freeze/engine coolant (whatever the heck you want to call it) is leaking into my oil and in my engine.
As per the Mechanic, the gaskets needs replacing and it's a 600$ job.
He says it's a 50/50 whether this will fix my car.

BECAUSE prestone is like sugar and eats at the ball bearings. Since we can't 'see' the ball bearings, we don't know if they're damaged.
He can fix it, and maybe the car will last another two years
OR
He can fix it, and 1wk later, it will start knocking and 'blow up' literally

(please keep in mind, I don't know squat about cars and may have explained this wrong, and hubby understood quite well... anyhow....)


NOW my dilemma is my BUDGET (as you all well know:o:o) and either I 'risk' 600$ and my car is fine... or I risk it, and it conks and I have to buy or lease another anyway....
Or I just say to H**L with it, and take over my hubby's car for the next two years at 200$/mth... WHICH will strangle my personal budget.

:cry:

I don't know what to do!!!!!

 

[beautyseeker]

I think that the risk is a little steep $600 is an awful lot of money for "it might work if I fix it".

Why not get another car of your own if you are going to be paying out $200 per month for your hubs car?

I dont know much about cars hun but that 50/50 is too much of a gamble - I would rather tighten my belt than risk it.

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[sj1973]

I think that the risk is a little steep $600 is an awful lot of money for "it might work if I fix it".

Why not get another car of your own if you are going to be paying out $200 per month for your hubs car?

I dont know much about cars hun but that 50/50 is too much of a gamble - I would rather tighten my belt than risk it.

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I have to agree with Trish Victoria.....its 50/50 hun.....if it was 30/70 to your car i would say maybe a risk.....but like trish said $600 on a car and its 50/50 and it might only last a week.....i would put that down for 3 months payment on a car that is not 50/50 hun.............hope i have helped !!!.......xxx

 

[bubbabinks]

Don't risk it hun, you don't need the stress of worrying about will it be today it conks out??
You know it will happen and probably on the worst day possible when you have to be in a hundred different places and have the girls with you.
Put it to rest hun :hug:

 

[hayls]

I say get rid of the car, try and sell it for parts and spares to recoup a bit of cash! If its 13 years old, I doubt its worth much more than $600.
Cars are so hit and miss these days, Id get a finance and get another car!

 

[VHunter]

Thanks everyone....

After much thought and juggling of numbers, it looks like I'll take over hubby's car with only 2yrs left of payments on it. And he'll head out to get something new (well, newish, another 2nd hand car LOL).

It means I'll have to tighten my budget further.

Also means I'll have to get a 'booster' seat for myself as it has a high 'a**" and I can't see out the rear window (I have to practically stand up in the driver's seat, and twist to see out the backwindow and I STILL cant' see much:irked whereas in the stationwagon, I only had to twist around to see out the rear :cry:

See, while I'm 5'4", and not short for my generation.... I'm disproportionate. ALLLL legs and short torso. So when I sit in his car, I look like grandma peering THROUGH the steering wheel:irked:

Ahhhhhhhh well...
AT LEAST I'll be able to listen to my tunes since it has a CD player :lol:

Thanks for everyone's input. It confirmed what I was thinking, but very unsure about...

:hug::hug:

 

[alpina]

Is your husband not able to replace the gasket for you? I don't know if I read properly, first you said he wasn't much help but then you said he understood quite well?

If he could do it himself, it would only cost a fraction of the price. $600 is about what it would cost here too which is outrageous, the parts you need wouldn't even come close to that. Probably between $60-$120.

It depends how long the car has been sitting since you found it, but if you drain the oil & water out immediately, and run an engine flush through it you should have a high chance of saving the bearings. Hope I haven't confused you even further.

 

[beautyseeker]

Thanks everyone....


See, while I'm 5'4", and not short for my generation.... I'm disproportionate. ALLLL legs and short torso. So when I sit in his car, I look like grandma peering THROUGH the steering wheel:irked:


:hug::hug:

I am exactly the same height as you and have the same probs, my hubs is 6'2" and I dont need to move the seat forwards coz my legs are the same as his, I just need to sit on a cushion!!!!!

:lol:

 

[VHunter]

Is your husband not able to replace the gasket for you? I don't know if I read properly, first you said he wasn't much help but then you said he understood quite well?

If he could do it himself, it would only cost a fraction of the price. $600 is about what it would cost here too which is outrageous, the parts you need wouldn't even come close to that. Probably between $60-$120.

It depends how long the car has been sitting since you found it, but if you drain the oil & water out immediately, and run an engine flush through it you should have a high chance of saving the bearings. Hope I haven't confused you even further.

He understood what the mechanic spoke of very well, but he's not mechanically inclined. He doesn't even do oil changes. Put it this way... when we first moved in together, I had to show him how to use an electric drill :lol:

And no, you didn't confuse me. There are more details to it, that "I" don't understand because I only just got my license back in October, and prior to that, never bothered listening when car talk started... so I'm a dunderhead. haha He showed me everything, but it was too much for me to take in all at once, but at the time, made sense? (yeah, I'm a bobo).

The mechanic spoke of what you said, but also mentioned other things. One thing he mentioned was about the sugar in prestone eating the coating on the ball bearings, and how that could cause "knocking" and maybe it would and maybe it wouldn't, and maybe it would blow, and maybe it wouldn't. If that makes sense?

I have great faith in my mechanic. He's the cheapest around, and VERY well known for his honesty. He'll NEVER tell you to fix something if it doesn't need it. On an occasion or two, I've head in for something small and silly and he didn't charge me. He works for half the hourly rate of most places.

He was straight up with me and said that he didn't want to do it without me understanding it was chancey. We thought it might have been leaking a month ago BUT we didn't realize it was going into the engine/oil. We assumed it was leaking out onto the ground. AND it was such a slow leak... none of the 3 of us was concerned. We (hubby and I) thought, ok, put it off till next month when I have less expenses. But then suddenly one morning, heat wouldn't come on, and my engine was showing as VERY HOT. I went straight to the mechanic and voila, found the problem.
3mths ago, had an oil change, and everything was fine (at least in so far as the oil was black). Went in the other day, and the oil was 'creamy' like coffee (from the prestone) and 2 or 3 liters overfull.

The car hadn't been sitting when I bought it, but I'm guessing the owners didn't take care of it very well. There had been a bottle of prestone in the trunk, mostly water. So I'm guessing they knew of a leak, but never said anything.


For my 'seating' problem with hubby's car... I'm going to buy a firm square cushion and then get one of those heating seats that slip over the seat, to keep it in place similar to this

so that the cushion doesn't move about and will add another inch. I might still have to 'stand' to see out the back window (since the arse is so high up) but at least I'll see OVER the steering wheel instead of peering through it :lol:

This is like hubby's car (this one's a 2008), his is 2001 I think? Same colour as this too.

What a HUGE difference from my old boat LOL:lol:

 

[VHunter]

I am exactly the same height as you and have the same probs, my hubs is 6'2" and I dont need to move the seat forwards coz my legs are the same as his, I just need to sit on a cushion!!!!!

:lol:

My hubby is 6'4".:lol:
the other problem is I do have to move the seat forward a tad, BUT when I do, the frame for the window blocks my blind spot. So I'll have to figure out how to adjust the seat so it doesn't do that. Maybe once the seat cushion's in, it won't do so as I'll be able to tilt the seat a bit instead of being completely straight up.

Ah well, at least my car will have a cd player and be safer for the kids, I guess. Bright side to every coin. Prettier too LOL
But I will DEARLY miss my stationwagon. I was comfy in that tank. HAHA

 

[beautyseeker]

My hubby is 6'4".:lol:
But I will DEARLY miss my stationwagon. I was comfy in that tank. HAHA

I love my little car to bits, its a green Toyota Yaris, its not flash or fast but it is lovely - hubs has a big flash thing with a huge engine and is ultra safe, etc, just does not have the character, or personality that mine has, so I know what you mean.

 

[alpina]

In that case I'm with what the others said. The expense wouldn't be worth it on the chance of an older car.